Fritz0id3937 January 2, 2015 Share January 2, 2015 Are any dwarf angels truely reef safe? Which kind would be the safest bet or most likely to be reef safe. I had to get rid of my flame angel bc it picked on a few sps. After a few weeks they are thriving again. I have a 65 gal and I want one "main" or center piece fish that would still be reef safe. My biggest fish right now is a clown and I'm under stocked. Anyone have any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 January 2, 2015 Share January 2, 2015 All angels are a crapshoot. A bunch of people here keep Flame Angels with no problem. I had one too, but it died when I had a rock collapse. I currently have a Pygmy Cherub Angel and he doesn't nip at anything, including a tasty clam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz0id3937 January 2, 2015 Author Share January 2, 2015 Hmm, any other "center piece" fish ideas for a 65gal then? Are Cherubs the "safest"? What types of sps do you have? My flame loved to nip pocci, digitata, and stylophora. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE January 2, 2015 Share January 2, 2015 (edited) Many people say, and based on my experience I agree, that cherub and/or flameback angels are the safest. I currently have a flameback in my tank and he is a model citizen- thinking about it, I've never even heard about either of these fish picking (though given the nature of centropyge I wouldn't be surprised if someone chimed in with the opposite). I also believe that if you get dwarf angels when they are very small and young, you have a much better chance of them avoiding coral. When they're young they either haven't learned to eat coral, or (if you feed often) they quickly learn that it's much easier to eat prepared food than pick at coral. You could always just try again with another species of centropyge that you like- chances are that you'll get lucky this time since you were unluckly last time Genicanthus are considered the safest angels. With a 65 gal, you could get away with some of the smaller species of genicanthus and I think a pair would be awesome as "centerpiece" fish. I personally would go with bellus or watanabei. Edited January 2, 2015 by L8 2 RISE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz0id3937 January 2, 2015 Author Share January 2, 2015 Thanks, I didn't know about those options. A pair would be cool, sure a 65 is big enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 January 3, 2015 Share January 3, 2015 Hmm, any other "center piece" fish ideas for a 65gal then? Are Cherubs the "safest"? What types of sps do you have? My flame loved to nip pocci, digitata, and stylophora. All of those and then some. I have never seen the angel nip at any of my coral, and I don't feed that often either (every 1.5-2.5 days). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k January 3, 2015 Share January 3, 2015 How about a Trio of Assessors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef January 3, 2015 Share January 3, 2015 (edited) The only angels considered reef safe are too large for your tank at full grown unfortunently... Genicanthus angels, swallowtail, Lamarcks, bellus, etc... And tend to be bullies in smaller tanks ( or so I've heard,lol ive only had 1 and my Lamarcks was a jack wagon).... I like robs idea of the trio:) Edited January 3, 2015 by smallreef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE January 3, 2015 Share January 3, 2015 Thanks, I didn't know about those options. A pair would be cool, sure a 65 is big enough? It would be on the small side so do what you're comfortable with. I personally would be comfortable putting a bellus (and the similar size ones, swallowtail, etc, I just think bellus is prettiest) in that size tank, maybe a pair would be too much. How about a Trio of Assessors? I like this idea more- groups of these fish are really cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k January 3, 2015 Share January 3, 2015 FWIW, The Lamarcks pair that I eventually sold to Copps are considered to be reef-safe, but they too liked to nip at fleshy LPS corals and prompted me to sell them. They were fed multiple times per day, but they still liked to bite the corals more than eat them. Most angels will eat corals if the coral is in poor condition- this is opportunistic feeding rather than obligate feeding. Keep your corals healthy and the fish well fed, and chances are the 2 will exist harmoniously in your tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals January 3, 2015 Share January 3, 2015 FWIW, The Lamarcks pair that I eventually sold to Copps are considered to be reef-safe, but they too liked to nip at fleshy LPS corals and prompted me to sell them. They were fed multiple times per day, but they still liked to bite the corals more than eat them. Most angels will eat corals if the coral is in poor condition- this is opportunistic feeding rather than obligate feeding. Keep your corals healthy and the fish well fed, and chances are the 2 will exist harmoniously in your tank. +1 I have kept a number, all have eaten coral except the flame and the African flameback. The African flameback is your best bet, but it young if possible. Be prepared for angels to nip and eat corals though. Most likely it will happen eventually. Mine eat the tips off the acros and polyps randomly but I like them so much its worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSKN5 January 4, 2015 Share January 4, 2015 I had a cherub who nipped all my softies... gsp, gorgs, cloves etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz0id3937 January 4, 2015 Author Share January 4, 2015 Thanks for all the advice. I guess I'm leaning towards the asserrors but they look pricey. Any other cool ideas like that. I like a lot of little fish that will stay in the middle/main water column - really makes it look like a reef, or makes it look like there are more fish than there actually are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSKN5 January 4, 2015 Share January 4, 2015 Assessors are on sale at LA this week for $35 each... also could do royal gramma group... I'm considering similar options as i also like a bunch of little active fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE January 4, 2015 Share January 4, 2015 (edited) You could do an anthias group, a group of dartfish (I like blue gudgeons) or tilefish, or a group of cardinals like red dots. Edited January 4, 2015 by L8 2 RISE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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