Fish Recomendation

[gpenner]

Hello,
Getting ready to buy our first fish. My wife and I really like the flame angel fish. We know we want to get a clown fish - will this fish play well with clown fish? What are some other recomendations of fish that do well with this type of angel fish?
I have a 55g tank with live rock, sand, crushed coral. I plan on adding some coral and anemones (slowly) over time.
Thanks.

 

[ncacura]

Flame Angels are awesome, I own one myself. They are slightly agressive though. Any time I introduce a new fish my flame angel will pick on him for a couple days, which doesn't help the acclimation process, but usually after a couple days they're fine.
If your looking to get inverts/corals/clams, be careful with a flame angel, they are either "hit or miss" as most will tell you.
Awesome fish though, pretty much get along with any fish, just don't get another angel, they will kill eachother. Good Luck.

 

[perfectdark]

Well apart from having a tank that will support corals and anenomes...sounds like a good plan. Hows your lighting?
The flame angel is one of my favorites too my tank is just to small for one. But IMO You need a well established tank because they graze on the LR picking at algea. You didnt mention how much LR you have. They are reef safe but should be watched they can nip at corals from what I have read. Depending on the species of clown you get they should be fine together. Maroons from what I hear can get quite aggressive towards their territory, but IMO any others should play well together. I think most any reef safe fish IMO can be put in with a flame angel. Good Luck

 

[lesleybird]

The flame angel should do fine even if you don't have a lot of algea on the rocks as they also eat most fish foods. Get some food that has some algea in it to feed some times too, and algea sheets. The clown and the angel should be fine as long as it is not one of the agressive varieties of clowns like the maroon. As for an anemone, most need the very expensive metal halide lighting to survive, and if one dies they release a poison that can kill everything in the tank if not removed before they die. Clowns do fine without an anemone. Good luck, Lesley

 

[jpc763]

Originally Posted by ncacura
Flame Angels are awesome, I own one myself. They are slightly agressive though. Any time I introduce a new fish my flame angel will pick on him for a couple days, which doesn't help the acclimation process, but usually after a couple days they're fine.
I read somewhere (here or in one my books) that you should add the flame angel last since it can be territorial. Other than that, great looking fish! I am considering one for my last fish in a 55g.

 

[gpenner]

Originally Posted by PerfectDark
Well apart from having a tank that will support corals and anenomes...sounds like a good plan. Hows your lighting?
The flame angel is one of my favorites too my tank is just to small for one. But IMO You need a well established tank because they graze on the LR picking at algea. You didnt mention how much LR you have. They are reef safe but should be watched they can nip at corals from what I have read. Depending on the species of clown you get they should be fine together. Maroons from what I hear can get quite aggressive towards their territory, but IMO any others should play well together. I think most any reef safe fish IMO can be put in with a flame angel. Good Luck

I have 65lbs of LR and a 4 bulbs totaling 260watts. I was told that these lights would support most aneomes and corals. Don't tell me I was mis-informed...

 

[perfectdark]

Well that would depend on the type of lighting.. Wattage is important but so is intensity. IMO if they are standard PC lights thats about 4+ almost 5 watts per gal. Definatly strong enough for soft corals.. But an anenome.. im not so sure.. If they are t-5's or VHO's at that wattage you are much better off.

 

[jpc763]

Originally Posted by PerfectDark
Well that would depend on the type of lighting.. Wattage is important but so is intensity. IMO if they are standard PC lights thats about 4+ almost 5 watts per gal. Definatly strong enough for soft corals.. But an anenome.. im not so sure.. If they are t-5's or VHO's at that wattage you are much better off.
Lights sound like PC. T5 would be 4x54 or 216 watts. PC are typically 4x65 or 260 watts. So it is a 55g with PC most likely.

 

[perfectdark]

Thats a tough call, from the majority of opinions you will prob get a no. Most all anenomes need extremly high intensity lighting so PC's usually dont fit the bill. However, there is a scenario where someone has recorded success with a certain type of carpet anenome for 8 years under moderate PC lighting. The study was written by a well known aquarist by the user name phender on another site. Most however have only kept a bta alive for about 2 years under the rule of 4 watts per gal of PC lighting which is not really a good way of determining light intensity but for explaning the scenario its what people relate too. The problem with this study is the majority of aquarist who have been involved in the study were considerd novices so to relate its death to lighting is still in question. There is also another study written by Joyce Wilkerson who has a published book about anenomes. Her survey stated that in 4 tank sizes 120, 110, 60 and 20, 4 different BTA's were kept alive for longer than 2 years with marginal lighting. The most compelling survey was done with the 120 gal and the 110 gal. The 120 had its BTA under 440 watts of PC lighting with 110 of it actinic, thats 3.6 watts per gal. The 110 had its BTA in only 160 watts of actinic lighting only, this is 1.45 watts per gal. Both specimies lived longer than 2 years. Is lighting that big of a factor...? I dont know.. long term? maybe... but the carpet anenome scenario throws a wrench into that theory too. IMO..

 

[gpenner]

Originally Posted by jpc763
Lights sound like PC. T5 would be 4x54 or 216 watts. PC are typically 4x65 or 260 watts. So it is a 55g with PC most likely.

Yup, I have two 65W 12000K and Two 65W actinic. Are these okay?... I would hate to have to buy another set.....

 

[perfectdark]

Read my above post...

IMO You stand as good a chance as any in keeping it alive. There are others that would argue so thats just MO. I am by far not an expert but I read alot and these are the things I have found.

 

[spanko]

Just my $0.02 on the flame angel.
Just be aware that it depends on the fish itself whether or not it will nip at your corals. In most of the posts I have read they end up at some point becomming a pain to the coral in the tank and have been removed for that reason.
Also you need to come up with a list of the fish you intend to add to determine the schedule. The least agressive go in first until lastly you get to the most agressive. This way the fish set up their territory and decrease the fighting that happens when new fish arrive.
Their are numerous sites available that will tell you which fish to add with which and what not to add.
JMO FWIW