Advice for a Reef Angel

[jhale]

Can I get some recommendations for a Angelfish to put in my reef tank.
For those that don't know the tank is 60x24x20.
I'd like to get a juvenile and when it outgrows my tank give it away to someone with a larger tank. As long as the fish does not eat my acropora I don't care what else it touches in my tank. thanks.



blue girdled angelfish from papua new guinea

 

[jhale]

I forgot, I do have a clam in the tank, if this is a problem then I guess the angel won't work.

 

[cali_reef]

Regal angel, if you don't mind it eating your zoas and picking at clams. here is a picture of mine:

 

[pmui]

i think most if not all angels(sm & lrg) are peckers.

 

[jhale]

I read on RC that Regals are very hard to keep.
I don't care about the zoa's getting picked at, but the clam would not be good.

I'm guessing that it's impossible to know what the angel will eat until after it's in your tank.

 

[cali_reef]

Lamark or Wantanabi are two I have had in my old reef that never bother anything. I know others that had very good luck with these in their reef as well. Not as much color as zoa killer :lol:.

 

[jhale]

thanks Pierce,

I know about them, but your right, I wanted the nice looking Angels.

maybe I'll have to wait to set up a FOLW.

 

[cali_reef]

Pecan2phat got really lucky with the first regal he bought from Fishtown. It only eats zoas, leaves his clams along.

 

[spykes]

the redsea regals are more friendly, i thinkt he magestic is nice, steve had both in my tank and it doesnt pick at anything, but of course steve's died.

 

[pecan2phat]

Large Angels are a roll of the dice. Montepora and others that I have seen, keep adult Emperor or Imperator angels in the SPS dominated tanks without problems. The majority also keep a few clams and some blastos too. Majestics or Blue Girdled angels are also a favorite. Though the safer bet would be a Red Sea Regal. There's like a gazillion page thread on RC regarding Regals in a reef tank. Almost all are zoa eaters. Pierce had the unfortunate luck of also having a clam eater!

I use to buy Phillipine Regals back in the early eighties and they would always perish in a FO tank. I left them out of my buy list for over 20 yrs. After reading the Regal thread, I decided to try one. Based on some of the observations noted on the thread, I did not quarantine & just acclimated the Regal into my reef tank. He didn't eat prepared foods for the first 3+ weeks but I guess there was enough sponges on the LR to sustain him. On the 2nd week he started to take out my zoas so I removed the ones that I wanted to keep and let him have the rest. I've always had a bunch of clams in there which he never touched (but I have a Golden pygmy angel in there that's a stink'in nipper) and also any new additions. There are some Candy Cane colonies & a Fiji yellow leather that he doesn't go after either. I did take out an open brain that he might have (not sure) picked on.

So a Regal might be your best bet if a large angel is what you want or try a pair of Bellus angels.
NEA had a pair not too long ago.

 

[mshur]

bellus or watanbie is the way to go...speacially a pair..
i use to have watanabie in my old reef tak without any problems. they didnt even touch my zoos..
i am looking ofr healthy ones for my new tank...no luck so far(

i know marinecenter have a pair of watanabie..but i am not sure if i wanna get then on-line..

mike

 

[nycmat]

stick with red sea angles for anything. bali's survival rates arent that good in captivity. i havea bunch of reading on this. you take a risk with any angel even a flame dwarf. there are different techniques in obtaining this what you are looking for its a lot of work and it needs to be kept up with. i myself have a had angels and they are a favorite of mine. i would start out small before anything and feed them happily. there are plenty of reports that has reported success with reefs.

 

[marrone]

Jonathan the best would be not to put an angel in the tank. All of these angels are unpredictable and in a closed system can only cause problems in the long run.

Your just setting yourself up to having a fish eat or pick on one of your corals.

 

[cali_reef]

Your just setting yourself up to having a fish eat or pick on one of your corals.

I agree, but they are so prettyyyyy.

 

[marrone]

That why I have a fish tank with rock, also they eat alot of algae and do drop big poop.

I actually have a Starkie Damsel which looks alot like a Flame Back Angel and isn't aggressive at all.

 

[herman]

Jonathan, I think the only question you should ask is are you a gambler? It can go either way. Get the little baby - and whats the worst that can happen - a angel FS thread here on MR.

 

[jhale]

well it just happens that Peter is looking for a small angel for a folr tank, sooo...

if i do get one and it turns into a squamosa nipper then I know who will take it.

I agree with Pierce, they are just such beautiful fish.

 

[jackson6745]

Jon you got me thinking about adding an Angel now On the way home yesterday we stopped at Pets wharehouse and saw some nices majestics and a decent regal.

 

[Deanos]

Most of these have been mentioned, so here are some pics.

Genicanthus

 

[cali_reef]

Rich, Hey I forgot to call you last night about stopping by. How about tomorrow night?

My experiance with pet Warehouse's fish is not as good as Fish Town, You should check the salinity of the water before you put the fish in your system, QT'ing their fish is also a good idea.