Angel in Reef Experiences

hobrien

Member
Like the Title says I would like to get everyones EXPERIENCES from people who have kept angels Large and Small in a reef tank either it be good or bad results.
Please everyone else who doesnt have personal experience please dont give me your opinions.
 

sean48183

Member
Never kept a large angel in a reef but have 2 dwarf angels in a softy reef and neither is a problem. Maybe a problem with sps but can't help you there.
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
I have an adolescent Koran angel in my tank. He leaves the LPS frogspawn and torch corals alone for the most part, but he picked my hammer to death. He's pretty fine with the large toadstool as well.
On the other hand, I cannot keep any sort of small polyp coral or small zoanthid. I tried a couple mushrooms...he ate 'em. I tried an orange gorgonian.....snack food. Ironically, he leaves my orange and blue sponges completely alone. Go figure for a fish that's supposed to be a big sponge eater.
 

hobrien

Member
Thanks so far for both of those inputs. I am not a Zoanthid nut so I dont have to worry about those. I am a Ricordia, Mushroom, and LPS kinda guy. I will always start out with a frag and see they go after it and if so then I dont try that one again.
 

bullitr

Active Member
despite of heavy heavy feeding 3 of my dwarf angel pick on my SPS specially on acropora and some of them to the death . that is why angel is consider not reef safe its alway hit and miss . all of them are still on my tank
. hope that helps
 

cveverly

Member
I have a 160 gallon mixed reef and several angel fish. Angels include Queen, Regal, Flame and BiColor. Oddly the only fish really causing issues is the Regal. It has decimated my pulsing sinularia, most sponge and polyps from one toadstool leather. It has also picked at my pulsing xenia but not killed it. The BiColor likes to pick but does little damage other than causing poor polyp extension on some of my SPS.
They have never touched my zoas, acans, GSP, blue xenia, hammers, frogspawns or mushrooms (unfortunately).
It is a risk I was willing to take but I don't recommend. I will be upgrading tanks soon and adding a Majestic angel.
 

hobrien

Member
Those are the things I am looking for to gather all information from people with experience. Thank you
 

sean48183

Member
I think alot of stuff in this hobby is trial and error. You have to try for yourself sometimes. I think there is a by the book attitutude alot of lfs owners and hobbiest go by. For me I like to find out for myself. Like my 2 dwarf angels. THe lfs guy told me 2 dwarfs in a reef would never work. They would fight and eat my corals. They have done neither. On the other hand he said don't put a lunar wrasse in a reef but I tried anyway. BIG MISTAKE! He doesn't eat corals per say which is what I figured but he flips over frags and rocks, splashes water all over the lights and room, keeps me from feeding my anenome, no CUC ,won't let me add any new fish and is impossible to catch! So for every good trial there is a bad trial. Before you try anything just ask yourself "Is it worth the risk?"
 

hobrien

Member
And to me it is well worth the risk as I could still always have a lovely FOWLR with some Ricordia.
 

kraylen

Member
Originally Posted by HOBrien
http:///forum/post/3200974
Please give me your personal experience with it and not just a bold statement without personal backup.
I'm sick of typing it out, search my posts and you'll find my experiences.
 

spanko

Active Member
You pays your money and you takes your chances. A lot of failure stories with angels in the reef. Some, not a lot, of success with pygmy angels. I have an African Flameback in my biocube and so far **keeps fingers crossed** the only thing I have seen it nip at is a Porites sp. rock. I keep it well fed with an algae sheet in the tank most of the day.
 
ive got two female bellus angels in my 180 gallon mixed reef, they are planktivores and have read they dont nip at corals..and so far they have lived up to that claim!!!
 

dutch06

Member
I had a Flame Angel in a heavy SPS 120. Never touched a thing for months. Bought about $300 in acans and had to trade/sale them all. He wouldn't leave them alone. I had to build a "cage" out of egg crate until they were all gone. Now, he's gone.
 

lil.guppy

Active Member
My BiColor has been great for a long time and all of the sudden he got one taste of my zoas and eats them like candy. Well...not really eats them put picks either at them or around them causing them to get damaged and die.

 

kraylen

Member
Originally Posted by halcyon_diver
http:///forum/post/3201569
ive got two female bellus angels in my 180 gallon mixed reef, they are planktivores and have read they dont nip at corals..and so far they have lived up to that claim!!!

Losthere has a bellus in his 55 and that thing nips LPS and SPS all day long.
 
Being a planktivore, coral is not in its natural diet, i feed at least 2 times a day and sometimes 3 times a day. I was a bit leary adding them to my tank, but always like them and after a lot of reading and speaking to others who have them i puled the trigger and got them. Im just glad they havent decided to eat any of my LPS
 
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