How to pair Venustus?

[jonnybravo22]

Hey everyone,

I will be getting a venustus angel in this week and am ultimately hoping to have a pair. I understand how pairing works with clownfish, dies anyone have any insight on angels?

Looks like I won't be able to introduce them together and I don't really know how to tell the gender of the one I'll be getting, only that it is small relative to the others that have come in.

Should I just get a large one soon and see what happens?



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[skibum9884]

First step will be getting them both in QT, both eating well while divided.

Maybe someone with some experience can comment from here.

 

[The Reef Expert]

Ccampbell would know! PM him!

 

[roktsintst]

Maybe I can be of some help...

I have now tried 3 separate times to keep this fish. Let me start with "it aint easy!"

I havn't been able to keep them more than a day. I have 3 established QT tanks, and have QT'd fish before. I still want to keep a pair, but before you get too into keeping a pair, I would concentrate on keeping one alive for a few months before I would look into getting a pair.

I definitly recommend you using a very established QT. Keep the temp around 75. use no pvc and make a cave with one opening out of live rock so the Venustus can hide in it until it feels comfortable coming out.

Keep the QT Tank covered inthe dark with a blanket for the first day at least and dont try to do anything wiht it for a day or two as well.

I also think this fish is VERY delicate when it comes to SG. I have drip acclimated for 2 hours + and i still dont think this was sufficent. At first, i would try topping off the water every few hours to keep the SG from adjusting to much!

This fish will take some work but it is definitly possible! I will definitly try more in the future but after losing 3, im taking a break for a while!

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[jonnybravo22]

thanks for the input -- i'm not sure if, based on your track record, i should attempt what you've suggested or instead try the complete opposite!

only kidding. i'm giving it a try, i'll give an update.

 

[ccampbell57]

You need to get one healthy first.

Once the first one is eating and has gone through 4-6 weeks of acclimation and medication, you need to find a second that you can get in, get healthy, and get to eat and medicate. The second needs to be a different size. If you have a 2", a 3.5" would be great.

Once the second one has gone through the regiment you need to put them in the same tank divided by egg crate or acrylic. After 2-4 days of judging their reactions you remove the divider. Once the divider is remove be prepared for war. They will fight (which is natural) to find the dominant one. If they are healthy and eating and free of issues they will continue forward and will be no worse for ware. If they just thrown together you are pilutting at least one if not both to imminant death.

Make sure the fish are different sizes.
Make sure you QT
Make sure they are aggressively eating
Make sure there is adequate hiding spaces
Make sure your caves are made out of LR or other rock, they hand out upside down in the cave
Offer many types of food
Keep the tank around 70-75

Last thing...pray!!!

 

[jnc914]

You need to get one healthy first.

Once the first one is eating and has gone through 4-6 weeks of acclimation and medication, you need to find a second that you can get in, get healthy, and get to eat and medicate. The second needs to be a different size. If you have a 2", a 3.5" would be great.

Once the second one has gone through the regiment you need to put them in the same tank divided by egg crate or acrylic. After 2-4 days of judging their reactions you remove the divider. Once the divider is remove be prepared for war. They will fight (which is natural) to find the dominant one. If they are healthy and eating and free of issues they will continue forward and will be no worse for ware. If they just thrown together you are pilutting at least one if not both to imminant death.

Make sure the fish are different sizes.
Make sure you QT
Make sure they are aggressively eating
Make sure there is adequate hiding spaces
Make sure your caves are made out of LR or other rock, they hand out upside down in the cave
Offer many types of food
Keep the tank around 70-75

Last thing...pray!!!

Chris- Out of curiosity how many Venustus have you tried and do you have a pair currrently? I know Copps has kept Venustus and my other favorite Colini angels. I have on many occasions been offered Venustus cheap and direct from a collector/overseas wholesaler through one of my friends that runs a LFS; however I have never pulled the trigger due to their reputation as difficult to acclimate. I am wondering if I would have better success getting direct instead having them go through the usual chain of wholesalers, online/LFS stores, etc.

 

[ccampbell57]

Chris- Out of curiosity how many Venustus have you tried and do you have a pair currrently? I know Copps has kept Venustus and my other favorite Colini angels. I have on many occasions been offered Venustus cheap and direct from a collector/overseas wholesaler through one of my friends that runs a LFS; however I have never pulled the trigger due to their reputation as difficult to acclimate. I am wondering if I would have better success getting direct instead having them go through the usual chain of wholesalers, online/LFS stores, etc.

Hey Jason - I have only had one. I got it from SDC and it was bigger than I wanted, but the price was cheap. I brought it into a 10g QT and left it be for a while knowing that these guys have horrible track records.

It took my guy about 2 weeks to start eating anything I offered it, but from the very get go it was healthy and fat.

I did not want to pair this one because of the fact that they are so difficult. I have paired many angels including potters, pygmys, bandits, and bluelines. All of which are very different in getting to accept each other.

Buying direct (while always cheaper) is not always better. Divers dont care about the fish and if you are only buying 1 or 2 fish there is little to no incentive for them to ensure you are happy.

I would definitely say buy one of these guys from LA or QM or SDC as they deal with high quality fish and you know what you are getting.

Even so, they are still very difficult to keep and would try to keep one healthy before getting 2 or more...

 

[LargeAngels]

Yes, the trick is healthy and getting them to eat. After that it is like pairing any other dwarf.

 

[flameangel88]

I've always been a big fan of fishes in pairs or trios but this fish is one I'll be very happy with just one. Same is true with Colin's, Multibarred and Golden angels.

I got one in last Sep and another in Oct. Both never seem to get along and the weaker one died soon after the second addition. It took the newer one about 3 weeks to eat frozen mysis and now he will eat pellets and nori. I've been tempted to add a female but been holding back because I don't want to take any chances of losing this one. He's been able to hold his own with 3 Flame angels, Lemonpeel and the Coral Beauty is a bit rough with him. All the other larger angels leaves him alone. I tried 3 back in 2008 and all had decompression issue.