pygmy angels, anyone try this?

[nemo g]

im in the process of setting up a 65g reef and am trying to narrow down the fish selection.

i was wondering if anyone has tried having 2-3 pygmy angels by placing them all in at the same time?

i will have ample filtiration with a euroreef rs135 skimmer and 100lbs of live rock. so bio load shouldnt be an issue.

its just that i read and hear very different things.

either:
- "some pygmys yes and some no"
- or "if you put them in all at once"
- to "no way, only one per tank"

your experiences are appreciated

 

[dougie]

yes i can be done. i had a coral beauty,bi color, and white tailed pygmy at the same time in a 55g. with no problems. just keep an eye on them.

 

[nemo g]

wow, i didnt think id get a positive response

how large were they compared to each other, and in what order did you introduce them?

thanks

 

[dougie]

coral beauty and white tail were around the same size (small) only about 9cm. the CB was introduced months after the WT and they chased each other for proberly a day or two and then they were fine. the bi color was introduced last, he was only small also, he lasted about 2months and died. very hard to get eating, he nibbled at the live rock and sometimes took brine shrimp, but never touched the angel formula. tried garlic etc. i think its luck of the draw with the BC, anyway good luck, you should be fine.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Take care to introduce angels that don't get larger than 4 inches as some of the dwarves do ( eg Herald's angel, bicolor, Eibl's, halfblack)
You might consider including one from the argi complex like a cherub (or whitetail, or flameback) as they stay smaller (3.1 in.) especially if you are going to add 3. If your rockwork is loosely stacked allowing t-o-n-s of swim throughs and caves, I'd say you could have 2 in a 65 long style tank. If your rockwork is also freestanding, meaning the fish can swim all the way around the bommie, i'd say maybe 3 - but that is pushing it. In my opinion if you're going to have 3, you should make 2 of them a pair of C. argi or other 3 inch angel. At least in my area argis are not difficult to pair as juveniles are available ever so often- There's nothing complicated about it - so long as you have a definite juvenile plus a fish that is significantly larger than the juevnile- just toss them in the tank at the same time - or in a quarantine situation (not a sterile hospital tank) to be extra safe.

Introducing them at the same time (within 1-2 days of each other) will make all the difference

 

[nemo g]

unfortunately, most of the sweet small guys are rare, ie japanese and resplendent (interruptus and resplendens).

the cherub doesnt do it for me, as the other common pygmy angels.

i wanted to stay away from the obligatory fish selections (yellow tang, flame angel - although a sweet looking fish - and the like).

thats why i wanted to see if i could set up an interesting display, a mix, of them.

guess ill just have to settle with a happy and healthy specimen of which ever i run into.

and wait for the 120 to get myself a red sea regal or dare i think of a personifer? oh my.

really want that regal though

 

[Angel*Fish]

interrupta get 7+ inches anyway. Resplendant angels are supposed to be "mean" as heck also FWIW ( "meaner" than cherubs)

I guess I know what you mean about not wanting ordinary fish. It's funny, I was in the hobby for something like 8 years before I decided to break down and get a flame angel. Some of the more common fish are common because they are so very striking. I've even been considering a yellow tang lately ...

As far as an interesting display -- A male cherub with a 2 females sounds pretty nice, if you ask me.