Flame angel is a polyp nipper

[buy_baff]

I just got a flame angel. I have always wanted one but hesatated due to hearing that they may nip at polyps. And of corse the one I got is a nipper. My polyp extention was insane day and night before I put the flame angel in but now it is crap, only on his target colonys the others are the same. Should I try and catch him or just see how it plays out. He is not nipping to the point of damaging the coral just makeing it keep it's polyps in.
Thanks
-Bill

 

[Andrew Henry]

Hey,

I don't post very often but I wanted to say that I had a flame angel like that and I decided to wait it out and he stopped, apparently he was just taste testing, I'd give him a little bit and monitor to see if it gets worse because it may and you might have to remove him.

Good luck!

Andrew

 

[NewSchool04]

I disagree. Once he has a taste, he won't stop.

 

[Surf&turf]

Mine stopped after a while. I don't think it hurts anything, the pollicipora that it was picking on is still doing fine after 3 months.

 

[buy_baff]

I think I'll wait it out and see. He dose seem to be slowing down on it as he was doing it to like 3 colonys now he is only picking on one. So we'll see what happens over the next week. Thanks for the responce.
-Bill

 

[mcliffy2]

The question is, would you rather have the angel or PE? I traded my PE in for angels long ago (Emperor and Regal) My corals are healthy and growing, despite the occasional nipping from the angels. Observe your corals and if they start to recede, then remove them...it might only be one or two colonies that are really effected, if any.

 

[mpoletti]

The question is, would you rather have the angel or PE? I traded my PE in for angels long ago (Emperor and Regal) My corals are healthy and growing, despite the occasional nipping from the angels. Observe your corals and if they start to recede, then remove them...it might only be one or two colonies that are really effected, if any.

:thumbsup:

PE is way overrated when you can house fish that you really want to keep in your tank.

 

[slojmn]

:thumbsup:

PE is way overrated when you can house fish that you really want to keep in your tank.

Agreed

 

[rholguin]

+1 on the above I traded my pe for a pair of flamebacks and a potter. Good luck.

 

[buy_baff]

Yeah I'm thinking the same thing as long as it dosn't affect the growth.
-Bill

 

[NYCBOB]

i hv a flame angel that nips too, but as long as it doesnt do any major damage, i am fine with it. the flame angel has been in my tank now for 18 months with sps and 5 clams.

 

[mpoletti]

Yeah I'm thinking the same thing as long as it dosn't affect the growth.
-Bill

I think my corals grow faster :lol:

 

[CleveYank]

In a larger well balanced system the SPS probably benefit from a little rowdy nibblin now and again.

I'd let it ride a tad and see.

 

[cagri]

interesting argument but since I put in my majestic angel 4 weeks ago, I lost polyp extentions on some SPS most noticebly millepora/prostata, but my green milli started showing ton of growth event with little polyp extension, so there may actually be some benefit to having these nippers as far as growth is concerned.

 

[ReefTECK]

Ohhhh no bill! nice to see ya here in the SPS forum. It's where we belong!

 

[buy_baff]

Ohhhh no bill! nice to see ya here in the SPS forum. It's where we belong!

Yes it is!

 

[buy_baff]

Well He has gotten worse. He was just nipping one or two acro colonys but now he goes around hitting every colony and today started in on the encrusting monti colonys. And that is the last straw for me. So I need to construct a trap of some sort, Anyone got a good way to build a effective trap?
-Bill

 

[buy_baff]

Caught the flame this morning and moved it to another tank. Polyps are extending back to normal already.
-Bill

 

[waxy]

If you want to keep angels of any type, whether or not they nip on corals.

Buy the smallest size you could possibly find and raise it from the infant size.

Many reasons why in some cases, angels cost more when they're smaller not bigger.

At the minuture size, you can QT and train them to eat your prepared foods. Frozen clams, mysis, brine, plankton, algea on a clip and pellets especially.

I've done that with my Goldflake, A smaller Regal I recently got, and a blue girdle.
All of them adapted well and are perfectly fine in my reef tank.

Only problem I cannot fix, is zoos. They love eating zoos. So if you have zoos, you're SOL no matter which way you decide to go.

I'm not much of a Zoo person, so I don't have any problems.

Goodluck!

 

[buy_baff]

Oh he is eating fine, anything you throw in the tank. The problem was he also went from colony to colony nipping at the polyps and causeing them to retract. Problem solved now he is in a fuge tank atached to my frag system. The only coral in there are a few softies and he hasen't touched them yet.
-Bill