New Multicolor Angel behavior

[emilese]

I just got a multicolor dwarf angelfish on Thursday. It is beautiful and it excellent condition. I have him in a QT tank, bare bottom with only one medium piece of live rock, a scarlet cleaner shrimp and 1 trochus snail. I know most suggest no LR in a QT tank but, I knew dwarf angels like to graze on LR and I wanted to make the QT process less stressful on the fish.

As the angel has settled in, he's (not sure if a male or female but, I'll default to calling it a male) become increasingly comfortable in the daytime. He swims around confidently and doesn't get skittish when I get close to the tank watching him. But, when the lights go out, he darts to a little cave in the LR and will peek out but dart right back in when he sees me.

Also, I haven't gotten him to eat prepared foods consistently. He pecks at the LR, the sides, and floor but, hasn't consistently eaten any food that I've offered. I've offered Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 pellets, Hikari Marine S pellets, Hikari Seaweed pellets, Ocean Nutrition seaweed on a clip, frozen blood worms, frozen mysis, and Masstick. He pecks/tries them for a moment then ignores them and goes back to pecking at the rock and glass.

I'm not worried yet as it's only been a couple days and he's pretty healthy looking. If it continues this way for two weeks or his health declines then I may start to get worried. Next, I'm going to try some live brine.

How long has it taken some of you to get your angels to start eating prepared foods consistently? Any tricks you used?

Also, do your angels also hide or become skittish at night but, bold during the day?

Here's a pic of him (see attachment)

 

[norfolkgarden]

It is normal for all angels to sleep at night and wake up again in the morning.

When I have to get up and go to work earlier than normal I am there to watch the lights come on over a 15 minute time frame.
You can watch all the individual fish wake up and pop out over a 10 minute time frame and all of them are looking at me like "where's my live black worms?".
Funny as can be and one of my favorite times in the morning.

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[emilese]

It is normal for all angels to sleep at night and wake up again in the morning.

When I have to get up and go to work earlier than normal I am there to watch the lights come on over a 15 minute time frame.
You can watch all the individual fish wake up and pop out over a 10 minute time frame and all of them are looking at me like "where's my live black worms?".
Funny as can be and one of my favorite times in the morning.

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I know it's normal for them to sleep. What I mean is that the angel seems more skittish when the tank light goes out. When the light is on, he's out and about and doesn't hide when I approach the tank. But, when the tank light goes out but the room lights are still on (this is in my office), he darts and hides when I even just turn around in my chair - not even approaching the tank. The ambient room light is still bright so, it's not completely dark in his tank.

I just find it odd and was wondering if anyone else has this experience.

 

[emilese]

In an update, he's starting to sample foods but he doesn't eat heartily yet. Today, he seemed to respond better to the Hikari Marine Seaweed Extreme and blood worms.

He also seemed to flash twice against the live rock so, I got worried that it was ich but, I don't see any spots and he only flashed those two times. I've closely observed him the rest of the day and he hasn't done it again.

Although, he did seem to want the cleaner shrimp to clean him but, I guess the shrimp's feelings were hurt from being rejected too many times that the shrimp ignore him.

 

[mike61289]

I know it's normal for them to sleep. What I mean is that the angel seems more skittish when the tank light goes out. When the light is on, he's out and about and doesn't hide when I approach the tank. But, when the tank light goes out but the room lights are still on (this is in my office), he darts and hides when I even just turn around in my chair - not even approaching the tank. The ambient room light is still bright so, it's not completely dark in his tank.

I just find it odd and was wondering if anyone else has this experience.

All diurnal animals get more nervous at night. They don't see as well in the dark. Since a small multicolor angel would normally be a prey item when the big scary predators come out, it's just acting natural. Your presence around it when it's lights out is probably stressful to it. Leave it be.

 

[emilese]

All diurnal animals get more nervous at night. They don't see as well in the dark. Since a small multicolor angel would normally be a prey item when the big scary predators come out, it's just acting natural. Your presence around it when it's lights out is probably stressful to it. Leave it be.

This makes a lot of sense. Thanks. Actually, I do not bother the fish. The QT is in my office and I work late due to time zone differences. So, I may turn around in my chair to look at the tank from a distance but, that's all. But, that even would cause him to hide.

 

[norfolkgarden]

All joking aside he probably still has jet lag and is still adjusting to your time zone.
It's a real thing.

Once they have been in the tank a few weeks and get used to your light schedule they become pretty consistent and just go to sleep.


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[emilese]

Haha :lmao: Really though, he was in a store in Taipei for a couple weeks so, I think he's probably adjusted to the time zone but, I probably don't keep the same lighting schedule as the store. So, he definitely would need to get adjusted to my schedule and the new surroundings.

The good news is that he's getting more and more comfortable. He is eating some Hikari Marine S pellets and some blood worms. I think that as the weeks go by he'll eat of a variety.

The last time I kept a dwarf angel it was at least 10 years ago and it was a cherub dwarf angel. So, it feels like I'm learning them all over again. How much does a dwarf angel typically eat? Particularly a multicolor angel. Mine is about 6 cm (almost 2.5") and eats maybe 4 pellets before he becomes disinterested (or full). Is that how much they typically eat per day?

Thanks for all the help.
* Note: I fixed the picture, see the attachment in the first post*

All joking aside he probably still has jet lag and is still adjusting to your time zone.
It's a real thing.

Once they have been in the tank a few weeks and get used to your light schedule they become pretty consistent and just go to sleep.


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[norfolkgarden]

We have a flame angel that is a similar size and the amount of food yours is eating sounds about right.

We feed in the morning and the evening and more on weekends.

All of our fish are carnivores or omnivores and act like begging dogs at the dinner table.

LOL their bellies can be bigger than mine and the dottybacks and hawkfish are still looking for more food.


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[emilese]

Thanks norfolkgarden, I appreciate your experience. I've been feeding twice a day as well. It's interesting that for being an omnivore that needs some algae in their diets, the angel has not shown any interest in the seaweed products I've offered: Hikari Seaweed Select pellets and some dried seaweed that I put on a clip. It probably just needs some more time to get settled and used to the prepared foods.

We have a flame angel that is a similar size and the amount of food yours is eating sounds about right.

We feed in the morning and the evening and more on weekends.

All of our fish are carnivores or omnivores and act like begging dogs at the dinner table.

LOL their bellies can be bigger than mine and the dottybacks and hawkfish are still looking for more food.


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[emilese]

All of our fish are carnivores or omnivores and act like begging dogs at the dinner table.

LOL their bellies can be bigger than mine and the dottybacks and hawkfish are still looking for more food.


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Lol. I had a puffer that acted just like that. He was such a personable fish. I miss that little guy.