Holacanthus Passer!!!

[DamnPepShrimp]

FINALLY! I got the king of all angel fish! A passer! Osmotic Shock, you gotta love this! He was at a LFS and my brother was going to buy him a month ago when he was on sale (169.99 down to 127.49) but his credit card failed for some reason and we didn't have time to figure out the problem. Well since I am going back to FOWLR with this new 360g, I figured I'd give him a good home eventually. Well today was the last day for the sales of the week and sure enough the passer was on it! He is about 6" or so and FAT! He was eating in his acclimation 10g tank! I'm holding him in a 75g all by himself until I set my 110g up next month. Then it is just a matter of time before he goes into the 360g! He's a beast, I love this fish! I am just worried about his aggression, I wanted to get him last, but couldn't pass up a sale on him. Here's a few pics when he was at the LFS!

 

[jmccown]

My brother in law has one and he's not very aggressive. His is about 8"

 

[FMarini]

I love these fish....
I've seen adult Passer angels in the sea of cortez, absolutely gorgeous.
In captvity they are definately the alpha fish in your tank, and will "ensure" they are the top dog-thru sheer agression.
I hope its tankmates accept this, else it will be WWIII, the good news is your tank seems big enough. I had to return mine as it tried to dominate many of my lions

 

[reefer334]

I have one simular size and he is getting more feisty with age.He was the last angel of 3 added to my 300 he was alot small than my queen and mac when I got him.Now he is almost the size of my queen and now starting to chase the queen a little bit.They are awesome fish enjoy,I would just make sure it is much smaller than your other angels.,but going in laast will help change the aquascaping to when you add him that will help to.Just my oppinions, Chris

 

[JazzZero]

LUCKY DUCK, i can never find that in toronto LFS for the past year AND I WANT ONE SO BAD

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

I have no idea how aggressive he is, but everytime I see him, be always has a huge tank all to himself. So he might be a bully. Its going to be hard finding a larger emperor and queen that eat prepared foods. I wanted to get him last and smallest, but it didn't happen that way. Think a smaller emperor and queen would be ok in the 360g? I'm worried about emperors mainly cause they have to be the boss of the tank. When I put him in the 110g, I want to add a juvi mimic and dussimieri tangs. By the time I set up the 360, they'll be in their adult colors, if they don't get killed by the passer that is!

 

[yoboyjdizz]

Can you add all your other fish and leave it in the 110 by itself? Im sure being the only fish in a 110 gallon it should be ok for a while. Then i would add the angels all at the same time.

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

Yeah I was considering that, I'm ways off from setting up the 360 tho. I wanted to use the 110 as a grow out tank, but this passer doesn't need any more growing! I'll just have to wait and see when I get to that point in time. Thanks for the replies everyone, keep them coming.

 

[billsreef]

Great looking angel, and fairly bullet proof. Only problem they have is that famed agression that often causes them to be in tanks by themselves. They are good with things like triggers, groupers and eels.

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

Yeah, I know all about their aggression. I would house him with triggers and groupers but I want a clean up crew and inverts, otherwise I'd get a clown trigger, miniatus grouper and a puffer. I'd like to get another queen and emperor pair angels, have three large angels and three pgymy. Definitely getting a few tangs, probably a sohal so he can hold his own against the passer. It's going to be some time before I set up the 360, so I have plenty of time to weigh my options out.

 

[billsreef]

I wouldn't try putting any other angels with a Passer.

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

Yeah, definitely not a good idea. Passers can and will be extremely aggressive towards any other angel and might even bully some triggers and the Sohal.

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

Yeah, I was hoping to get a smaller one, but this was a deal so I couldn't pass up. Well see, there are some mild mannered passers, sohals etc out there. Who knows, he still seems very timid. I definitely need to get some scrappy damsels again to eat the scraps he leaves behind. If there is a problem with any fish I add, I will definitely resolve it, whether by removing the fish or whatever I have to do. I would just like to find a bigger emperor to go into my 360g first, then add the passer. You never know until you try, every fish is different.

 

[MB79]

I have a passer...he is around the 5.5inch mark and housed with a 6.5 emperor and 7.5 inch annularis...

Everything good so far...been together for around 2 years...

housed in a 300 gallon tank.

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

Sounds promising, but I know every fish is different. What other fish are in your 300g? I just need to find bigger angels then him that eat prepared foods. Well see, I'm ways away from adding any other fish other then damsels and it'll be a little while til the 360g is setup.

 

[clekchau]

beautiful

 

[Osmotic Shock]

Congrats Shrimp!! Welcome to the club!

Great looking fish. You are going to love him. Mine is like a dog, will follow me as I walk along the tank begging for food.

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

Ha, thanks Os, I was waiting for your reply. Yeah he still is a little timid but getting more used to me with each day. I'm still trying to figure out what he likes to eat, seems to be mysis, but I'd like him to eat bigger things like clam chunks. I'm just worried to add any other fish with him.

 

[Osmotic Shock]

Mine loves the New Life Spectrum large pellets but will eat almost anything. The only thing he will not eat is the frozen "angel formula". Go figure. He will eat small pieces of clam, shrimp and squid but would rather have pellets.

He will probably be OK with tankmates in your big tank. Just keep him in the 110 and add him last. Mine is in that 5-6 in range and is just starting to harass the Naso. I added another 100 lbs of live rock Saturday(175 total) which gave the tank a whole new look and feel. He hasn't even looked at the Naso since then. I have a very aggressive yellow tang(4-5 in) which will challenge him sometimes, but he just stands his ground.

I can't remeber if you like eels but I have a snowflake in there also. When I set up this tank I made a PVC maze under the sand bed for him to hide. Big mistake. He just hid all the time and I rarely saw him. So I pulled it all out when I reaquascaped the tank. Now he can just hide in the rocks.

Still planning the big tank. I am pretty sure I will do it in the basement. Since it will have to be built on site I will do a plywood tank with a front glass pannel, 10 ft by 30 by 24. That should be enough to house him long term!

Keep me posted!

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

Yeah, I have to go get some pellets, the ones I have now are too small. He's eaten clam, a piece of silverside once, no krill, ran out of squid, loves mysis and emerald entree, not to mention algae sheets, he tears apart! I am definitely going to have to allow every other fish to establish a territory first, then add him, like you said. Only problem is, he will most likely be bigger then any other angel in the tank, so I am worried once he is added, it will all become "his" tank in a matter of days. It will be hard to find large angels that except prepared foods, not to mention pricey, plus I like seeing the color changes.

I had a snowflake once before, loved the little eel. It might be a bit hard to feed in an aggressive tank, especially one that is 3ft deep. I am considering another eel, but wouldn't decide til the 360 is set up. My SFE always hid until food hit the water, he could tell when I fed my old angels in the 125 and he was in the sump before anything even got to him!

Wow, that is going to be a nice tank! 375g but nice dimensions! The only problem I see, is plywood sheets come in 8ft lengths, so it might be a lot easier to go with an 8ft length. That is what I plan on doing for a plywood tank, maybe something between the sizes of 96x36x30 (450g) all the way up to a 96x48x36 (720g). When are you planning on starting this tank?

I won't have my 360g set up for a while, until I by a house, but I should have my 110g set up this month, just need to build a stand and plumb it. I'm definitely adding some scrappy damsels, and would like to get a chocolate mimic tang and a dussumieri tang, so when I am ready for the 360g, they will be just about color changed. I was planning on having a juvi emperor and queen as well in there, but with the passer, I am worried about adding even just a juvi emperor, also fear for the tangs as well. Might have to go back to my original aggressive stock list,
Passer Angel, Sohal Tang, Clown Trigger, Lunare Wrasse, Miniatus Grouper, and some sort of puffer. I'd just rather see some large tangs and angels with a mix of other fish in the tank instead, but well see.