Playing with fire...

tytown · #1 03-29-2011, 05:33 AM

I recently set up a 60 gallon Fowlr with full intent of keeping it a fowlr. I bought around 50 lbs of live rock and then a few weeks later a jeuv clown trigger, and soon after a jeuv emperor. My curiosity got the best of me when I saw my first watermelon mushroom and thought "well, ill find out soon enough". I threw it in my tank and to my surprise, no one bothered it.
So then im in my LFS a few weeks later and I see these torch corals! I buy a few heads and wing em in my tank like it was Christmas morning. My trigger couldn't care less but my angel was a slightly different story. He swam around this thing for a few minutes contemplating just what he he should do. Naturally, he took a big bite, got stung on the lip and took off in a flash. I was a little worried for them both at first but after a few more minutes my angel was swimming around completely ignoring my new torch. So now im wondering what is so unsafe about these fish and corals.
So then a few weeks later (my torch looking better than ever) im back in my LFS telling him how my reef destroyers are living in harmony with softies and how great everything looks. I then find myself a beauty frogspawn about 6inches in diameter even brighter green than my torch and wing it in. Same thing with the trigger, he just wants to be fed shellfish, but my angel does the same thing. He takes a big bite. Once again my angel is stung and takes off, only this time hes coming back for more. In about a week my round 6in frogspawn is now a flat 2.5inch frogspawn. He likes to chew on the fleshy base where he wont get a sting.
So this all took 4 months to happen and now im really confused which way to go. Reef or FOWLR. But a combination of both would be great!
Does anyone have any experience with keeping an emp angel with certain types of soft coral? I can see this trial and error thing becoming really expensive.
Luckily my dad started a 110g reef and lives close by. He was pretty lucky to get a free frogspawn.
What do you guys think of all this newbie rukus?

The Grizz · #2 03-29-2011, 05:59 AM

Once an Angel gets a taste for coral it will never let it be. It is a crap shoot most of the time with fish that are deemed not reef safe. I have a Coral Beauty that was in a FOWLR but is now in my reef and he has never touched a thing.

sphelps · #3 03-29-2011, 02:12 PM

You’re not seeing anything unusual. Triggers are typically safe with all corals, it’s the fact they will usually eat crustaceans like crabs and shrimp that makes then “non reef safe”. Full size angles will usually go after soft and LPS corals, however every fish is different and some have better luck than others. They often do better with harder corals as appose to softer ones. Also don’t be fooled thinking the angle has learned a lesson and will no longer pick at those corals, more than likely it’ll be back for more eventually. It doesn’t take much to upset a torch or frogspawn coral either, a couple bites can be enough to cause an infection which can spread to other corals. Also keep in mind the angle is just a juvenile, their coral eating behavior gets worse with age, some sources will even say they are reef safe as juveniles and not as adults so if it’s already eating coral, well…. have fun with that

As somebody new in the hobby I wouldn’t suggest tackling too many non reef safe fish in a reef tank. Best to stick with a basic reef with smaller fish like dwarf angles as appose to full size. A 60 gallon is too small and won’t give you the advantage of a FO tank, a small reef would be much nicer.

phreezee · #4 03-29-2011, 04:41 PM

I had a Picasso trigger with my clam for over a year without incident but it was only a matter of time. Put the trigger up for sale.

I just added a Juv Emperor the other day, so maybe this time the clam will be put up for sale when the day comes.

kien · #5 03-29-2011, 06:00 PM

Another reason why many triggers are considered "not reef safe" is because they can be quite aggressive towards other fish, especially the more docile reef fish. They are very aggressive eaters and can easily out compete these docile reef fish for food. Or one day they could just get fed up and decide to just eat your weaker fish.

tytown · #6 03-30-2011, 05:24 AM

I guess we'll see how the torch does over the next few weeks. If I see it get nipped once I'll post it on the buy/sells for free.
Thanks everyone!

zum14 · #7 03-30-2011, 02:56 PM

Im kinda surprised this hasnt come up yet but maybe if your enjoying the corals, consider selling the fish? 60 gal is way too small for an emperor angel. They need more in the 300 gal range to be comfortable. Triggers get big too. Just another angle to look at if your likeing coral.

Madreefer · #8 03-30-2011, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zum14

Im kinda surprised this hasnt come up yet but maybe if your enjoying the corals, consider selling the fish? 60 gal is way too small for an emperor angel. They need more in the 300 gal range to be comfortable. Triggers get big too. Just another angle to look at if your likeing coral.

I thought the same thing but thought the tang police would be all over it. Was waiting to see if they would chase off another new member. Much better approach. I guess only tangs matter.

tytown · #9 03-30-2011, 05:33 PM

I agree for the most part but its better than the 10g display tank I bought them out of.
I consider them lucky - two fish both under 2.5inches in a 60g with more TLC than what my feline gets.
Maybe these police should check out their local SPCA and recalculate the inhumane size to enclosure ratio.
Its not like we flush them when we they outgrow their home anyways....

Madreefer · #10 03-30-2011, 05:59 PM

Both of those fish get quite big and the clown trigger can get really nasty. There could be a good chance of a fight to the death with the clown trigger coming out on top. Whatever you choose to do I wish you luck. When I had trigger fish I used to feed them fresh clams in the shell. It's neat to watch them beat the crap out of the shell until it would open. Plus it's good for helping them keep their teeth down.