Advice Needed - Are there any ref safe Angels?

[bjmycroft]

Hi there,
Are there any reef safe angelfish out there?

Im about to set up a 7x30x30 reef system and would love an angelfish as the centerpiece. I read lots where angels are considered not reef safe, then see lots of peoples threads where they have an angelfish - this months Tank-of-the-month is a case in point!

I know there are no (or few) hard and fast rules in this game so whats the recommendation?

-Bob

 

[ObscurityKnocks]

That all depends on what kind of reef you are planning on.

For example I have an emperor and a regal angel. I have a handful of SPS frags and a few small colonies. I also have a Platygyra and a Torch coral. It appeared that the regal would pick at the Platygra the first week I added him to the tank but I haven't seen him touch it since and he didn't do any permanent damage to the coral. I have never seen either of the two touch any of the other corals in my tank.

Most angels will rip zoos to shreads all though I have seen a couple of people report their angels haven't touched theirs. Same thing can be said about clams. I have also heard they love the meaty LPS corals.

 

[Wolverine]

There are none that I would consider consistently safe except the Genicanthus angels.

Dave

 

[ncny21802]

My Flame angel never touched my zoos or any other coral in my tank

 

[moonpod]

Flamebacks and the "pygmy" are pretty safe. Genicanthus are reefsafe. The rest are all calculated gambles. A single pygmy angel is unlikely to do significant damage in an established reef. The holocanthus angels are generally considered "high risk". The pomacanthus are flip of the coin IMO. The apolomichthys have been good to me. I don't have significant experience with the chaetodonoplus family. Regals are reasonable risks in terms of reef safety. In terms of whether or not they will eat....different story

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

That all depends on what kind of reef you are planning on.

Exactly. Angels dont eat corals in nature and depending on what type of corals you want to keep some angels can be a pretty safe bet. Angels nip at corals in aquaria because they are substrate pickers and when left without natural feeding opportunities they will sample corals. Most angels cant be trusted with LPS, clams, zoo's and meaty corals like open brains, but most are safe with SPS, leathers, shrooms, ect. The safest large angels are the emp, blueface, regal, and majestic. Other large angels can be Ok depending on the specemin. Genicanthus are the safest of all, and dwarf angels are very hit and miss.

 

[ca1ore]

I have two pygmys (flame and coral beauty), a red sea regal, and an asfur. All SPS coral go unmolested, as do most of the soft corals. Xenia dissappeared in less than a week, and I have to regularly give my clams a 'break' in the refugium. Angels are awesome though .....

.... been thinking about adding a narvachus .... probably not a good idea.

 

[Mdoug25]

To the archives...

Reef Safe Angels

-MDoug

 

[Creetin]

My emp ate all my zoa's in one day, With an exception of one colony i had boxed off with eggcrate so he couldent.
A large angel can make short work of your zoa's in no time, But he doesent mess with my plate coral, or meaty ones just zoa's, oh and rock anemone's and aiptasia. (Yes surprisingly aiptasiaLOL)

 

[Wolverine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7145512#post7145512 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moonpod
Flamebacks and the "pygmy" are pretty safe. Genicanthus are reefsafe.

I always forget about the "argi" complex angels. They are more reliably reefsafe than the other pygmy angels (many of which are not at all reefsafe). The problem with the argi complex (flameback, brazilian, etc) is that they're often not very fish safe. they can really brutalize your other swimming animals.

Dave

 

[Zoom]

You can see your self it is no LPS or clams in the tank this Emperor was tested to see what he like to snack on and was removed out of the reef tank before he was put in there . He is now in that reef tank 2 1/2 years. The fish was only 2" or 3" when purchase now 9" and not to friendly to the other fish.

Even so you can see the large Clam next to him when i first got the Juv fish after about a year i had to take the clam out of the tank.
Here he is when i first put him in the tank.

 

[shanghaireefer]

I love my Emperor and has been with me for more than a year now--despite the fact that he consumed my Feather Star in a week, nipping a mouthful everyday. Recently, he also ate the
open brain. Not to mention he gives chases to each and every other fish inhabitant in the aquarium. But he is such a lovely creature, feeding from my hand.