Angel*Fish
cats and large squashes
Rocks are their life!
Safety
Dwarf angels are all grazers and they spend their day swimming in and out of the rocks. Angels need less open swimming space in your tank and more loosely stacked rock replete with large spaces to swim through and to hide in. Having caves, keeping the rock off the back glass and making separate bommies are all ideal. A tank with few rocks is inappropriate and likely to cause stress. An angel in the wild without plenty of rocks to dart into would get eaten. This type of behavior or need is hardwired -- you can't explain to them that safety is not an issue in your tank.
Feeding
Rocks represent food to them. They pick at the rock constantly and stomach contents have shown they commonly are going after microalgae and detritus. Obviously they pick up more than these two things. Even though you'll be feeding your angel, it needs lots of rich, well established live rock to round out its diet.
A favorite food that grows on the rocks is diatoms. A diatom bloom is a happy event for an angel. Many would find rocks overgrown with hair algae a delight. It's a good idea to use a veggie clip with nori.
Even if you could buy the perfect angel diet in frozen cubes, watching an angel futilely trying to graze sterile rock is a depressing sight. They are made to eat constantly.
Corals Are Not Live Rock
If you plan to have your tank entirely blanketed with coral, please pass on dwarf angels. They need rock to graze on and lots of it.
Safety
Dwarf angels are all grazers and they spend their day swimming in and out of the rocks. Angels need less open swimming space in your tank and more loosely stacked rock replete with large spaces to swim through and to hide in. Having caves, keeping the rock off the back glass and making separate bommies are all ideal. A tank with few rocks is inappropriate and likely to cause stress. An angel in the wild without plenty of rocks to dart into would get eaten. This type of behavior or need is hardwired -- you can't explain to them that safety is not an issue in your tank.
Feeding
Rocks represent food to them. They pick at the rock constantly and stomach contents have shown they commonly are going after microalgae and detritus. Obviously they pick up more than these two things. Even though you'll be feeding your angel, it needs lots of rich, well established live rock to round out its diet.
A favorite food that grows on the rocks is diatoms. A diatom bloom is a happy event for an angel. Many would find rocks overgrown with hair algae a delight. It's a good idea to use a veggie clip with nori.
Even if you could buy the perfect angel diet in frozen cubes, watching an angel futilely trying to graze sterile rock is a depressing sight. They are made to eat constantly.
Corals Are Not Live Rock
If you plan to have your tank entirely blanketed with coral, please pass on dwarf angels. They need rock to graze on and lots of it.
