blue angel in a 33 gal

[rick88]

i know they get huge and wouldnt consider keeping one in much less than a 180, however i have an opportunity to get a 2-3 inch juvenile for very cheap from a lfs that i used to work at. the store is close to going under and the new owners run the equivilent to a fish nazi death camp, i would consider it rescueing the fish until i find it a more suitable home which shouldnt be hard to do seing as i maintain aquariums as a part time occupation however i would probably keep it for a few months to get it up to good health before moving the fish. my main concern is caring for the fish what are its specific needs food wise and what not. i have been in the hobby for a long time and worked at 3 or 4 lfs over the years, yet am new to taking care of angelfishes outside of the easyer centropyge species.
feedback appreciated

 

[tcmfish]

Take care of it like you were taking care of a Centropyge and if you can find some angel formula foods that have sponge in it supplement it with those. But try and find a new home for it soon before you get attached to it and want to keep it because you will need a bigger tank or you will cramp it in the one you have which isn't good. Plus getting a bigger tank isn't always that easy and doesn't always happen quickly.

 

[GoingPostal]

Do you have lots of people around you willing to take a large angel? Getting rid of it would be my worry, if you are talking a 33 long that's really going to be cramped. I felt bad for my maroon clownfish when I had that size tank.

 

[davelin315]

It's bigger than most stores will display it in and at 2-3" it's still really small, talking about the size of a flameback maybe. Many would also QT in that size tank or smaller for that size fish. If you're going to grab it, I would make sure to provide it with rock in the tank as well as spacing it to give optimal swimming room, too. If you can go with a longer tank that would help as well. A breeder tank would be nice for it in the short term.

 

[AquaKnight]

First, why so sure the new owners will turn the place into a death camp? Do they have other stores that are bad? Second, if that's true, why is the current place going under and being bought-out, while these "bad guys" seem to be prospering?

About the fish itself and saving it, I don't see why. I bet 100's of Blue Angels are collected daily, and I bet 100's die daily. What makes the Blue worth saving, that one of their say cheapo clownfish isn't? On that same token, a Blue Angel isn't exactly a really rare or desirable fish. One in the 2"-3" probably sells for $40-$50 in most areas. If you've gone to that stores for a while and have grown a connection with that particular fish, I could see it.

 

[rick88]

it is now a "death camp" because they cant keep fish alive or corals for that matter they just lost their other business they owned and the shop is only surviving on tank services and those are fading, i was told that they only took in 30 dollars all week last week. i have a friend still working there who will give me the fish for 5 or 10 bucks. as far as the rarity of the fish who are you to tell me whether or not to want or like this fish i find it a desirable fish it is local to my and your reigion and should be better appreciated. also there are no clownfish or realy to much else they, havent recived an order in arround a month and the only fish really for sale are not "reef compatible" other than a baby saddleback butterfly which i concidered aswell.

 

[AquaKnight]

who are you to tell me whether or not to want or like this fish i find it a desirable

You are asking for opinions, why you posted this topic on this forum, and I gave my reply. No where did I you shouldn't find a Blue angel desirable. I tried to simply point out that you wouldn't be saving a one-in-a-million fish, and that there are plenty other fish that meet their demise daily as well. If you still want to try to re-house the fish yourself, more power to ya. But I still stand by what I said and just leave him there. Who knows, maybe someone with appropiate quarters for the angel will purchase him.

fish it is local to my and your reigion and should be better appreciated.

Well this is true, Blue Angels are local to Florida, very few if any are actually collected here. They come from other islands in the Caribbean where distributors can pay pennies on the dollar.