Bluefin Angel Taking a Bite of Zoa's
 

So I have had my bluefin angel for a several months now, I also have had zoa's/palys longer (5 different ones). Never seemed to have any problems.

I had re-organized the tank moving all the zoa/paly colonies close to each other so they could grow and fill out that section of the tank. No problems at that time.

My original and oldest colony was 4"x5" brown with pink center with about 130 polyps (best guess there) all my other colonies are much newer with 15 or less polyps.

I decided to frag the larger colony to balance things out. Since this colony was on a thin 4"x5" rock, I used a dremel to make the frags.

Everything seemed fine after fragging, except my remaining piece, kept ending up on the sand bed, getting knock of the rocks.
So then I started watching closer. Then my other colonies started staying closed up, and looking a little bruised.

Then I saw what was going on, the Bluefin was coming around and biting at the polyps. First they would be open, and it would nip, they would close up and it would nip a little more.

At this time, I have cut plastic 20oz bottles and placed them over the colonies to protect them. This is working, but isn't the most attractive situation.

Any ideas, suggestions ?

Just the joys of mixing angels & corals. Pretty much going to have to remove one or the other.

It is nice to have different angels in our reef tanks but it's always a risk to some corals. I had a Koran angel in my reef tank for two years. Very quickly I had to remove my clams, open brains, sarcophyton, and elegance coral. I could however maintain a large selection of soft and lps corals after that like zoas, green star polyp, euphyllia torch and frogspawn, xenia, montipora, and hydnophora.

sometimes the fish can gain a taste for coral that they didn't like or find before. I agree with greg. One or the other has to go.

Yup. Even if you sacrifice your zoas, you never know when that fish may decide to go after the polyps on your other favorite coral or one that cost you an arm and a leg.

I've read that the only safe angel is a Wantanabe, though some people have found luck with the dwarf angels.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11505819#post11505819 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mskohl [/i]
[B]... I've read that the only safe angel is a Wantanabe, though some people have found luck with the dwarf angels. [/B][/QUOTE]

I don't know about the Wantanabe, but I can speak for my two dwarfs...a Cherub and a Bi-color...which seem to be pretty reef safe. I haven't seen them nip at anything other than new fish being added to their tanks. In that respect, the Cherub is **ANYTHING** but a cherub. That little sucker is brutal. The only thing I've ever seen stand up to it was a Pearl Scale butterfly...which turned out to be exceptionally non-reef safe and ended up finding a new home.

Yeah, I think the dwarfs are hit or miss, just depending on the temperment of the particular fish.

I've had Coral Beauties and one was fine and the other was definitely not fine.

I agree with what everyone's said-- either the polyps or the angel will have to go. If you're heart's set on having an angel in your reef, you might try one of the Genicanthus angels. They're reef safe, and I had great luck keep a Swallowtail in my mixed tank, with a clam, up until the ice storm.

I might have a go at trying to trade out the Bluefin for a different dwarf.

Catching that sucker is going to suck, i'm not sure how that is going to happen very easily.

So here's the Bluefin,

The tank is a 55gal,
other in habitants are:
Maroon and Gold Clown
Diamond Goby
Green Mandarin
Lawn Mower Blenny
Fire Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp

I'm open to trade suggestions and/or offers.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v682/jc8745/Fish/BlueFin.jpg[/IMG]

ok, i moved the colonies to a frag tray in the refugium.

I left a couple of polyps of a orange and green colony in the tank to see what happens to them.

I'm going to leave the others in the frag tray for a couple of weeks, then try and move the orange a green ones back.

I have tons of the orange a green ones growing in my mother in laws nano cube, so i am not as worried about them as i am other colonies.

I might have to try and trade the colonies out for other corals.
I will try and get some pics of the colonies on here, and see if anyone has some ricordias or something.