Large Flame Angel

[Sonicblast12]

Do larger dwarfs have a more difficult time acclimating to captivity? I just bought a large very flame and it appears to be having a hard time. Granted it's only been a couple of hours, but every small dwarf I've had is picking rock within a few minutes. I've struggled with the larger fish.

Is there something to this?

 

[sandwi54]

Large of anything tends to take longer to acclimate to captive life, with some species more so than others. however, flame angels don't typically have a reputation of adjustment issues. Individual fish differ in its ability of course, but i would just give it some more time and it should do well.

by the way, i never expect any fish i buy to adjust within a few hours. in the first 12-24 hours of being placed in a new environment, a fish typically uses most of its energy to cope with the stress, both physical and mental, incurred from being moved. that's why it's usually recommended not to feed a new fish for 24 hours.

If it's eating in the store, I'd expect him to start eating 2-3 days after you bring it home. some stronger and younger fish may eat immediately but that should not be expected on every fish (also you shouldn't feed them right after you bring them home either).

 

[Sonicblast12]

I learned that less is more when acclimating new fish after making a few mistakes when I was more inexperienced.

He's definitely coming around now, but it looked like certain death a few hours ago. Laying on his side, disoriented, floating aimlessly. The older the fish, the worse that seems to be.

 

[sandwi54]

glad it perked up! time is the answer to everything isn't it?

 

[Sonicblast12]

Now he's cutting around the tank like he's the boss.

Gah, he's a moose. Might be wondering why I'd pick a big one if I've had trouble with them in the past.

This is why.

After the big one decided the world wasn't ending, they've gotten along extremely well. Very cool to watch them interact with each other, the little one follows him everywhere.

Here's a better look at the size difference.

 

[lilalove]

Very cool and very pretty. Are you hoping they pair up? Good luck!

 

[Sonicblast12]

That's what I'm hoping for.

Big guy munched on some mysis tonight, so that's good.

He's in the "I can't believe I'm in a glass box" stage right now, zipping back and forth across the front glass. The little flame is following diligently. The big one did finally turn and nip a couple of times but nothing serious.

I have my eggcrate ready but I don't think I'll need it.

 

[Patriot54]

...by the way, i never expect any fish i buy to adjust within a few hours. in the first 12-24 hours of being placed in a new environment, a fish typically uses most of its energy to cope with the stress, both physical and mental, incurred from being moved. that's why it's usually recommended not to feed a new fish for 24 hours.

Not to hijack, but can you explain this a bit more? Why aren't you supposed to feed new fish? TIA

 

[Sonicblast12]

More chasing today, but the little one seems unconcerned. After the chase is over the little one is right back on the big one's hip wondering where they are going to go next.

 

[mcmyeye]

very nice flames. my next fish will be a flame angel. hope they do well for you. my 2 fish are finally getting along. hope to add the flame in a month or so.

 

[sandwi54]

Not to hijack, but can you explain this a bit more? Why aren't you supposed to feed new fish? TIA

I read about this in a literature article a while ago, but I can't find it anymore. From what I remember, it says something about a fish using much of its energy to overcome the stress of being in the bag and coping with change in the water chemistry after being placed in new water. They may seem fine and swim around, but internally their bodies are using every bit of the energy to osmoregulate to the new water parameters, and this process could take from a few hours to as long as 24 hours. That's why it's not recommended to feed a new fish right away even if it eats, as its energy should be reserved for overcoming stress rather than digestion and processing nutrients.

If i find that article again I will post it.

 

[albano]

NOT an expert, but, they do look like a sm. female, and lg. male

 

[sandwi54]

NOT an expert, but, they do look like a sm. female, and lg. male

how do you tell between male and female? i would love to learn!

 

[Matthew91]

I have read and heard that larger flames will start to pick at coral more often than the small ones.

 

[albano]

how do you tell between male and female?

Fish?

JK...I've been told that the rear edge of the dorsal and anal fins on the male flame angel, are more pointed/triangular, while the female are rounded.

 

[sandwi54]

Fish?

JK...I've been told that the rear edge of the dorsal and anal fins on the male flame angel, are more pointed/triangular, while the female are rounded.

thank you. i just did some googling and that seems to be the consensus as well. maybe i should try pairing mine up!

 

[albano]

thank you. i just did some googling and that seems to be the consensus as well. maybe i should try pairing mine up!

IMO...better to try with 2 females and a male

 

[Sonicblast12]

This was actually a bit of an accident. I bought the smaller flame last week, didn't really want a really small one but I had been looking for awhile and it looked healthy and alert.

Then I got an email alert from my LFS saying they had a large flame coming. I cursed and threw up my hands...but decided to do some research to see if I could keep both. If so, great. If not I could keep them in separate tanks. No big deal.

I think if the fish were added to the tank in reverse...it would not have worked. The larger flame would have torn up the smaller one. But this appears to be working.

 

[gcsoupman]

Good luck with them pairing up. Make sure you keep a thread going on the progress.

 

[Sonicblast12]

It still seems to be going ok. It's a little strange, they will swim past each other all day and then all of the sudden the larger flame will snap and chase. The chases are less frequent now but more intense than they were. But the small flame has no fin damage and seems unaffected by the aggression. No hiding or fear of the larger fish, still eating well, just swims away while it's being chased. In fact it almost looks like it wants to be chased at times.

Bad news is that the larger flame appears to have injured himself. Right eye is a little cloudy, probably bonked it on a rock chasing the other fish. Hopefully this goes away on its own, but I'm going to be watching closely. Good news is that it's eating NLS pellets now after ignoring them for the first few days. A squeeze of Selcon onto those pellets can only help the cloudy eye situation.