Potter's angelfish

xkon

Member
Does anyone here have experience with this fish? From what I have read they don't take to the aquarium well and are usually short lived? Is there any truth to this or anyone have any first hand accounts? Thanks
 
Established tank with adequate mature LR is the key to getting them acclimated IMO. They will forage and survive off the LR fauna until they get comfortable and begin accepting offered foods.
Very hardy once acclimated and I had mine for several years until I lost most all of my fish to a malfunctioning temp controller.
My new system is too small for one otherwise I'd be looking for one myself.
 
Agree! Tough to acclimate, but generally pretty hardy once established; though do have a reputation for dying for no apparent reason. Mine spends its entire day picking at the rocks and eating algae. It was probably 2-3 months before it would eat prepared foods, so critical to have tank that can sustain it until then.
 
I got a pair from QM a few months back and the female ate prepared food right away, the male was a different story. I lost them both along with several other fish for a different reason but some attribute them dying suddenly to being in warmer tanks. They prefer cooler temps in a tank, not 78-80
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc_xzw95CWs

Well I'm giving one a try. There is a pretty decent close up near the end of the video, along with someone poking out to see the new addition.

My tank is at 76 so hopefully the temp won't be an issue. He appears to be healthy. The only thing out of the ordinary I saw him do is a kind of body shake of sorts a few times when he was first in the tank. Not sure how best to describe it other than, going through the motions like he is swimming fast but going nowhere? Is that anything to be concerned about?
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc_xzw95CWs

Well I'm giving one a try. There is a pretty decent close up near the end of the video, along with someone poking out to see the new addition.

My tank is at 76 so hopefully the temp won't be an issue. He appears to be healthy. The only thing out of the ordinary I saw him do is a kind of body shake of sorts a few times when he was first in the tank. Not sure how best to describe it other than, going through the motions like he is swimming fast but going nowhere? Is that anything to be concerned about?

The shaking you describe is typical of mating/what males will do to females. I would keep a eye on the fish and see if it continues to do that or not. The temperature thing isn't a proven thing but rather a educated guess on why potters suddenly die after years in a tank. Same thing happens to Conspicuous angels that care kept in tanks that aren't at the optimum temperature. They seem to do fine for sometimes years then suddenly die. Also to drive this point home Ted (Humaguy) has 3 of the personatus from Karen and so does (Hedgedrew). Ted keeps his tank that they are I around 71 and Drew keeps his around 76 and Teds are developing the black lines by the tails and Drews are not (or just barely) the only differences in the tanks are temps. Obviously this is all just a educated guess but it makes sense being that these fish come from cooler waters
 
Was not aware of the cooler temps. I had mine in a 210 which ran 81-83 deg. I would have to look back through my log but I would estimate 4-5 years before the loss.
 
Was not aware of the cooler temps. I had mine in a 210 which ran 81-83 deg. I would have to look back through my log but I would estimate 4-5 years before the loss.

Like I was saying it's just a theory, nothing has been proven on this
 
I was just in Hawaii and followed a pair on the reef for a good 30 minutes or so. The water temp was 78 amd the depth was no more than 4'. They stayed in the same 3'x3' area picking at the rocks, it was a very cool thing to see in the wild.
 
I have two in my reef. The male I have had for 3 years and the female for only a year. They are very hardy once they eat and get acclimated. My tank runs around 77. My suggestion would be quarantine them for a month or so with lots of hiding places. Beware much like all Centropyge they will nip corals. My male is a model citizen but the female nibbles on the same couple of corals (SPS). It is annoying but tolerable.
 
I was just in Hawaii and followed a pair on the reef for a good 30 minutes or so. The water temp was 78 amd the depth was no more than 4'. They stayed in the same 3'x3' area picking at the rocks, it was a very cool thing to see in the wild.

Juveniles are usually seen at shallow depth. Adults are usually found a deeper depths. This is where most of the husbandry confusion comes from in my opinion.


From Wikipedia
Its depth range is 10 to 138 m (33 to 453 ft). That's a big spread in temp.
 
I LOVE my Potter's.

I got him from DD-he's been eating anything I feed him since day one.
He's been in my 120g mixed reef tank for 6 months and has been a model citizen-does not pick at any coral.
My temp is 78*

Great fish!
 
Juveniles are usually seen at shallow depth. Adults are usually found a deeper depths. This is where most of the husbandry confusion comes from in my opinion.


From Wikipedia
Its depth range is 10 to 138 m (33 to 453 ft). That's a big spread in temp.

This was a pair of adult Potters, both at 4"s if not more. I should have specified, I do have pics amd will post once I get time.

Also don't forget, some fish of the same species might prefer cooler water or food found at certain depths. Just like people, some are vegetarians and others love steak. While I prefer AC in the summer my wife prefers the the windows open.
 
I was just in Hawaii and followed a pair on the reef for a good 30 minutes or so. The water temp was 78 amd the depth was no more than 4'. They stayed in the same 3'x3' area picking at the rocks, it was a very cool thing to see in the wild.

We were on Kauai in July and I did a "Discover scuba" dive.
We saw a group of 6-8 Potter's at around 35'.
All adults 4"+ ... unsure of water temp at that depth, but it was really cool to see them in their natural environment.
 
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