Bandit Angelfish Longevity

[michael_cb_125]

It has been a while since I have seen a thread on the care and longevity of Apolemichthys arcuatus.

I would love any input from those who have successfully kept this species. How long have you had your Bandit? How large/small was it when you acquired it? Diet? Tankmates? etc.

I am fortunate enough to have a pair of these amazing fish. Both were obtained when juveniles (1.75" and 2"). They have been in my reef for almost five years now and are pushing 4.5". It took about three months for them to work out the dominance issue, but after that they have been very close. They share the same cave and cruise the tank together all day. There is zero aggression and I have been lucky enough to see two "spawning" events. Unfortunately my display is not tall enough for them to finish their ascent....

I run my display fairly cool, between 65 and 72 depending on the time of the year. When small they were fed up to ten times per day, but as they have matured I have cut back to about four feedings per day. They get an assortment of fresh seafood, mysis and spectrum pellets. I also feed a fair amount of algal material. These are without a doubt some of the most inquisitive fish I have ever owned and quickly learn where dinner comes from. Hell, the female even loves to be rubbed.

The only issue I have ran into with these fish is HLLE, which occurred in the male after I added activated carbon in a reactor. After the removal of the carbon, he quickly started to heal.

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So come on Bandit owners, lets hear from ya'

~Michael

 

[michael_cb_125]

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[euod]

Mine has been going for 4+ years now from 1". For some reason it stops eating today so I am trying to figure out what's going on here. Great fish.

 

[runintoluck]

I've had mine for almost a year and a half now, grew about an inch since i got it now it's like 4.5 -5 inches. Will only eat spectrum pellets and ON Angel formula. It's been living at temps between 74-77. Never any trouble with HLLE, but the occasional nip by tankmates nonetheless.

 

[Tactics]

Love hearing about your bandits Michael. I'm hoping Kevin at PIA can find me a <2" bandit. Congrats on their long term health.

How are they with your corals?

 

[Yurivd]

I have my bandit from 2012/05/03 so almost a year
I feed ocean nutrition pellest with gusto ( any other pellets it is not that interested in ) and i feed ocean nutrition angel formula ( the bandit likes mysis a lot more but i only feed angel formula ) . I got my babe at about 7cm she is now 9cm
Tank mates are 8 wrasse and a 12cm black tang every now and then the bandit try to bully the black tang lol

In 2 weeks time i will ad my clarion(14cm) and gem (6cm) tang to the tank with more wrasses. I hope the bandit will be fine. I ordered a 5cm to 7.5cm clarion but thy send me a 14cm :deadhorse1:. The clarion looks not that aggressive with the gem tang only chasing it away when i give nori. So now i hope for the best

I keep the tank 23c to 24c

 

[Big E]

Michael,

That's a beautiful dedicated setup you have for them.........kudos to you in what you have accomplished so far.

I hope you have a lid for that tank when you're not around.

 

[John Dawe]

August 2005, obtained one that was just over 3 inches, now it 5 inchs(?), June 2008, obtained one that was 7/8 of a inch, grew to 3+ inches the first year at which time it was place in the same tank as the first one. The older and bigger one does chase the younger one (which is a little smaller) around sometimes but they don't try to kill each other. Tank temps, 67-70 usually, the tank is in a cold basement. Food, they like spirulina flakes (primary food they get fed), will eat frozen brine or mysis, Marineland gel food if first food added. Tried pellets the other night and they did eat some. The bigger one does have some pigmentation loss on the body, started on tail after fish had CaOH dumped on it. They are in a tank with a few rocks and 4 other fish of similar size.

 

[michael_cb_125]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I love hearing about success with this species.
I have had great luck with my bandits and coral and clams
I have never seen them touch anything and my corals have great polyp extension
The bandits are the only fish in the display other than a .5" marine Betta from SA

I am considering a larger tank, one with height so the bandits may actually finish their spawning ascent

Oh btw the tank is covered if I am not around

~Michael

 

[auem]

how high do you think the tank should be for spawning ascent...?
may be Paka can chime in here....she spawned them(that too at temp 80-81C if it is the same pair she talked about).....

 

[michael_cb_125]

I am not totally sure, the two times I have witnessed mine have a go at it they literally breached the surface of the water.
I would imagine a tank with a height of five feet should be plenty.

I would love to get some expert advice on this subject

~Michael

 

[tcmfish]

What height are they in now?

 

[michael_cb_125]

20" it's an Elos tank. I should have put more thought into what these fish would need for spawning but oh well.

I am looking into a larger setup in the near future

~Michael

 

[tcmfish]

I doubt you would need 5 ft. but if you can swing, I say go for it.

I think the 3-4 ft. range would be plenty.

I would keep the rock work low though so that you have 2.5-3 feet of open water so they can complete the rise. They like to spawn over a prominent feature so if the rock goes close to the top they may start to high to finish.

 

[paka]

Bandits are one of my all time favorite fish.
The bandits that I have spawning are in a tank that is 30 inches tall, 5.5 feet long and 18 inches wide. They have been in this tank since I got them which I think is about two years ago. They started spawning last summer and have spawned consistently since Nov. 1, They were not a pair when collected and came from two different areas off Oahu and got along fairly well after a slow introduction.
Here is a video taken by Bruce Carlson of what I'm working on now.:spin2: Unfortunately I lost this batch but I've got another one going and I'll keep trying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qdcdocOJnk

Karen

 

[auem]

how high do you think the tank should be for spawning ascent...?
may be Paka can chime in here....she spawned them(that too at temp 80-81C if it is the same pair she talked about).....

Bandits are one of my all time favorite fish.
The bandits that I have spawning are in a tank that is 30 inches tall, 5.5 feet long and 18 inches wide. They have been in this tank since I got them which I think is about two years ago. They started spawning last summer and have spawned consistently since Nov. 1, They were not a pair when collected and came from two different areas off Oahu and got along fairly well after a slow introduction.
Here is a video taken by Bruce Carlson of what I'm working on now.:spin2: Unfortunately I lost this batch but I've got another one going and I'll keep trying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qdcdocOJnk

Karen

you are doing fantastic job...:thumbsup:...so are they spawning at 80-81C?

 

[paka]

Current tank temp is 75 to 77F (morning to afternoon temps)
Thanks for the thumbs up. I can use it!

 

[Allmost]

makes me feel better about keeping mine in mid 70s

but they are destructive to SPS ... more than my other angels.... I have only had him for about 4 months though.

mine had a stretch which healed very fast, very personable fish ...

my achilles and purple tang did cause some ISsues at first, but then the bendit showed them whose the boss I guess, now they get along just fine.

 

[LargeAngels]

Going on 3 years and 4 1/2 years. 70-73 degrees. Eat anything. Pellets flakes mysis.

Awesome work Karen.

 

[stunreefer]

It's great to see new pictures of your pair, Michael. So cool they're spawning for you!

I had my first bandit (avatar) for about a year and four months when I sold it to a friend whom unfortunately lost it for unknown reasons about three months later (he's a very skilled fish keeper). My second bandit I had for around nine months when I sold it to a different very skilled fish keeper in my area - it's still alive and doing well at three years

I fed both of them Nori, PE Mysis, NLS pellets and (rarely) ON Angel Formula. Kept them around 72-74°F.

I'm settled in now and have been on the lookout for a couple little ladies for my reef...

Karen, it's so exciting to see what you're doing down there with all the angelfish, keep up the great work and keep us posted :thumbsup: