Multibar angelfish.

[Poomba]

I have read many places that this is a difficult fish to keep, with most of the blame being placed on the collection methods and post capture handling; suggesting that,"its best left in the ocean". However, most of the ancedotal evidence is quite a few years old, and as such, has left me to wonder about the veracity of those beliefs.

Would buying a pair of them from a reputable dealer such as PIA, where the fish is already eating before its released, be a good idea? Or is it still a fish, "best left in the ocean."

In my case, I have a 75 gallon aquarium with 25 pounds of live rock that was used to seed 50 pounds of dry rock 4 months ago. I had a Starckii damsel in the tank for a month before I decided that I wanted to go a relatively peaceful route with deep water fish, and so I turned him into the LFS. The aquarium is set up with plenty of caves, and I would put the tank on a short lighting cycle in order to make the fish feel more comfortable.

I am pretty well set on eventually having a pair of Multibars, but my issue is should I add them when they will have no competition due to their delicate nature, or should I wait until the tank is a bit more established?


Tank Stats:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites:0
Nitrates:5-10
Ca:450
Alk:10.4
Mg:1300
Phosphates: .16

 

[pacislandaqua]

Hi ! not trying to push a sale - giving my 2 cents:

i have had them from 4 different locations.

Indonesia - always skinny, never ate and never looked "right" for a fish.
Philippines - same as indo... ate, but always got skinnier.
Marshall islands - Come in fat due to the shorter transit time. This give me more time to condition them to eat prepared foods. i would say 75% of the marshalls eat within a week or 2 tops.
Christmas island - i've only gotten one (they are extremely rare from CXI) and it was a giant male (biggest i have ever seen) And it ate right away... but also keep in mind CXI and Marshalls are a 5 hour flights and the fish was maybe 3 days old..

I only get them from the marshalls or CXI now... i wont waste my time with the Philippines or Indo.. they never make it.

 

[madmike]

I've tried 3 different times with these fish, the last time even purchasing from live aquaria divers den. None of them ever ate as "aggressively" as I would have liked and all perished within a few months... Its a shame because they are such beautiful fish.

 

[Poomba]

Was that an issue due to the tank mates?

 

[Toddrtrex]

While I have never kept the multibar, I do have its "cousin", the venustus angel. IMO, your tank isn't mature enough for one of them, let alone 2. Having a lot of mature live rock for it to grave upon goes a long way towards giving them time to settle in and not starve to death.

I got very luck with my venustus angel, it was eating prepared foods within minutes of being released, but it still picked at the rocks constantly, and still does to this day.

 

[treylane]

I think "best left in the ocean" only applies to these fish if they're not going to be collected and handled properly. Or maybe there are regional differences in temperament, I don't know.

They require a bit of patience at first as they're deliberate eaters. If you can provide an established tank (and your 4-month-old tank may not count, depending on how well it's progressed) without crazy tankmates or excessive competition for food, they're doable. Once established, these guys can actually be a bit spunky, they won't let most smaller fish push them around, even if the smaller fish is meaner.

I've heard some stories of these fish "just not competing for food well enough" ... and upon further investigation, several of these cases are from folks trying to keep "angel tanks" where they expect a 3" multibar to go up against half-grown personifers and emperors - YEESH, that's just not gonna happen!

 

[rholguin]

I have a pair of these beauties in my tank right now. The hardest part is getting them to eat either frozen or dry food. Keeping them in a tank where there is no competition for food to start is ideal. Once they start eating they are just as hardy as any other angel. This is why its important to have a well established tank for them to have enough food to pick at. The pair I have is already eating flakes which is plus for me. Good luck.

 

[roktsintst]

I would say your tank is too young. THey are constantly picking at the rocks and that is the best source of food for them. I have a trio of multi's and a single venustus. Once established they are solid but getting them to that point is difficult. Be patient and wait to establish your tank. Other than that, PIA is great...

 

[jcw]

Having a lot of mature live rock for it to grave upon goes a long way towards giving them time to settle in and not starve to death.

I've read about this grazing on live rock multiple times.

What exactly do they graze on? I have little to no algae except coralline (knock on wood).

Hard to believe taht film algae will sustain them.

 

[jcw]

I would say your tank is too young. THey are constantly picking at the rocks and that is the best source of food for them. I have a trio of multi's and a single venustus. Once established they are solid but getting them to that point is difficult. Be patient and wait to establish your tank. Other than that, PIA is great...

droooooooollll...

 

[treylane]

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but the grazing thing seems to be a bit overblown. I'm sure that having SOME algae available for new grazers is better than none, but I hope (?) not many reef tanks have enough algae to sustain an angel as a sole food source for long. Getting a healthy multibar to start eating live and/or frozen worms should be a fairly rapid process.

Many angels and tangs will graze on the rocks regardless of how well fed they are, and I have a hard time thinking they're getting a lot of nutrition out of the process (at least, in my tank) with so many other fish competing for algae on a fairly small surface area of rock.

Mostly, established rock = more stable tank. And yes, a little bit more film/other algaes available for a new fish to snack on.

 

[roktsintst]

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but the grazing thing seems to be a bit overblown. I'm sure that having SOME algae available for new grazers is better than none, but I hope (?) not many reef tanks have enough algae to sustain an angel as a sole food source for long. Getting a healthy multibar to start eating live and/or frozen worms should be a fairly rapid process.

Many angels and tangs will graze on the rocks regardless of how well fed they are, and I have a hard time thinking they're getting a lot of nutrition out of the process (at least, in my tank) with so many other fish competing for algae on a fairly small surface area of rock.

Mostly, established rock = more stable tank. And yes, a little bit more film/other algaes available for a new fish to snack on.

do you have either venustus or multibar?

 

[Toddrtrex]

Back when I had my golden dwarf angel -- another difficult fish to get eating prepared foods (( lost it to an incident with a mated pair of pink skunk clowns and their anemone )) -- I never once saw it eat any prepared foods. And yet, for the 5 months that I had it, it managed to put on weight. You may not see it, but there is (( at least should be )) plenty of life on mature live rock for fish to consume and gain weight from.

I honestly think that people underestimate how much grazing any "dwarf" angel will do, and how much that supports them.

About to graze,

Decent belly

 

[treylane]

Yes, my current fish list is in my sig. I've had a multibar for over a year and he's fat and sassy and going strong:

100g peninsula reef
scopas tang, tuxedo damsel, ornate leopard wrasse, skunk clown pair, mimic filefish, lawnmower blenny, multibar angel, flameback angel pair, bicolor anthias, longsnout butterfly

Whooooah Todd - YES, that is a TON of algae, I absolutely believe an angel would survive on a spread like that!

 

[roktsintst]

OK great! Well I know I see all my dwarfs picking at the rock constantly. While they eat prepared foods very well, I dont think they would be as healthy as they are without picking at the rocks.

 

[Poomba]

So general consensus is I should wait?
Id still like them to be the showpiece fish and have no competition until they are well established, so would another two months be long enough?

 

[Toddrtrex]

I personally would wait longer, mainly because you used 50lb dry rock out of a total of 75. But, I tend to prefer to let some algae grow in my tanks, to me it looks more natural and provides food.

 

[copps]

One thing I always say is that there are no angelfish that are hard to KEEP, only those that are hard to ADAPT. Centropyge multifasciata is one such species... and while the age of the tank is often brought up, I believe perhaps much more important is the experience of the hobbyist. I believe we as hobbyists have a moral obligation to only attempt species such as this if we have years of experience in quarantining and adapting other more easily adapted species. I am very often in the situation where people ask me about my quarantining/adapting regimens as people want to start following some sort of protocol other than the "dump and hope approach" that most reefers do... this is a great step that many people make, but too often people cut their QT teeth on species that are either tough to adapt or expensive, and it often doesn't turn out well... this would be the equivalent of a novice reefer starting with a full blown sps or nps tank... and as we all know with reef tanks there is only so much you could learn from reading... it is like riding a bike... you could read books for a year on riding a bike, yet you would still take a while to figure it out when you got on. Species like this are often tricky to adapt and condition, but with skill, luck, and a combination of the two, these fish could thrive in established reef tanks...

I've had my Marshall Islands pair for a few years now... previously I kept an Indonesian specimen for nearly five years... these guys are kept to the 60 gallon right third of my 180 gallon sps display... the male of my Centropyge colini pair (an equally hard to adapt species) keeps them there, but they've found their niche. This species is spectacular... the black and white contrast is like a zebra or California kingsnake... the black could not be blacker and the white not whiter... combine that with the yellow the species displays ventrally and they are quite a site... and if adapted well before introduction these fish do not require a quiet tank as is often said... my pair is in a reef loaded with different species and they are paid no mind... except for the closely related Colin's angel pair as I said... which comes in the form of the male Colin's showing the multibars who is boss a few times a day... there are a few other species of Centropyge (and larger angelfish genera) that leave the multibars alone.

Here are a few shots of my pair...

Copps

 

[Poomba]

To Copps, Toddrtrex, treylane, jcx, roktsintst, and people I am forgetting:

Thanks for the advice, and Ive decided to wait on trying a pair of Multibars. Too bad as they are the nicest of the readily available pygmys in my opinion.







Continuing the theme of a pair of pygmy angelfish, for a deep water tank, how would a pair of multicolored fair?

 

[Sheol]

I'd say your tank is too young, too. If it has nothing but corraline ( A problem LOL I wish I had!!)algae. My Centropyge and a Yellow tang have plenty to keep them busy in my tank.
A big footnote: My tank is technically 6 months old, but the LR came out of my 36 gallon reef and was bought as productive, 2nd Hand LR to begin with. So tons of algae. Of all sorts, growl..
I am glad you decided to wait. Try something a bit hardier first, too. Like a Potter's angel before trying a Multibar..

Matthew