Emperor Angel in a Reef
 

I know its hit or miss but what are the chances of keeping one in an sps reef with little problems?

Not worth the trouble?

I feed about 4-6 times a day, would that make a difference?

From what I understand if you start off with a small juvi you should have less problems with it eating corals then a larger/adult. My emperor left my softies and LPS alone and I got him as a small 2-3" juvi. Not sure about SPS though. I think michika had one in her tank with sps and it left her corals alone but I'm not 100% sure.

Mine never bothered with SPS, but he LOVED Frogspawn, scolmias, donuts, zoas and mushrooms.

Everything you want to know about large angelfish
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008...rchterm=angels

and part 2

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008...rchterm=angels

Wayne

Thats what I was thinking but I guess you still never know.

That could be a problem.

Thanks, that helps a lot.


Seems like its totally hit or miss. Plus my tank isn't really big enough.


I also of course worry about the collection and problems with these species. I would not be buying from a LFS but instead from another source which I trust a little more (no offense to LFS :) ) and thie fish would not be going through a bunch of tanks/wholesalers but still...

Probably won't take the risk. I think another 'easy' to care for (and smaller) tang would be a better choice.

The interesting thing is that on the other side of the world, my father tells me that these are very common fish to keep and considered very easy. He lives in Singapore where I guess they special order a lot of fish that are literally caught and shipped direct to them then next day (and arrive at the airport same day). I suppose this takes a lot of stress off the fishes and gives them a much better chance. Since he orders all his fish through the same collectors and they go straight to his tank, he has never had ich...must be nice :neutral:

Expensive though!

I wonder if he can ship some stuff here? That would be a great source to get really good fish.

Maybe a tomini tang for something small. He'd definitely help out with the grazing :D

Well he is coming in May and is bringing me some coral already :mrgreen: . He is just paying for the permits. Im not sure if he wants to being fish though.

Based on this:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/7/fish

A Majestic may be a better choice. Seems the Pomacanthus angels don't really pick at sps at all, mostly just LPS and some softies. I guess I could live with that since my tank is mostly sps and to be honest I only care about the sps because its so much more expensive than the softies I have or the one or two small LPS I have.

Still prefer the Emperor though :)

Hi Justin

That is my thoughts exactly.

I would rather have the Angels in my tank nipping at the odd zoe or coral than not have the Angels at all. I do however stay away from the meaty LPS corals.

Tom R

I have an juv emperor with frogspawn, hammerhead it seems okay tho but yea its hit and miss because my previous one wont stop neaping on my coco worms but this one wont eat go near by it, so GSP good luk....

So what angels do you have? :smile:

I still haven't made it over to see your tanks :sad:

I do have a decent amount of Zoas and do care about them...but I mean, I can always sell them off. For LPS, I have a small hammer, frogspawn and thats it really. I also have some leathers and gorgonians but i can't see them caring about that.

I was hoping to add some acans and maze corals which may be out.

But really, I can live with that if it means keeping an angel like the Emperor :)

Has anyone had an Emperor that nipped sps?

Oh and obviously finding one that is eating is important. So will the fact that I feed my fish so much and all throughout the day help? I figure it must stop them from getting bored or hungry and going after corals.

I think he has 2 majestic, one in his softies and one in his sps... nice and fat

Hi Justin

In my 180g I have a 5" Majestic, a Flame and a Whitetail blue Pygmy.

In my 125G I have 7" Majestic, a Flame and an Orange Peel

In my 25G LPS tank I have an Eibli

I am not sure about Angels and Acans. My Angels have never bothered with my Hammers and Frogspawns.

Tom R

I actually had two in two separate tanks over the years, and you are correct, neither touched anything ever. Both tanks had clams, SPS, and a few peices of LPS, and maybe three small colonies of zoa. I attributed my success in these cases to feeding regularly, and feeding a variety of foods. The unfortunate thing is that both instances ended poorly in that the angels did not live past 18 months, however I suspect it was related to how they were caught rather then any other factor. The first angel was around for a little over a year, and the second was only with me for about 7 months.

Both of my angels were juvis that I purchased when they were under 4" in total length. I found that both had a preference for purple nori over any other type, and that they liked mysis best. Not sure if its really all the relevant, but maybe somebody can use the information.

Good to hear!

Yes, very helpful. I am hoping that going the route I am to get this fish will mean less chance it was caught with poor techniques. I don't know if I would buy one from a store...

Nice! There is no import restrictions on tropical fish for personal use, so you wouldn't even need any extra permits :biggrin:

Oh ok, good to know.

He said he needs them for corals. Even though the corals are coming from his tank.

I suppose hard corals need CITES to clear.
Ornamental fish or inverts you don't. I've brought back shrimp from Taiwan before without any problem. Just declare them and they'll take a look at the agriculture inspection station, which wasn't much hassle for me.

Justin:
based on my experience I think its very helpful to buy a sponge when you get your emperor because it really keeps mine busy the whole time so that it wont bother the rest of your corals.

Ok, I have some pretty big sponges it would be welcome to eat. I also don't mind buying sponges regularily if needed. Although I would prefer for it to eat prepared foods.

somehow my sponge never seems that is going smaller eventho my angels nips at it all the time

I have two Emperors in my tank for over six months now, a 6" and a 4". The smaller one doesn't touch any corals. The larger was a good citizen for a couple months and then it started eating some of the zoanthids, nothing else. IMO, large angels are safe with sps, not soft or LPS. Dwarf angels are safe with soft and LPS but not sps. Of course keeping the angels well fed will better your chances, however, in a confine aquarium, these animals will eventually get bore and try things that would never occur in a wide open reef. I keep a mixed reef and losing a few corals every now and then is not an issue for me.