Blue Face Angel

[Tarazed]

I have a blue face angel (~4") in a 120 gallon soft reef. I am staring to plan the upgrade as my tank is too small long term. I'm doing this backwards
(I'm a little crazy about this fish), but, I'm thinking I have a year to get it done. I'm considering a 180 or 210. Any opinions on which would be better. Is the 210 difficult to work on with the extra depth? Is it worth the $ and effort to move? I don't think I can move larger into my basement and acrylic is out of my price range.

The other fish that will be in the tank are a false percula, hippo tang, copper band and a diamond goby. I have considered adding a powder blue to the mix, but that may be pushing it in a 180/210.

Thanks for any input.

 

[mattsilvester]

I am presuming that a 180 is 72"x24"x24", and a 210 is 72"x24"x30"?

Bigger is always better etc., but only as long as your budget allows the bigger tank to be equipped to the same level, if you see what I mean.

Do you like DSB's? If so, I think the 210 is the better choice as you can have a 4-6" bed and still have 24" of water comfortably. If no DSB, then its purely a matter of choice.

The other significant advantage of the deeper tank is that you could create a reef wall 15" high all the way along and still have plenty of swimming space (15") above for your regal (hippo) tang to cruise.

I don't think the podwer blue is impossible..... just make sure he is alot smaller than both the angel and regal tang and add him AFTER they are well settled.

For a blue face angel, a 180 is about minimum really, IMO. Likewise for the regal tang..... they can and will exceed 8" and as you;ve seen they are very active........

Is it worth the upgrade - absolutely unless you plan on getting rid of both the regal tang and the blue is a year or so........

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

What Matt said, I have a 180 and its really not big enough for most Pomacanthus angels at full size. I would go for the biggest tank your budget and space to place it will allow and then go one tank size bigger (I'm only half joking here). My blueface got to be about 6 inches in my 180 and then got very aggressive and started attacking tankmates.

 

[Tarazed]

Kahuna- Do you think I'll have more luck having the tank lightly stocked? Did you have any other angels in with the blue face at the time? I had to move a bicolor angel out of the tank because he was stressing the blue face when first introduced. I don't think I'll ever mix angels again regardless if there dwarf or large.

Matt- thanks for the reply, you are correct on the dimensions. (Sorry I left that out.) What is your water change regimen? 8' foot tank must be amazing

 

[mattsilvester]

What is your water change regimen? 8' foot tank must be amazing

what's a water change ??? :rolleye1: ...... just joking. For the last 12 months or so my record has been dismal due to extremely difficult personal circumstances (read as crappy work arrangements). So its been a case of every 3-4 months I do 2 or 3 50% water changes back to back in the space of weeks........ but generally my tank is (what I consider) quite lightly stocked with 3 anthias, 4 tangs (4-5") and an emporer angel (about 8")...... so that helps.

8' tank ........ amazing ..... well I always say its not the tank but what you do with it..... and mine's pretty ordinary to be honest. Its great in that it gives me the choice to opt for a queen or french angel, but to be honest it is sort "big but not big enough" sort of thing...... if I were doing it again I'd probably go for a more affordable 180 and rationalise my ambitions a bit...... I happen to think that the majestic angel (navarchus) is just about the perfect "large" angel and a 180 is just about the perfect size for one...... where as it might rattle a bit in a 240...... the 8 foot tank is often thought of as the answer to everything, but fish like sohal tangs and queen angels will get big mean and aggressive and kill everything in an 8 footer almost as quick as a 6 footer..... so its not the K.O. punch that allot of folks would like to think it is

 

[Tarazed]

Matt,

The other fish I was strongly considering was the Majestic. I think I may be alone here but I actually prefer the look of the blue face. I was also under the impression that they are similar in size with the blue face being slightly larger and slightly hardier. I also love the Queen angel but like you said they are too aggressive. I'm getting the impression that if you were in my shoes the 180 would be your choice? I was at the LFS this morning and he was saying the 210 is significantly more difficult to move.

Thanks for all the info and best of luck at work.

Gordon

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I dont think the fish will notice a difference. It's up to you wether you like taller tanks or not. Keep your aquascape in mind.

 

[mattsilvester]

Matt,

The other fish I was strongly considering was the Majestic. I think I may be alone here but I actually prefer the look of the blue face. I was also under the impression that they are similar in size with the blue face being slightly larger and slightly hardier. I also love the Queen angel but like you said they are too aggressive. I'm getting the impression that if you were in my shoes the 180 would be your choice? I was at the LFS this morning and he was saying the 210 is significantly more difficult to move.

Thanks for all the info and best of luck at work.

Gordon

Gordon,

Actually I'd go for the 210..... to be hoenst I think all the equipment you need for a 210 is pretty much the same as for the 180, but you'll get the extra height, which is nice. Difficult to move it may be, but you'll only do it once, and the tank is about the only thing you can't "change".......

Work > got that under control..... starting a new job on the 4th, which is only a few miles from home (rather than 150 in my last place)...... so things are only looking up in that regard.... but thanks.....

Majestic 'vs' blue face....... which is hardier is a matter of opinion and / or the individual specimen. Generally, here in Ireland, navarchus angels seem to arrive in better condition than they do into the US....... don't know why, but they are actually considered about on par with an emporer here, in terms of hardiness. Again, it depends on the specimen...... a really nice blue is a fantastic fish....... but they are harder to come by than a really nice navarchus. A nice indian ocean navarchus are here is vibrant blue / purple with honey-orange-gold markings...... truly stunning.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

I think a large full adult blue face angel is the most stunning of all the Pomacanthus and that is saying something in this genus. I loved mine but it was just too aggressive and large for my system. I love the majestic too, a smaller Pomacanthus than most and very nicely scaled for a 180 standard, and the best pomacanthus in this regard. My majestic has been bulletproof from day one (as was my BF) and is the boss of the tank. The emp I keep is a very large changing juvenile and gets along well with the majestic (hope this continues). The majestic lets everyone know he is the boss but hasn't fought with a single other fish. Both the BF and the majestic could be very shy and neither was anywhere as bold as the emp. Both eventually were out and about pretty much all day but it took a while, the emp was at the glass in my face from day one. My BF was in with a flagfin and I believe was a factor in that fishes demise.

Go for the larger tank, I've honestly never met anyone in this hobby who said, "You know, I wish I would have bought a smaller tank". I'm sure there are some, I just dont know any. Angels and tangs really appreciate all the room you can give them and Matt had a great point, the equiptment cost wont be all that much higher. There isn't a day that goes by I dont regret getting a 240 instead of the 180.

How ya doin' Matt!