Flame Angel in a reef - SUGGESTIONS??

[whalloper]

Hi all,

Ive always wanted one, and today, the curiosity got to me and I picked up a beautiful flame angel. I have NEVER had any type of angel in my reef tanks, so I decided to put it in my smaller one (26gal) just in case.

Within an hour he gained my immediate love because my spawn of satan damsels started to pick on him, but they were quickly put in their place (the angel kicked their butt and they dont mess with him now).

Thus far, he has eaten mini mysis, and Formula 2 flake, and is constantly picking at the rock. I have mainly zoos, shrooms, and a brain in this tank for which he has showed no interest so far.

What are your experiences with them? What is best to feed them to keep him from picking at the corals? Should I offer nori?

 

[kevin21]

ive had 1 in a 55 reef...for about 6 months never touched anything!

awesome fish...fish died because of a heater incident.

good luck

 

[Salty Brother]

All I can say is good luck and hopefully he wont pick at anything. You cant really feed them anything that will keep them from picking, and some people have said that there flame wont pick, but a year later it started, but I have also heard people having them for years and not picking. And I would also say that a 26 is to small for them. You might want to bump him up to the next size tank.
Nori would probabyl be good, also that ocean nutrition algae sheets with a clip are also good.
Other than that just good luck, they are beautiful fish.

 

[easye123]

its pretty much 50/50

ive heard that ive u put him in when ur tank is most likely fully stocked that he wont pick at anything but when u add new corals he gets very interested and then pics at them..

u should be fine though IMO

 

[Salty Brother]

oh ya, I forgot to say that Im going to picking up a coral beauty soon. I have some LPS, softies, and like 8 sps. so hopefully she wont pick!

 

[sjm817]

I've had one for a couple of years. I have LPS, SPS, softies, Zoa's. It has never bothered a thing.

 

[whalloper]

great! Sounds promising, and as an added bonus...hes giving the "dominant" of the two damsels a long needed *ss kicking!!! Sorry to sound so mean about the damsels, but no one warned me about how evil they were... they have been in my tanks since they were started, terrorizing anything new.

 

[sjm817]

Mine likes to chase around the Chromis. Keeps them on their toes.

 

[alde]

CB's are great fish

CB's are great fish

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8065915#post8065915 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Salty Brother
oh ya, I forgot to say that Im going to picking up a coral beauty soon. I have some LPS, softies, and like 8 sps. so hopefully she wont pick!

I have had a Coral Beauty in my reef with clams, SPS, LPS and soft corals for about 4 years now. The fish has been a model citizen and has never bothered anything. I think there is a better shot with a CB being good than a Flame angle but they can both be hit or miss.

 

[sjm817]

Be careful adding a CB when you have a FA already. Could be WWIII.

 

[kass03]

Mine is in my 150 and kicked my jewel damsels butt also when I got it. It also killed my coral beauty that I got the same day as the flame and they lived together peacefully for yrs. 1 day it decided the coral beauty had to go. It beat the crap out of it and by the time I rescued it was too late.
I'd put it in a bigger tank 26 is not near big enough IMO. They love to swim around alot and pick on the rocks.
I don't keep alot of corals in that tank but mines never picked on any that I had. I just have a tree coral, shrooms, a bunch of feather dusters, bubble coral. I did have zoa's in there once and it did'nt pick.
I've had mine at least 6 yrs I lost count lol it came from flying fish before dr. Fosters took them over a long time ago.

kass

 

[crpeck]

My Coral Beauty is a nipper, but so far the only corals it has prevented me from keeping are open brains. It irritated some of the others, but they've gotten used to him. But each open brain I have tried has styed so irritated by the picking that it keeps them from inflating and I lose them.

If you put a Coral Beauty in a 26 gallon where a Flame has been there first, prepare yourself for a rumble. Odds are that they will fight ... badly. But every fish is different and you may luck out. Do you have a quarantine or another place to put one if them if it doesn't work out?

 

[KMB]

I hope the best for you. My flame sucked!!!!

messed with everthing in my tank. I would never want to take that chance again.

 

[steve the plumb]

Mine killed my clams didn't touch anything else.

 

[ACBlinky]

@whalloper - your sig says you've got a clam in your 26g. If that's the case, all the more reason to move the flame to your other tank -- Centropyge angels are notorious for picking on clams. My flame gets along well with two other dwarf angels (CB and a white tail pygmy) in my 65g, and the only thing they ever picked on was an open brain (which now lives in my 21g). If you want a CB as well, definitely move the flame into the 72g, and make sure there are lots of nooks and crannies in your rockwork so they can each have space of their own and get away from the other if needed.

 

[W Ellis]

I have a coral beauty in my 200 with zoos, an open brain, a green hammer and so far he hasnt nipped at any of them. He grazes on the LR all day but so far no problems. I hear they can go either way and can be no problem and all of a sudden change and start nipping. I would recommend keeping an eye on him.

 

[WarrenG]

I wonder if it matters whether the flame comes from Hawaii or some other place. In Hawaii the flames live at about 60-80 feet deep amongst staghorn coral rubble (dead) and aren't around any living corals. They like to have lots of hiding places and places to swim in, and through rocks and branches. They're not in bright light either, and the light that is there is mostly blue. At that depth their bright orange shows as grayish brown-good camouflage. The food that is around them is plankton, krill-like shrimp, and small, baby fish.

 

[whalloper]

Thats a good point, WarrenG. Im not sure where mine is from. Its medium sized and has slight red coloration.

I need to update my info...I moved my clams to the 72 gal. Somehow some got the idea I wanted to keep a coral beauty with this flame angel - Im not that bold!!

 

[180large]

on the whole i believe that mosy most pygmy's are reef "safe". But that being said we know there are no guarantees. Just keep an eye on them and until they cause a problem, enjoy their beauty.

 

[antdog]

I was hoping to get a flame or coral beauty for my 29 gal. Is my tank too small?? I really like the flame. Hope he would do ok? What do you think. I was gonna add hime last. I'm only thinking about 4 fish in, too much???