Sorry John... But I am calling out COPPS!!!
- Thread starter myerst2
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copps
Premium Member
Juvie regals are like many other juvie angels, in that they adapt faster generally and feed easier... it is a double edged sword though, as fish that small do not have much in the way of fat reserves to carry them through the long transport many times... get them feeding early and often... they are not sexually dimorphic at that time... it is theorized, but not yet proven through all genera, that all angels are sequential protogynous hermaphrodites... so at 1 1/2" inches they would all be "female"...
This is one of my recent acquisitions... the first regal I've purchased in almost four years (I still have my Red Sea trio)... regals this small are one in a few thousand industry wide... and regals this misbarred are one in many thousands... so that makes this little guy one in a million! Notice that he appears to be a yellow belly, even though he's Pacific form from the Marshall Islands... another little known fact... ALL regals start life yellow bellied, only later turning to blue/grey for the Pacific form... this girl is SPECIAL!
When my wife and I had our new house built we moved in in December of '04 and I took down these two tanks, keeping all livestock for the tanks I still have today...
I now don't hesitate keeping any angels with my sps... even Holacanthus... I could go on and on about this and it is the most often question asked... "Are angels reef safe?"... I'm working on a talk just on this subject I'll hopefully give at MACNA next year...
The kitchen setup was lit by 2 x 36 watt power compacts... one 10k bulb and one actinic... they were right on the water and so that PAR was quite high, resulting in good growth on my sps and clams, although I did dose phytoplankton for the clams in addition...
It had just a dusting of sand, although you cvouldn't tell because the rics, clams, and other things blanketed the bottom... I use sand beds only for aesthetics now... vacuuming them clean every few months... one of the biggest challenges in the hobby today is keeping colorful sps corals with a high fish bioload over an extended period of years... I've managed to do it by keeping my system "young" and not allowing detritus to build up anywhere over the years... this "crash" you see leads to the downfalls of many sps systems...
All I could do for this is apologize... the available time this weekend I spent staining the woodwork of my built in 292 gallon fish only in the kitchen... updated photos are going to have to wait until next Sunday (again only people with two young children will understand this!)... It'll be worth it though...
Until then here are a few dated shots of my sps system in the house... new shots will be better...
Here's a shot with flash under actinics showing the trio of regals...
Copps
WOW and the new shots will be better...
and the shots with the key have become a trademark of yours. Those are my favorite because you can see all the details of the fish. If you ever get time (I know you gotta be busy, but we still have to bug ya) it would be sweet if you could post your collection of those shots.
and the shots with the key have become a trademark of yours. Those are my favorite because you can see all the details of the fish. If you ever get time (I know you gotta be busy, but we still have to bug ya) it would be sweet if you could post your collection of those shots.
flameangel88
New member
That's a beautiful tank you've there and one more reason I'll go reef on my next upgrade.
I look forward to see the updated pictures this weekend.
Have to show my better half of the pictures to get support for the next upgrade.
I look forward to see the updated pictures this weekend.
Have to show my better half of the pictures to get support for the next upgrade.
DamnPepShrimp
Moved On
What holocanthus angels have you kept with corals? I am assuming SPS corals only? Were the fish only in the juvi stage or adult as well? I know a lot of angels start out mainly on algaes when young, not interested in corals, once they get older, they feed on sponges for the most part. In our home aquariums, we couldn't provide enough sponges to keep an adult angel well fed, and they devour almost any corals, especially holocanthus. My passer angel eats even aiptasias, let alone any other coral possible. I am in no way doubting you haven't done it, just curious as to what angels (holocanthus mainly) you've kept in reefs. I only see Pomocanthus and Pygoplites in your photos, beautiful angels none the less. You have some gorgeous setups, amazing all those fish and the SPS are stunning.
herpboyben
New member
love the idol. how is he eating?
Vili_Shark
New member
John, really nice tank.
But hey, get to the point, we wanna see THE fish.
But hey, get to the point, we wanna see THE fish.
tony varrell
New member
John, That display looks remarkable. I to keep a few angels in my sps system without any issues at all. I have one question for you how big is the display were all admirering. I keep pair of regal 1 majestic 1scribbled 1 joculator 1 gold flake all in a 300 gallon system. They are all fat and happy most have been with me for at least 2 years now..
tony varrell
New member
I forgot to ask what I wanted to ask you. My concern at this point is not the health of the fish they are bullet proof at this point but the increasing bioload on my system which could have a negitave effect on my SPS. My sps are healthy but do not pop like what is in the picture. That is the impressive part of your display to me. The ability to have a heavy bioload and still maintane that impressive coral collection.I am curious to know your feeding habits and filteration on board your system. Also your water change schedule. Thank You for sharing
copps
Premium Member
You know I have to thank my collector friend in Hawaii Bill Crook for the "key photo" idea... way back when he caught a TINY dragon moray that without the key in the shot you would have no idea how large it was... check it out... this thing was TINY... swimming through the keyhole!
Bill is also the collector of the official RAREST Hawaiian angel ever... based entirely on one specimen... the only Centropyge potteri/ C. fisheri hybrid ever found... it would be in my basement were it not for the Waikiki Aquarium!
Anyway... here's Bill and I... Bill on the right with mask off and me on the left... and then a few shots of us collecting... these shots were taken by my friend of years now and owner of www.rcthawaii.com Frank Baensch... the captive breeder of saltwater angels... he's also a pretty accomplished underwater photgrapher with his personal photography site at www.bluereefphoto.net. Check it out!
Me palming a Potter's!
And Hawaii gold!
I'm in Leesburg...
copps
Premium Member
I've kept all seven genera of angelfish with sps with no substantial issues... or all eight genera if you consider Paracentropyge a genus as I've had a Centropyge multifasciata for almost four years now... I haven't kept passers with sps before but I know that species well as I lived and studied in Ecuador and the Galapagos for about two years (and met my wife!)... I have kept its Holacanthus subgenus relative, a clarion, with sps with no issues, although he's been moved to a large fish only recently because I have too many peaceful spawning pairs and harems for a clarion to disrupt! Anyway, here's a shot of my clarion I took next to one of my orangetail emperors from Christmas Island...
I've also kept tiny Holacanthus... like this little africanus... no key in the shot but if you know the colors of africanus and how small they change you'll realize how tiny he is!
Here's a TINY Apolemichthys!
And some tiny Centropyge... these guy's were about an inch...
... and less than a year later spawning...
Rounding out the other genera here's a Chaetodontoplus...
And finally Genicanthus... although those don't really count... I have a pair of these guys... my favorite of the "obtainable six" species of Genicanthus...
Do a search on my name and you'll see many other I have here on RC...
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copps
Premium Member
Great... although I yanked him to the fish only after he was chowing my acros... not picking... chowing... I now have a trio in my fish only... idols are one of the many fish, like regal angels, that have benefited from better collection and transport in the industry, and so in the right hands they can thrive... although many imported are "swimming dead"... long past the point of saving even by an experienced aquarist...
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13857762#post13857762 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Vili_Shark
John, really nice tank.
But hey, get to the point, we wanna see THE fish.
Are you kidding Vili?
You are the man of mystery... I'm not even sure what country you live in?That photo is of a 180 gallon display... although I've since moved the asfur and two chrysurus (Pomacanthus) and the Holacanthus clarionensis, and as you'll see I have many other angels from Centropyge (trio of jocs, pair of C. colini, single CB interrupta), a pair of Genicanthus semifasciatus, Apolemichthys arcuatus, and the trio of regals... that 180 is on a system that is almost 500 gallons total connected to other tanks...
Ah yes... hard core reefers will appreciate this the most as it's THE biggest challenge... keeping popping colors on growing sps long term in an aquarium is a challenge in itself, but with a tank of fish it is that much more so! I'll elaborate later as this is one of those simple questions that could have a BOOK as an answer...
Guys thanks so much for the kind comments and the pushing for a thread like this... you'll see most of my threads are sharing my new fish as I acquire them, as I like to share this with people and also document this to myself for me to view later... I also share my experiences... like this one... which I have an update to I'll post soon! People so often misunderstand why certain people buy "rare fish", thinking that price or rarity equte to prettier colors or something... I have these fish because they excite me like a common lemonpeel would when I was 10 twenty years ago... I see many of these fish as historic really... like many of the broodstock fish from Frank at RCT I received... the father of all the captive raised Centropyge interrupta (and one of his sons)... the parents of the CB Centropyge colini (which continue to spawn nightly)... the parents of the only captive reased hybrid angel Centropyge resplendens/ C. fisheri... the ONLY captive raised joculator angel ever (now the spawning male with the wild harem)... all in my home... I feel honored to have owned these fish... again twenty years ago it was so much excitement from a common lemonpeel and today it's that same excitement from this little lemonpeel... the only Indian Ocean specimen ever brought into the states (which will change very soon though!)... lemonpeels are only found at the Cocos-Keeling Islands and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean (different than the Pacific Christmas Island that has regular exports) and lack the blue around their eye like the Pacific form... many of you have seen this photo, but this is turning into a one stop Copps' shop thread, so what the heck...
I told the collectors to get me a small one... here the photo is zoomed out...
I also have one of the dozen captive raised lemonpeels ever that Frank did... he doesn't look different and there are probably only 10 people in the world that care... but I'm one of them! I'm a true fish nerd with this ridiculous innate passion I have inside of me... I hope some of you understand because my wife sure doesn't!
Anyway, I'd love to have more threads like this one showing photos of my systems... but again as we get older we have less and less free time... I'll get some new ones this weekend and again thanks for the prodding... without that I'd never get around to it!
Copps
flameangel88
New member
Thank you so much for the time you put into this and sharing with us. Looking foward for more already. hehe
Thanks John, this was a nice sidetrack from my papers and studying for exams I wish I had half the collection you do and you've really got to hook me up with some of your connections! I've been trying to find an update on Frank but I'm really failing miserably. If you know anything please satisfy my curiousity and let me know
I wish I had half the collection you do and you've really got to hook me up with some of your connections! I've been trying to find an update on Frank but I'm really failing miserably. If you know anything please satisfy my curiousity and let me know scottallert
New member
a fish tank for every room in the house?
theres probably a pico in the bathroom eh?
theres probably a pico in the bathroom eh?
Jmason95
Member
Hi Copps I have an Angelfish question for you if you don't mind....I'm considering adding a Blue Ring (Pomacanthus Annularis) eventually to my sps tank as the system's centerpiece. I've searched through RC and read up on them and I haven't found out much about them besides the typical Angelfish description that they are prone to nip at corals, can be aggressive etc, etc.
I'm not necessarily worried about them nipping too much at coral, so I guess I would like to know your experience with them... temperament, hardiness and anything else.
Thanks
I'm not necessarily worried about them nipping too much at coral, so I guess I would like to know your experience with them... temperament, hardiness and anything else.
Thanks
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