Majestic Angel in SPS reef?

[eskymick]

Short and simple .... how "safe" is a Majestic Angel for an SPS reef. Please share your experiences.

I have an opportunity to get a very healthy 3" Majestic with adult coloration. Should I or shouldn't I?

My tank has no clams or LPS corals.

[Conesus_Kid]

I have a juvenile that's about 2" that doesn't bother anything in the tank.

I am well aware that this may change at any time.

I've read that the navarchus is riskier with LPS and zoas, rather than SPS. (and that's what I'm hedging my bets on!)

I'm sure there's RC users with lots of experience w/ a majestic in a reef aquarium.

[thor32766]

yes quite a few people have had success with them in full sps.

[reef_doug]

I have a 6" Majestic Angel and he has not touched my SPS, Zoas or clams (at least not yet). Make sure he is eating pellets or flake. They can be tough to get to eat in the beginning. They also need lots of seaweed.

Awesome fish... go for it!

[eskymick]

I forgot to add one more "complicating" factor. My SPS reef also has a fairly large GBT Anemone ... hosting a breeding pair of false percs. I'd hate for a Majestic eat the anemone.

Any experiences with that, as well?

[Dakota Reef]

eskymick,

I've kept a Majestic Angel in my mixed reef for a couple of years now and he's done quite well. My tank has SPS, zoanthids, xenia and ricordia along with a few Green Bubble Tip Anemones.

He's never shown the least interest in the bubble tips or sadly, the xenia. He does pick at a a red variety of zoanthid yet leaves most other colors (including my orange Bam Bams) alone. He seems to just sample the mucus as the zoanthids aren't eaten. In fact they have done well in the aquarium and multiplied in spite of the fact that they have poorer polyp extension than other colonies.

He is very curious about any new coral or rock addition to the tank and has the alarming habit of tasting any new sps frag I put in the tank. I just about had a heart attack when he did this to a Purple Bonsai frag I'd just added but thankfully he never seems to bother them again.

I don't keep clams or LPS although it sounds like you're not keeping those either.

Good luck.....they can be a great fish!!

[eskymick]

Thanks for your detailed reply, Dakota. I'm seriously thinking of adding one to my reef. I love the combination of blue and orange. My other thought was for a Flameback Angel.

[tony varrell]

I have a 3.5" Majestic in a SPS system along with a pair of Regal angels. None of them bother with any of my corals. The majestic was much easier to get eating and acclaimated..

[reef_doug]

Originally posted by eskymick
Thanks for your detailed reply, Dakota. I'm seriously thinking of adding one to my reef. I love the combination of blue and orange. My other thought was for a Flameback Angel.

Go with the Majestic, I've heard Flamebacks are well known for picking.

[eskymick]

Do you all find your Majestic to be an aggressive eater? He'd have to battle some voracious "pigs" in my reef.

[tony varrell]

Mine is agressive enough to get his fill. My suggestion would be to overfeed the tank for a while and spot feed him. All angels are a bit relucant to compete for food at first. As long as you get a healthy fish in the beginning and have some experience acclaimating fish you will be ok. I have 4 angles living together with on problem. Two Regals one Joculator and one Majestic. However I am now having to upgrade to a 300 gallon. I would not get a pigmy angle over a majestic at all. The risk is basically the same but the reward for a health fat majestic is superior.

[reef_doug]

I agree with Tony, mine is aggressive just enough to get his share. He has to battle 2 YT, 1 PT, 1 blue hippo. My Majestic loves algae, so use at least 2-3 clips at once.

Make sure he is eating before purchasing, they can be difficult to get to eat and may not "fight" for their share if they are not healthy enough from the start.

[dvmsn]

Mine was the worst coral eater of any of the angels
I've tried. He would hover over my sps and leave white spots where he took bites!

[meschaefer]

Any others out there with negatives on the Majestic?

[AlainD]

No problem with my majestic.
I have him for 4 years with SPS and ricordia

[Dakota Reef]

My Majestic is aggressive enough to hold his own now. However, when I first got him a couple of years ago he was fairly timid and would dart for cover at the slightest movement outside the tank. I had removed my aggresive Purple Tang to another tank in preparation for the Majestic's arrival which I believe helped his acclimation. He seemed to gain confidence and learned how to find food by following my Longnose Butterfly around.

Now he's still the first fish to duck for cover when he's startled but I've never seen him back down from another fish since he got acclimated.

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post. Even if you don't feed a large amount at any one time, I've found it useful to have a nori clip and to feed spectrum type pellets or flakes that he needs to hunt for frequently. That way he's busy competing with the tangs for food and less likely to pester anything he shouldn't.

[eskymick]

Maybe this is a good time to ask abouot feeding pellets. I've had many angels in the past (in FOWLR tanks) and they all loved pellets. However, it seems the pelltts sink to the bottom and get "blown" under the rocks and decay uneaten. Am I doing something wrong?

[Dakota Reef]

Since I try and soak pellets in Selcon, they sink even faster. I'd rather have them sink than slip through the overflow where they may not be consumed.

I use a fairly fine sand, open rock structure and good water flow throughout the tank. Any food the fish don't spot blowing around on the substrate gets cleaned up quickly by the brittle stars, shrimp, crabs or nassarius snails.

[Toddrtrex]

Slightly different angel, but they are both in the same family. I have a juvi blue face that is about 3/4 into adult coloration. I have SPS, a clam, two Haddoni carpets, and recently sold my BTA. He hasn't touched a thing. Though, I can't put any zoas in my tank.

Was a little shy at first, but now is doing great. Eats like a pig, even spectrum pellets.

In a different tank I have a flameback angel with zoas and SPS, been about 6 months now and he hasn't touched a thing.

[eskymick]

In general, it all sounds good.