captured juvenile blue angel!

mattyparsons · #1 10/01/2007, 05:33 PM

well, after a few hours of scuba diving, and a few weeks playing with my new slurp gun, i finally captured a juvenile blue angel.

here's where it gets interesting, i live on long island, ny.

so now the little fella is in one of my tanks at my mother's house (don't want to add him to my main tank).

i have captured spotfin butterflies, banded butterflies and cocoa damsels this year, and they're all eating frozen brine shrimp.

i want to be very careful with this little guy and have him grow up big and strong.

any feeding tips for a happy, healthy juvenile blue angel?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

_FishFreak_724 · #2 10/01/2007, 08:48 PM

wheere did you catch him at ??

rcypert · #3 10/02/2007, 05:29 AM

Blue Angelfish need to eat a large variety of foods to stay healthy. Get a frozen angelfish formula that contains sponges, shrimp, seaweed, high quality pellet and flake. Make sure that you vitamin enrich the food as often as possible. Lots of live rock in the tank would help as well. Maybe some fresh seaweed from the fuge. If you want his colors to change and stay bright you really have to feed him a great diet.

saltyESQ · #4 10/02/2007, 05:47 AM

Can you post a pic? you do realize that the water is too cold for that fish.

mattyparsons · #5 10/02/2007, 06:57 AM

apparently he never got the memo about the temp.

i got him in the vicinity of moriches inlet on long island.

thanks for the info! i'll post a pic when i can get a good one.

Redfish · #6 10/02/2007, 09:10 AM

Blue angels and perhaps Queen angels have a range much greater than many think. They are obviously able to acclimate too much cooler waters. They are not even really supposed to be in this area and we find them all the time.

I have also seen them off the Carolina coasts.

saltyESQ · #7 10/02/2007, 12:04 PM

I did a little search and their natural habitat extends to the carolina's.

billsreef · #8 10/02/2007, 12:28 PM

The Gulf Stream brings lots of juvenile tropicals into Long Island's south shore bays during the late summer and early fall. This angel makes the 8th one I've heard about this year

Water Box · #9 10/02/2007, 02:05 PM

That is great! definately need to see a pic.

mattyparsons · #10 10/02/2007, 07:32 PM

no pic yet. should have one by the end of the week.

turns out it may be a queen angel, and not the blue angel like i thought originally.

he was observed eating this afternoon for the first time.

Redfish · #11 10/02/2007, 10:01 PM

If it is a Queen that is even more unusual. The neat thing about Queens out of their established regions is that you may end up with some very cool color morph.

I have seen some incredible morphs in the Carribean but I have never been in a position to capture or take it home.

EdKruzel · #12 10/03/2007, 12:00 AM

As Bill mentioned it is very common to see juvenile tropical species that far north. The Caribbean currents run like a highway and are pushed north up until the late summer season, carrying debris such as floating piles of sargassum which small/juveniles hide within. The unfortunate portion is that as the currents subside, the juvenile fish remain in the temperate waters and perish. A varied and enriched diet is very important along with pristine water. Juvenile angels are known for fluke infections so any sign of infestation or an abnormality should be cause for a fresh water dip and medication.

Best of luck...

mattyparsons · #13 10/03/2007, 08:07 AM

love that gulf stream!

thanks again to everyone who posted care info for this beautiful critter. with some luck, we'll be together for a long time.

thor32766 · #14 10/03/2007, 12:20 PM

awesome find, make sure and feed the angel formula as mentioned before.

mattyparsons · #15 10/04/2007, 12:35 PM

here's my new baby!

my appologies for the fuzziness. he's a bit shy.

EdKruzel · #16 10/04/2007, 03:29 PM

That's awesome, looks as if she'd fit right in the palm of your hand.

JasonColtsFan · #17 10/04/2007, 03:31 PM

nice pic... good luck with him! let us know when he starts eating

Dischirm · #18 10/04/2007, 03:49 PM

It doesn't look like a Queen Angel or a blue to me, but I have never seen one so small. Whatever it is, I think it is amazingly beautiful. CONGRATS!

jmccown · #19 10/04/2007, 03:52 PM

Looks kinda like a passer. But then again my queen angel sort of had colors like that when smaller.

mattyparsons · #20 10/04/2007, 05:36 PM

she's eating too!

yeah i'm still not positive on the ID. it looks like it could be either a blue or an angel, but the key for both shows there being smaller white stripes in between the larger ones. mine only has the 4 vertical white stripes.

billsreef · #21 10/04/2007, 06:06 PM

It's definately a juvenile of either Queen or Blue. Considering a large number of Blue Angels are showing up this year, I'd wager it's a Blue.

cthetoy · #22 10/04/2007, 07:28 PM

Heres another thread about the Blue Angel collection trip
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...2#post10894792

Justin/TiV · #23 10/04/2007, 09:13 PM

thats really neat. and most definately a blue angel

FishyMel · #24 10/04/2007, 11:00 PM

It is quite possible it is a blue x queen hybrid. There are many areas in the caribbean around barrier island reefs where these two species live together in harmony and commonly interbreed

billsreef · #25 10/05/2007, 06:21 AM

The Townsend (hyrid of Blue and Queen) is realitively rare and wouldn't support the numbers being found this year. Bermuda, however, is directly in the Gulf Stream and that is what sweeps the tropicals into our waters this far north