Meredithi (Personifer) Angels

I have seen approx. 8 large Meredithi 6"+ in the last year and the majority of them acted submissive to the other fish in the tank when first introduced. During feeding when all of the fish rush to the food they usually swim in the opposite direction and hide under aquascaping. I saw a big 7"-8" specimen back in August 06 at an LFS and it was very outgoing but that was one out of 8. Most of these fish had been in holding tanks for no more than a week and it could be just a settling process for them.
 
It starts with collection - poor collection is always death to any fish...

My experiences may be unusual but they are indeed my actual experiences with them over the past year. All have eaten well and adapted readily. And i know many of the ones i shipped out are still around. A LFS i shipped a pair 2 kept them in a 300 gallon and still has them (its been a year) So maybe they are getting roughed up along the way to the retail stores? I usually put them in 100-200 gallon vats with usually tangs or butterflies or idols. all which are peaceful to bigger fish. I dont put them with triggers or roudy fish.

I still believe the face coloration has a lot to do with being male or not. There is a reason why some do and some dont even at very large sizes. Small ones never have the blue face and sometimes very large ones dont either... Doesn't make sense that they could be male or female with the blue face if there are only a selected few that obtain these colors. but thats my opinion :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9493899#post9493899 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zemuron114
It starts with collection - poor collection is always death to any fish...

My experiences may be unusual but they are indeed my actual experiences with them over the past year. All have eaten well and adapted readily. And i know many of the ones i shipped out are still around. A LFS i shipped a pair 2 kept them in a 300 gallon and still has them (its been a year) So maybe they are getting roughed up along the way to the retail stores? I usually put them in 100-200 gallon vats with usually tangs or butterflies or idols. all which are peaceful to bigger fish. I dont put them with triggers or roudy fish.

I still believe the face coloration has a lot to do with being male or not. There is a reason why some do and some dont even at very large sizes. Small ones never have the blue face and sometimes very large ones dont either... Doesn't make sense that they could be male or female with the blue face if there are only a selected few that obtain these colors. but thats my opinion :)
Click to expand...

Zemuron,

That's great news. I generally believe how fish are handled from collection to the hobbyists is the number one factor on how it adapts to a home aquarium. Do your fish ever make it to any LFS in Fl.?
I am still in the school of thought that they is no sexual dimorphism in these fish besides the different body shape. Can you name any other angels, besides Genicanthus that are sexually dimorphic to this extent?
 
scribbled angel males are alot different looking then females. Much more blue and way more "scribbles".

But no, you are right not many angels are easily distiguishable between male and female. However, sme pygmy angels are easy to tell apart.

Some go to Big Als near fort lauderdale :)

The males that came in (or so labeled) had the blue face and elongated bodies. So i assume both are male only features... I could be wrong though :)
 
I have exerience with quite a few of those in reef tanks incld acclimating a few hundreds specimens coming from Oz.

Basicly they are very hardy, ALL should eat in case given the chance to, I mean do not put them with agressive angels , triggers etc, you can put the angels in a later stage, I always prefer the Personifer to be the largest angel or otherwise to put it with non agressive tank mates.

The only cases I saw specimens not eating are mature and extra large specimens.
Those are popular in hk and come often, sometimes they wont addopt well.
I saw just now a male around 10" , eating pellet food and nori 24hrs after arrival.
I guess as Zemuron said, it's just a matter of collecting and handling.

About the colors, I never saw XL female that holds the very bright colors on the face, they will have a blue-purple face with some kinds of dots, but not the clear marked beautiful dots on the bright blue-purple face.
As mentioned, the males have elongate body.

I found them somwhat sensetive for cryptocaryon.

For high success rate, try to secure a medium specimen, those do eat quickly.

There is also a color change between areas of collection, in some areas the colors are brighters.
 
They didnt.
There is Chaetodontoplus personifer and also C.meredethi, they both come from Australia, but meredethi comes from north east and personifer from north west.
Easy way to tell the difference is the caudal fin, in meredethi it is plain yellow, while the personifer have kinda black stripe on it and the mature specimen's caudal fins are more lunar shape.
I didnt see many C.personifer , it's mostly C.meredethi exported.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9494603#post9494603 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Vili_Shark
They didnt.
There is Chaetodontoplus personifer and also C.meredethi, they both come from Australia, but meredethi comes from north east and personifer from north west.
Easy way to tell the difference is the caudal fin, in meredethi it is plain yellow, while the personifer have kinda black stripe on it and the mature specimen's caudal fins are more lunar shape.
I didnt see many C.personifer , it's mostly C.meredethi exported.
Click to expand...

The source I purchased it from says its a Personifer. I will take pics and see if this is true. He's a reputable source.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9496025#post9496025 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by invincible569
The source I purchased it from says its a Personifer. I will take pics and see if this is true. He's a reputable source.
Click to expand...

That would be real cool if it is a true personifer but most distributors sell Meredithi as Personifer along with using the whole male face color moniker. I can't to see pics regardless.
 
the real personifers are actually protected now (i believe) So it is highly unlikely it is a real personifer. But many things that are protected seem to find their way into the hobby :)

Vili - glad you have had good results with yours. I also found that ultra big ones dont adapt as readily as younger/smaller ones (although they eventually did adapt)

Man, i can't wait to get more!
 
Just to give everyone an update: the smaller fish of the two is doing very well and is eating like a pig but the bigger one has not eaten anything considerable since I placed it in the tank. It's belly is starting to get pinched and I am getting concerned. It is still acting healthy but I really need to get it to eat something substantial in the next few days or I am afraid that it is not going to make it. I have fed it every prepared dry and frozen food along with fresh clams and it acts like it is wanting to try and eat something but it evetually gives up and swims away. Can anyone suggest anything outside of the box to try and get it to eat? I considered buying some jellyfish since I have heard from a few different sources that they prey on them in the wild but my selection locally on these is limited to basic upside down jellyfish. I have also heard that they will take mussels but I am also having a hard time finding those as well. I would hate to lose the big guy since they are acting like a pair but it could just be one of those fish that refuses to eat anything I try and give.
 
Triggerfish,
As Z said, try the scallops, otherwise, I found that they really like Nori flakes, we're using the Grotech one which is 3 kinds of algae mixed .

If an Angel refuse food I always put it in a large tank with other fish that are eating already, it will get curious about the food as it sees the other fish eating it.

For example, the 10" male that I mentioned before, I put it with a group of purple tangs that are eating like Piranahs , it started taking Nori flakes on the first time I offered him (24hrs after arrival) and from there the rest was easy.
 
triggerfish, have you thought about quarantining him in his own holding station so you can feed everything to him and not worry about the other fish eating his food? At least to fatten him up and possibly have him get used to your feedings.
 
Yes but I cannot catch him out of my main display. I have never been one to QT my fish (stupid, I know) as I have always been able to get finiky fish to eat.
 
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