freakin angel!!!!

[rayn]

I need help getting a swallow tail angel out of my reef. I thought and read they were reef safe, but mine has gotten a taste for bubble coral. I had a nice full bright green bubble, and now have a dead skeleton with two bubbles in two days. I caught him tearing into the feeding tentacles, so I know it is him.

I can't just get him with a net as he hides, what is the easiest way to get this guy?

 

[palmer373]

hook, line, sinker. hope you get him out!

 

[SDguy]

A trap has always worked for me.

Just for the record, what species of angel is it?

 

[rayn]

Swallowtail is what I know it as. Supposedly the one and only reef safe one. So far he had been great. But in two nights the 30 dollar fish destroyed a 50 dollar coral. He isn't getting the rest.

 

[tcmfish]

Are you feeding it enough? And was the coral new or stressed or on its way out?

 

[tcmfish]

Are you feeding it enough? And was the coral new or stressed or on its way out?

 

[SDguy]

Were you feeding the coral? Mine know to peck at LPS if they've been fed to get at the food.

 

[rayn]

He is out. Pain in the butt though. I fed it usually twice daily and it always ate. Coral wasn't stressed that I knew of. Always out full, and feeder tentacles out nightly, I witnessed him pulling on the tentacles too. Now today I see the coral deteriorated completely and he is eating the remains.
Coral before

tonight

and just so everyone know the angel

 

[SDguy]

That's a Genicanthus melanospilos.

If the fish was eating, bothering the healthy coral, wouldn't it just retract? Not sure the fish would cause death in two days.

 

[rayn]

Were you feeding the coral? Mine know to peck at LPS if they've been fed to get at the food.

I think I target fed once. Then I noticed the tentacles come out and just started cleaning the detruis off the rocks and it ate that way. Heck it even grew while I had it. Now I just have maybe two or three bubbles left. Is there any way it would grow back on the remaining skeleton or is it a gonner?

 

[SDguy]

Not sure...that looks pretty far gone

 

[tcmfish]

It could rebound, but I bet the coral wasn't at full health if the angel demolished it like that. It sounds like neither was a new introduction is that right? So if you had the angel and the coral for a little bit before this happened chances are something changed that made it go after the coral. It hasn't nipped any other corals right? I wouldn't be so quick to right it off as not reef-safe, their are plenty of success stories with Genicanthus in reefs and they aren't substrate feeders so for it to go after a coral most likely means it was on its way out already or it wasn't getting enough food so it had to look for other sources.

 

[rayn]

That's a Genicanthus melanospilos.

If the fish was eating, bothering the healthy coral, wouldn't it just retract? Not sure the fish would cause death in two days.

That is what it had been doing. Retracting. But it can only go so far in and if the fish won't quit.......
Maybe there were other problems, I'm not sure. My clowns always hovered near it, but that was from day one almost and the coral showed no signs of stress from them, always out and full. My parameters are decent, not perfect.
Alk 9.5-10
cal 420+-
mag is the fluctuating one 1260 to 1500+-, but I was dosing to bring it up which is a different story about salt.
po4 is slightly high at .16, but I found my gfo not working and did a large water change and fixed it
trates are always no matter what I do 40. Iknow that sound high, but my leathers grow, nps has receded and then regrown, torch has grown. So I don't really blame it or any of the other parameters though not perfect.

 

[rayn]

Tcm, no neither was new. Fish was oldest, but bubble was somewhere around two months. No I haven't witnessed any other corals getting chewed on and I know that there are many successful reefs out there with this fish, that is why I got it. Beautiful fish that is healthy and hardy. It made it through a nasty ich outbreak. I wont say 100% sure it isn't reef safe, but it isn't my reef safe.

 

[suta4242]

I realise it seems as though your angel is a nipper but there are other plausible explanations.

For instance, if you accidentally dropped some food onto the coral, the angel might pick at the coral as its going after food. When hungry he could then continue nipping, still searching for the imaginary food. The coral will then stay retracted.

I only mention this as something to avoid, as this has been my experience and the fish is not really at fault.

good luck!:wave:

 

[rayn]

Good point suta, but 90% of my food is shot in with a turkey baster and not over the bubble. I do my best to destract them from the nps so I can target feed them. After that the rest is floated in for them to eat. He was always up front and center at feedings.

 

[Coraldomination]

Maybe you just got a rare coral munching genicanthus. I had a six line wrasse once that tried murdering all my fish, so unusual behavior is possible. Both the fish and coral look/looked healthy. Probably a fluke and I wouldnt be put off from buying other healthy genicanthus angels in the future.

 

[tcmfish]

Maybe you just got a rare coral munching genicanthus. I had a six line wrasse once that tried murdering all my fish, so unusual behavior is possible. Both the fish and coral look/looked healthy. Probably a fluke and I wouldnt be put off from buying other healthy genicanthus angels in the future.

It isn't a coral munching Genicanthus, it went after one coral and not immediately after a couple of months and no other corals. Also sixline wrasses are aggressive so that is not unusual behavior. But yes I wouldn't be put off either.

Good point suta, but 90% of my food is shot in with a turkey baster and not over the bubble. I do my best to destract them from the nps so I can target feed them. After that the rest is floated in for them to eat. He was always up front and center at feedings.

Also you say "nps" but the bubble coral isn't non-photosynthetic. Just throwing it out there, I'm sure you know that but just making sure.

 

[smoyer]

usually angels only go after stressed corals.

 

[rayn]

Bubble isn't nps, but I have a large sun coral that is. I try and get the fish away from it so I know it gets food.

Only stressor I can think of is the clowns. They were actually in between the bubbles and would swim in and out of it like a nem.