Pygmy Angel: Pros and Cons

[Blk_Gto]

Hi,

I've been reading through the posts recently and it seems that there is a lot of ambiguity over whether a pygmy angel is a good reef fish or not. Some claim that it nips at corals and others say it doesn't bother a thing. I guess it's really a IME thing. Well, I'm thinking of getting one b/c I LOVE the way they look and the fact that they move around the rockwork alot.

I would like to hear other pros/cons surrounding the pygmy angel and also which corals they often nip at. Hopefully I do not have any of them so that there are no cons in purchasing this beautiful fish. Thanks!

 

[esmithiii]

In my opinion, forget about it. I had a bi-color angel; it was beautiful, but the whole tank suffered. Here is how I similarly responded previously:

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr> My experiences w/ a dwarf angel was bad. I had a bicolor angel which was beautiful but definitely not reef safe inspite of what everyone told me. I was in denial for 6 months but was shocked to see my whole tank improve the day after I removed him! Everything looked amazing the very next day. My wife even noticed and said "what did you do? The tank looks incredible!" All my corals opened like never before. The constant picking which I barely noticed kept the corals constantly irritated. My advice is to pick something safe unless you are willing to tear down your reef in a couple of months.
E

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[Hammer]

The bi-color is more notorious for this behavior.
The coral beauty is one of the best bets (and yes, they ALL are a gamble) for reef safe pygmy angels.
I have a midnight pygmy in my 80 gallon, and I love it. It is very shy, but after a few months, is starting to come out more when I am around. And is more interested when I feed.

All angels are a gamble. I have a friend who has a regal angel that happens to like leathers. Doesn't bother any of the other LPS or soft corals. Hit or miss, that is the name of the game. But read up, some are much more prone to be a pain then others.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

I got 4 angels in my 400 g tank. They have not bother a thing. I don't have very many LPS or solf coral in my tank. It is 95% SPS. The 4 Ange I have are: Majestic angel, Coral Beauty and a pair of Cherub angels.

 

[Goldmoon]

What is the difference between Dwarf Angel and Pigmy Angel?
I thought the pigmy was the smallest of the angel family (up to 3 inches), followed by the dwarf (up to 6 inches)and the full size..

 

[Blk_Gto]

Hi everyone,

I was looking at the Centropyge argi as a possible addition. I would love to hear any personal experiences you may have had with this fish. Thanks!

Goldmoon: I believe that the pygmy angel is a type of dwarf angel. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Green Lantern]

Pygmy and dwarf are the same common name for the Centropyge family of angels.

 

[lxstang]

I kept a bi-color angel in my reef for two weeks. Never again!! He tore up my button polys and some leather corals. The polyps would extend at night but when the lights were on forget it. He had a feast. He is a very attractive fish and swims a whole lot, but I wouldnt say he was reef safe. Dont do it, you will regret it.

 

[afss]

I curently have 2 coral beauty's in my 90 gallon reef. I have a hammer, different varieties of mushrooms, a couple of leathers, a couple of colts, a gorgonian, 4 types of star polyps and some small sponges etc and colony anenomes. I have yet to see either of theangels pick at any of these. Actually the angels have been great in my tank as I was having a bit of a problem with a hiar like algea. they seem to love whatever it is. they have been consistenly picking it of the rocks and sand etc. There were a few times when i thought they were nipping at a coral, but upon closer inspection there was some algea around it and they were just picking that away. I know people say they are a gamble, but in my case they work great.
Scott

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