dwarf angel question

[dodgerblew]

I'm interested to know if any of you keep dwarf angels (centropyge sp.) in their nanos.

I would love to but do not as a precaution. Now, I'm not asking if I should or what kind to get, as all fish, even from the same species, are different. I see many reefers who keep all types of angels in their large tanks reporting no probs with the centropyge species or the genicanthus species and mixed results with the pomacanthus. I also read that the smaller the environment then the more apt a dwarf angel to pick. I once tried a baby lamarck angel I found which was no bigger than a half dollar. Beautiful fish but wasn't in the tank 5 minutes before it started picking on some acans and they are classified as planktivores!

So again, I just want to find out how many are able to successfully keep angels in their nanos and if so, what types are you keeping. Pics would also be great. TIA

 

[reefscape15]

I never kept one in a nano, but I had 3 different ones in a 54 corner bowfront, False Lemonpeel, Coral Beauty, Rusty. Honestly, I wouldn't reccomend one be placed in a nano, unless the dimensions are non-standard. The 54 bow had a front glass that was almost 48" corner to corner, so the fish did have adequate swimming room. False Lemonpeel was my favorite, but the Rusty was the most docile, and would probably do the best in a nano, out of the 3 that I had.

 

[reefscape15]

Also, I never had one pick at anything but a Kenya tree. It was a full mixed reef with zoas, shrooms, rics, LPS, sps, and softies

 

[moparcolt]

I had a Bi-Color in my 29 and it was fine as far as space and swimming room, but he was a nipper. He started picking at my kenya trees and my toadstool leather. I have had good luck with coral beauties though. I am thinking of getting one to replace the bi-color

 

[dodgerblew]

I had a Bi-Color in my 29 and it was fine as far as space and swimming room, but he was a nipper. He started picking at my kenya trees and my toadstool leather. I have had good luck with coral beauties though. I am thinking of getting one to replace the bi-color

Were your CB's kept in the 29 reef too? How many have you had?

 

[moparcolt]

I had one in there and one in MY 90 gal. reef tank, I had some issues with a power outage and lost the Coral beauty or I would still have it

The one in the 90 was in there for 5-6 years and never bothered anything

 

[Biocubehqi]

I keep a flame angel in my 29 cube. But it's a bully. I will boss other fish around. And it picks at corals. But very cool fish to have

 

[sponger0]

i really dont think a dwarf angel is good for any tank under 40 gallons. My reason are this, more rock you have, the more algae they have to graze on and in turn my help keep them off corals. Secondly, if you have a 20 gallon tank, you probably only have a 15 gallons of water in the tank. Its recommended no less than 30 gallons of water.

And lets not mention the possiblility of agressive behavior the smaller the tank is. So if your goal is to have a dwarf angel, get the appropriate tank size. A 40 breeder doesnt take too much more space than a 20 gallon.

 

[dodgerblew]

well said....as I mentioned, I don't have one in my nano and don't intend too. I felt this was a good topic of discussion regarding do's and don'ts of nanoreef husbandry

 

[Biocubehqi]

i really dont think a dwarf angel is good for any tank under 40 gallons. My reason are this, more rock you have, the more algae they have to graze on and in turn my help keep them off corals. Secondly, if you have a 20 gallon tank, you probably only have a 15 gallons of water in the tank. Its recommended no less than 30 gallons of water.

And lets not mention the possiblility of agressive behavior the smaller the tank is. So if your goal is to have a dwarf angel, get the appropriate tank size. A 40 breeder doesnt take too much more space than a 20 gallon.

Very true, I have a 29 gallon bc and Witwatersrand displacement it only holds 21 gallons tops. Maybe 20. And It shows very aggressive behavior. But I used it for that purpose. I added a six line and my royal grama was full grown, which I don't think a cube is good for a gramma either. Always mad about territory. But it was picking on the six line and the clown all day everyday. So I added the flame for a territory check. It worked. I now have a very docile gramma tha isn't territorial at all lol..

 

[dodgerblew]

I had a gramma in my 28 for about 3-4 yrs, about 3-4 " longs but passed away about 2 months ago. It never showed aggression

 

[TL1000RSquid]

I have a half black in a standard 29g tank. He's left all my coral alone so far, he was aggressive towards 2 sailfin mollies I had in there when I added him but they've since been removed and he's been pretty peaceful with everyone else.

 

[mussel and hate]

In my quarter century of nano-reefkeeping I've kept 3 Centropyge serially in the same system, a 20 gallon reef.

First was C. Acanthops I recieved from a friend shutting down his tank in the early '90s. I kept this fish for over 7 years, cause of death unknown(old age?). I never observed it to pick at my corals however I kept only Cataphyllia Jardini, Euphyllia Anchora, Euphyllia Divisa, Sarcophyton, Sinularia, Zoanthids and Coralimorpharia. A beautiful spunky little fish and my all time favorite.

My second Centropyge was C. Argi. I didn't have this fish for long, perhaps 48 hours. I left a pump intake uncovered and the inevitable occured. I can't tell you anything about it's character or behaviour.

I currently keep one C. Flavicauda, I've had this fish for almost two years now. He is an Acropora fiend; he's stripped every colony. This fish periodically picks at my montipora which is almost completely gone now though I've never seen any evidence of predation on any of the other corals I maintain, the list of which is similar to the first one I provided. Heavy regular feeding has helped preserve the bits of montipora that survive.

This fish is a bully, I've nicknamed him "Thug". Aggression is limited to half-hearted intermittent pursuit of either of his two larger tankmates, Pictichromis porphyreus(second rung thug) and low fish in the pecking order Chrysiptera taupou. Territorial behaviour peaks just before the autofeeder cycles.

I'd say I've been fairly successful maintaining the pygmy angels excepting the pump strainer oversight. I'm certain any of my fish would enjoy more space, perhaps the whole ocean. I'm skeptical of claims that picking is more likely to occur in smaller tanks, I expect it's just more obvious.

Sorry, no pics.

 

[acrab78]

If you have a 28 gallon I think a pygmy angel would be fine. They stay pretty small but can be aggressive to other fish. I used to have one as the only fish in a ten gallon reef for three years before I broke the tank down and he was moved to a bigger tank.

Still miss that tank was really nice and maintenance free.