flame angels in reefs - does it ever work?

[super stooge]

hello everyone.

ive heard repeatedly that flame angels (and dwarf angels in general) are hit and miss on whether they will pick at corals. from all the stories i hear though, it seems to be far more miss than hit. I ask because the flame angel has always been one of my favorite fish and would love to house one in my upcoming tank but i dont want to sacrifice the health of my reef to do so :sad1: so i post this thread as a kind of risk assessment.

So, Just how rare is it to get a flame angel that wont bother your corals? does it ever work out long term? or should some collateral damage always be expected when adding a flame angel to a reef?

Thank you for your help

 

[Emerald525]

Love love love your puppy in the avatar.:thumbsup:

Flame angels are beautiful fish. I had one. It never bothered my sps but constantly pecked at the brain coral and on occassion the acan.

One of the guys in my local forum has a 12 foot long sps tank full of angel fish. They do pick at his sps but he still has great color and they look great. His theory is that since it is such a long tank they roam around like in nature and don't pick at one colony all the time.

 

[snorvich]

Flame angels and LPS do not mix well. I have seen it work for two years with SPS then he woke up the next day and was a terror.

 

[Big E]

From my experieces it depends on the corals you keep. LPS like acans types, open brains
are more likely to get picked on. Euphyllias, cup coral, fox coral, elegance, slipper, bubble corals are less likely to get nipped.

Softies are usually ok except maybe zoos.

SPS......I know they pick, but I'm not sure I've ever heard or seen them ever eating polyps. I'm sure they could irritate a small frag enough to kill it. I doubt they can hurt an established colony.

 

[EllieSuz]

I've had a Flame for about four years and have yet to see her pick at anything. I feed small amounts frequently, however, and that may help.

 

[b0bab0ey]

IME Flames are more hit than miss, compared to other dwarf angels. Ironically, my best experience has been with Flamebacks.

 

[zigzag1]

If I could catch mine, he would be gone already. Was a good citizen for the first couple of years. Eventually, I sorted out that some daytime PE issues on SPS are very likely the result of this guy's sneaky picking. Seems innocent enough at first observation, but I've caught him in the act of SPS terror more than a few times. I would suggest against a Flame if you plan to keep SPS and enjoy their normal furry Polyp Extension. JMO & GL!

 

[b2d2t]

I've had three flame angels and none of them have ever picked, mind you i don't house LPS,

 

[Jasanden]

Tried 2 times and they are no longer with me. Left lps alone and terrorized my SPS.

 

[Editour2]

IMO it's hit or miss....that being said I have a Regal Tang in my tank that was fine for about 3 years then all of a sudden alot of my zoos started to disappear...I thought it was the Flame Angel unitl I caught the Regal in action....he decimated all of my zoos...I had to move them to another tank...not the tang but the zoos. I still have him....4 yrs now. Moral of the story...sometimes even fish known as "reef safe" are not "reef safe".