Is flame angel reef safe?

[Reefer08]

Is a flame angel reef safe? I mainly have sps in my tank along with some zoas/palys.

My tank is a 67g tank 36x24x18
4 chromis
sixline wrasse
royal gamma
small blue tang
2 percula clowns

Should I add the flame angel? Its a very nice looking fish but I don't wanna risk it picking at my sps.

Thanks

 

[PRDubois]

Mine is, had him for 8 months and has been fine.
Some people have had issues with them, but you have a good chance of getting a good one.

 

[jenglish]

I hear it is 50/50 for them picking at corals. others say it is just a matter of time. I have not tried one myself.

 

[nikon187]

all depends on the fish. Some are fine for a year or 2 and then one night starts to like corals

 

[bj32482]

I think it has something to do with their size or age...my cherub angel was completely safe for two years and then started terrorizing my softies...

 

[bimmer01]

I've had mine for 2 months and so far so good. It picks at the live rocks but I havent seen it eating corals yet.

 

[tmc1313]

I've never had luck with them in my reef. They're actually very sneaky. For me, it's always been my LPS and not the SPS. Then again I've never kept them in the tank long enough to find out. I would notice the corals not opening up like normal, especially my soccer ball sized trumpet coral. So I sat back and watched the tank for a while and sure enough it was the flame angel. He was never totally obvious about. He would swim by take a bite, go along his way and then just casually swim by again when he was in the area and do it again. After close examination of the coral you could see that everytime he did it there was a small piece of flesh removed. Fish was given to a friend and coral has since recovered.

 

[goldmaniac]

sounds like it's a "no".

i'm looking at one, myself, so I am hoping they are, but it doesn't look like it.

 

[snorvich]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15220572#post15220572 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nikon187
all depends on the fish. Some are fine for a year or 2 and then one night starts to like corals

Yeah, it happens. I don't really know what kicks it off, but it is almost a brain change.

 

[aquaman67]

I just got one for father's day. I have a big frogspawn and branching hammer. So far so good. If I see him pick I'll get rid of the corals before the fish.

I also have a cherub in the same tank for a few years and he's never picked at anything. Hopefully these two won't fight.

 

[PhilTeau]

Get a good skimmer and media reactor (run GFO & GAC)...feed your tank well...and feed a variety of foods...works for me. My flame and sixline wrasse are the coolest fish I have.

 

[Gdevine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15221767#post15221767 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PhilTeau
Get a good skimmer and media reactor (run GFO & GAC)...feed your tank well...and feed a variety of foods...works for me. My flame and sixline wrasse are the coolest fish I have.

Yes, this is excellent advise. I've had one for more than 2 years and no problem whatsoever; but I do feed my tank well and the Flame is well fed so I do think this is a remedy not just for Flame's but all tank tank creatures that are not fed well. See this a lot with Pep shrimps that are not fed enough...they will go for coral if not.

 

[produceb]

I would advise no. I had a french angel . I had it for over a year without a single peck and then one day it figured out how good the coral was. It almost destroyed most of my coral. I am always tempted to catch a queen when I am out collecting, but I know better now. Luckily the french was very trusting and I could catch it easily.

 

[huskysglare1]

l've had mine for about 6 months, he's doing fine no corals picking that i can see.

 

[rudipez]

I would say no as well. Angels have a tendency to pick at corals. Though some corals have a bitter taste that angels dislike. I would play it safe and not add him to your tank.

 

[sweetrav18]

never had a problem with mine, and will be adding one to my new tank once the other fish are in

 

[broke1]

Is a flame angel reef safe? I mainly have sps in my tank along with some zoas/palys.

If you're looking for a yes or no answer, my answer would be no. They can be reef safe or they can't be. Each one is different. I have had one in an SPS tank with Clams for two years now and doesn't even notice I have corals in it, so he would fall into the "yes" category for now then one day he might notice all the corals then he would fall into the "no" category. I have no LPS or Zoas in there so those "might" appeal to his taste buds.

 

[thedoctor06]

I'll also jump on the "NO" bandwagon. If there's a risk at all with any fish, it's not going in my tank.

 

[huskysglare1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15223224#post15223224 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rudipez
I would say no as well. Angels have a tendency to pick at corals. Though some corals have a bitter taste that angels dislike. I would play it safe and not add him to your tank.

HIHI that's really funny. Bitter taste? hehe that just sounds really funny to me. maybe i am just drunk. Sorry! hahaha

 

[steelhead97]

Have had angel for 7 months, have not seen him pick at corals, would say if you are feeding him 2 times a day and keep him full then it reduces the likelihood.