Flame Angel and Flame Hawk.

[lionfish]

LionFish says......
Well, I know some of you people have had one or both of these fish at one time or another. Now any of you that check the aggressive board know that I know my aggressive fish quite well. However, there are some fish I haven't dealt with before. I have a 50 gallon reef tank right now with a Percula Clown, 6-Line Wrasse, and a Black-cap Basslet. My wife loves these little cute fish compared to my big mean fish so I pretty much owe it to her after all these years to get some little fish that she would like. She wants a Flame Angel, I want the Flame Hawk. Now, I want to hear personal experiences with these fish. I have been told that Flame Angels are horrible in reefs andd also told that they are great reef fish. I have also been told that the Flame Hawk would eat my Cleaner shrimp and hermit crabs. Is this right? Make sure you tell personal experiences with these fish. Thanks for any info.

 

[coralbeauty]

I currently have a flame angel. I had a flame hawk about a year ago.
The flame angel is a beautiful fish. She swims in and out of the rocks. She eats everything and anything I put in the tank. She is the smallest fish in the tank right now, so she is peaceful. When I had smaller fish in there she chased them frequently. She will pick at certain corals. I had a red and a green open brain that she would not leave alone. I have to move them to different tanks. However, she leaves all of my other corals alone. Including a very large red swollen brain form the red sea.
The biggest problem is getting one of these to live! I had two before this one. For no reason they died after about two weeks. I have had this one for several years. I read in a post on another site about flame angel death rate. It was very high and growing. No one was able to keep them alive for more than a month or two. They say they are possibly packing them too tight in shipping.
The flame hawk is a fish I really miss! I loved the way he hung out of the rocks and waited for food. His color was wonderful. He never touched any of the hermit crabs, however, I did not own a cleaner when I had him. After about 6 months he stopped eating and died. I have no idea why.
So this is my experience to date.
Good luck,
Connie

 

[broomer5]

I also have a flame angelfish in my 55 reef tank and it's never caused any harm to corals. It takes all food, flake and frozen and loves live brine shrimp. It is my first flame, about 2 inches long and I've had it for around 9 months. Very bright colored, extremely active, one of my favorites
I've never kept a flame hawk.
Brian

 

[mr294]

hey lion question for you. how do your like your blackcap. i was thinking about getting one to go along with a 6 line also. they getting along fine?

 

[lionfish]

LionFish says......
Well, as far as I can tell the Basslet is the wuss of the three fish in the tank. This isn't how it usually works though, They tend to be aggressive towards tank mates but this little guy doesn't bother the other 2 fish. In fact I have seen the Clown chase him a couple times. However, the basslet doesn't take any crap from anyone. He will start coming at the clown with his mouth wide open trying to spook the clown away from his cave. Overall, though, the basslet is one of the coolest fish I have ever owned. If you keep him with mild-mannered fish, he should do fine.

 

[frenchman]

I think that flame angels are the most beautiful fishes available. They are sometimes overpriced but I found medium sized for $34.95 in NYC recently. I got two, one for the reef tank, one for the fish tank.
I agree with others above. The biggest problem is to keep them alive. One of them suddenly stopped eating and starved to death for not reason. I tried lots of different food and he never understood what food looked like. Strangely enough, he committed "suicide" and rolled himself into an empty shell. Impossible to take him out. The other is doing OK in the reef tank and does not both corals but I never had brains before. He is pecking at the live rocks and loves frowen pigmy angelfish food. The only problem is that now the remaining flame is starting to have a blurry eye - not good looking anymore. The rest of the fish get well along with the flame although a small pigmy angel is often chased yet unharmed by the flame.

 

[pufferlover]

Have had many hawks (longnose, arc eye, spotted, falco). Never had a flame altho I have seen many at the stores I visit. They are supposed to be a mild hawk of the bunch I mentioned but in time as they get bigger they will eat a shrimp or two if hungry. My spotted ate a 20 dollar flame shrimp within 2 days of putting the flame in the 65 gallon the hawk is in and it was small at the time.

 

[up north hermit]

I have had my flame angel 5+ years. Always been healthy and hardy. I suspect the current methods of capture is the reason for so many deaths. Poison. That's my theory.
My flame hawkfish is by far my favorite. He gets cleaned daily by my scarlet cleaner shrimp, so go figure. He is in the same tank as my arc-eyed hawk. Now these two are in loooooove, honestly they are comical. And they are not supposed to be compatible, so again, go figure!
My suggestion on buying stock is to be as inquisitive as you can about their capture. Alot of LFS's know their suppliers. If they don't, I simply would change my dealer and buy elsewhere.
Once again, my humble .02
Hermit
[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: Up North Hermit ]

 

[goofieones]

Hello,
I have a flame hawk and he is great, hasn't touched the inverts yet!! Knock on wood, they are supposed to be the most reef safe. Anyways he doesn't touch my cleaners either, I actually think the cleaners could beat him up if they had too. LOL My flame hawk will eat any food and swims right up to the top of the tank when it's feeding time, he is pretty smart.

 

[guppie]

I had the same problem with my flame angle, after about a month it just stoped eatting and died, I have heard of the same problem from alot of other people, I would never get another one again. I now have a flame hawk great fish very active, I have been told never to put with any shrimp, so I have never tryed it. Good LUck

 

[dugan]

I have had both.
My Flame Angel just disappeared one day, I never found it and there was no ammonia spike. I blamed a nasty looking big crab I later discovered lurking in my LR. So I cannot comment on longevity.
It was, however, a beautiful fish and I loved the colors especially with my royal gramma in the tank too. I do think it ate a lot of the little tube worms that were on the LR though.
The Flame Hawk is a great fish, but the one I had ate my cleaner shrimp within a day or so of the time I put him in the tank.
I loved that fish so much though, I am struggling with whether to get another one or keep shrimp in the new tank I'm setting up. They have great 'personalities' and it's fun to watch them scoot around the tank. Their color is pretty cool too.
Katie

 

[east tx]

Hi
I agree with goofieones "Flame Hawk" is the guy.
Neat to watch, doesn't cause a problem. ( with corals or cleaner'S ) Feeding time comes to the top and take it out of your hand.

 

[moksha]

WATCH OUT FOR THE HAWK IN A REEF!!!
I have owned a flame hawk and just got rid of him about a month ago. He was a very cool fish, much personality, but unpredictable. I had a cleaner and some sally-lightfoots in at the time I had him, all in a 75 FOWLR tank. He was good for several months, but then the hawkfish instinct came out, and he was always eyeballing that shrimp. It made the shrimp very uneasy. If you already own a cleaner, and like him, I'd go with the angel. Just my experience talking, I hate spending 25 bucks on a meal for myself, let alone one for my fish!!
let us know!
(ps the reason i opted to turn in the hawk is because i am trying to slowly establish a reef)