Question about Emperor Angel

[secrest]

I'm looking at adding an Emperor Angel to my tank but had some thoughts and questions to run by some more experienced with them than myself. My main question has to do with the growth rate on them, I'm wondering how quickly they grow on average.

The second question I have is about tank size, I have a 240 and a 40 breeder. I want to get a very small emperor to hopefully watch the full color change over the years. I'm reluctant to add such a small angel to my 240 as I already have an established regal angel (5-6 inches) and a flame angel. I was wondering if it would even be possible to house the emperor in my 40 breeder for awhile while he/she grew up a little bit. I was also leaning this way because the 40 breeder currently has no fish and a few different types of corals, but nothing special. I was thinking this would be a good way to quarantine him in a more normal environment than my basic qt tank and see which corals he has a taste for before moving to the larger tank. Will this idea work at all, or am I just better off purchasing a larger emperor and adding it straight to the 240.

Thanks in advance.

 

[alton]

A juvenile is the way to go and your 40 will work for a few months until she out grows it. The only thing you will want to do is keep her in a liverock with softy tank for a month at least not only as a QT tank but also to get your angel from being a grazer to a bum just waiting for you to feed her. Then when you introduce her to your corals it won't graze as much and hopefully leave the corals alone. Good luck

 

[jaa1456]

I have never seen one that hasn't picked or eaten corals, They will nip or eat any type from what I have seen. A guy local to me put one in his tank and lost all of his zoas the first day and it was picking at his LPS and SPS as well.

 

[secrest]

Thanks guys. I feel a little better about moving forward with the plan now. I guess I'll have to roll the dice and see how many and which corals it decides are a snack.

 

[orangegoby]

mine nip at softies and ate the Crocea clam.

 

[humaguy]

she will eat your corals...a 40 is temporarily okay, if you have a tiny individual...
after the qt, keep an eye on your flame, they become very territorial...imo, the Regal at that size would leave a very small emp alone, not a promise...but the flame could cause problems...

 

[secrest]

Thanks, I kind of figured that she will most likely eat corals. I'm hoping that the corals in the 240 will be established enough that it won't completely decimate them. I'm not too worried about the regal causing issues either, the flame angel is what makes me nervous. She can be pretty aggressive to new comers.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I would place the juvi imp directly in your large aquarium. They grow quickly if fed properly. Stunted imps are unappealing so you want to feed it good foods and let it eat whatevr it wants in the big aquarium. (This is what I did, anyways.) It's gonna keep growing (quickly!) for a year or two if fed properly. You can grow corals up around this species but fleshy LPS are high risk. Mine also will occasionally nip at SPS terminal polyps but healthy corals are generally left alone. Every fish is different but IMO/IME most aquarists approach this challenge in the wrong manner. You already have some experience with Flame and Regal so you kind of know how Angels are!
DO YOUR HOMEWORK. good luck!

 

[dan-in-gr]

Hi, I have an emperor angel in my 120 SPS only reef, I bought as a tiny juvi and now it is a large juvi in 6 months plus, it has never nipped at the SPS, but I have zero softies and LPS. When feeding it hangs back a bit as the two tangs are pigs and will eat out of fingers when putting food in. I will be adding some ricordia's in near future and hopefully it does not eat them. The angel is mild in behavior and a beautiful addition.

 

[SDguy]

I never tire of looking at your wonderful reef, Gary!

 

[snorvich]

I agree with Gary about putting the juvenile directly in the larger tank. I feed mysis and spirulina regularly. I started out with a 2 inch juvenile and mine is now a full grown adult. The grunting noise is pretty funny.

 

[secrest]

Thanks for the response Gary. I really appreciate it. Seeing the numerous pics of your emperor is what has made me finally pull the trigger. I'm going to take your advice and add him straight to the 240 after QT.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

thanks for the kind words, Peter.

secrest- yeah man... go for it. Keep feeding that juvi HEAVILY as it's growing and TAKE PIX REGULARLY. You'll be surprised how fast a well fed juvi Emperor grows. If you don't feed it well it will stay smallish and stunted. NO GOOD.

MUST FEED THE FISH WHILE GROWING :fish2:

tip: I feed my Emperor frozen broccoli florets EVERY DAY for vitamin A.
Research it!

 

[secrest]

Thank for the tip. I'll have to look into that and make sure I get some broccoli next time I'm at the store.