Flame angel question

[adriana]

I was thinikng on adding a flame angel to my 90 gal, but I need some opinions.
I have in the tank:
2 perculas
a yellow tang
a hippo tang
a purple firefish goby.

This is going to be my last fish............ I read that the flame angels pick on coral and could be agressive to other fish.
All my fish get along in the tank and I have no problems.
My questions is:
Does your Flame angel pic on your corals and is he agressive towards other fish? Would it be a good idea if I get one?

Thank you

[mbarta]

I second the question. I too am interested in one. I have also read that they may nip at softies......which is all I have right now.

Anyone have a problem with them muchin on softies?

Thanks
Michael

[dvups1]

Well I have had alot of "reef safe" angels only to watch them tear up their favorite coral. Good luck. I know no two fish are alike but I gave up on tryig to find an angek I could trust.

[CCAniman]

Well as stated no 2 angels are the same, I have a flame angel and he doesn't pick at any of my soft corals. Also while on the question of flame angels was wondering, going to be upgrading from a 46 to a 125 and my question is would that be enough room if i wanted to add a bi-color angel? I know the shape and colors of the 2 are different so that is why i was wondering. Any info would be greatly appreciated. PS Sorry to ask a question on ur post but felt it would probably get just as much attention here as it would there.

Thanks

Chad

[slojmn]

adriana, I think you may be maxed out for fish in the 90g. How big are the tangs? That is pretty small space to add to with two tangs in there already. I have a 120g and have smaller fish (2 chromis, 1 citron goby, 1 mandarin, 2 sunburst anthias, 2 perculas) and a small Kole Tang who is totally mellow. I added a Flame Angel about 10 days ago and the Kole Tang went crazy and tried to kill the angel, I mean kill it. It was awful. I was able to net the flame angel out after about 5 minutes in one of those rare moments when the netting gods were with me. I plopped her in my 40 g that houses a pair of perculas only. She is happily cruising in there and it is to early to tell what she might decide she likes to eat.
So it is possible to put the angel in your tank 'cuz you can do whatever you want, but the liklihood of aggression from one of the tangs is high and the swimming room for all those fish will be limited. JMHO :)

CCaniman, I have heard of others who have two of the pygmy angels in their reefs in that size range. I think you should be okay but may want to hear from others who have done it to be sure. It is risky as they like to nibble on the corals, but a lot of folks have gotten lucky.

[argi]

I have 2 flame angels in my tank (150 gallon) along with 1 hippo tang, 1 yellow tang, 1 desijardini sailfin tang, 2 banggai cardnals, 1 neon dottyback, 1 orchid dottyback, 1 anthias sp., 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 percula clown and 3 small green chromis. They were the 3rd to last fish to go in (sailfin tang, and green chromis added after them) and there is some aggression within the tank. But it is usually the banggai cardinals pushing them out of their territory. Besides that the fish get along fine with them.

I think there have been post about this before so I am not sure if you have read this or not, but a good way to acclimate new fish into a tank with tangs in it is to put a mirror against the glass for a few days. The tang will see its reflection, think there is another tang and will try to fight with itself. Meanwhile the new fish will hopfully not be bothered by any of the tangs and find his own territory.

As far as corals go, I had to get rid of my red open brain (trach) , elegance coral (and it was so nice) and my derasa clam:( . The angels do pick at every coral in the tank, but do not tear any tissue off of them. I have a mix of sps, lps and sofies. But with the above listed corals, the picking would not allow them to open up, so I figured it was safer to give the corals a happier home. Weird but they don't pick at my frogspawn at all though? Maybe the frogspawn has a good sting to it?

HTH,
argi

[Scholesy]

There is a reader on this message board - called Flame*Angel (!) - who I understand did a pile of research before she got her flame angel - and might be able to offer you some advice.

[dadevil23335]

Adriana, I've had my flame angel for about 1-1/2 years. It fought thru ich and a missing eye in the 1st week I had it and survived thru the whole ordeal. They are great and a wonderful fish to have with alot of personality. I may have lucked out with this one in that it hasn't picked on my corals, but like the rest of us has done is take a risk knowing the they may pick.

As far as getting along with you're other fish, the old fish will always get a little upset/curious with the new guy and if they are somewhat the same in color or diet they will probably try to let the new guy who the boss is until they establish an understanding. Good luck with your decision.

[Flame*Angel]

I did indeed do "a pile of research" as Scholesy mentioned but, in the end, all I could determine is that fish are individuals and there is about a 50/50 chance of getting one that does/doesn't nip at corals or clams. I decided to go for it and have had no problems so far. Here are a few things that I really think help to keep any possible nipper on good behaviour:
<ul type="square">
<li>feed the tank regularly, even if it is smaller amounts, 3 times a day works for me</li>
<li>feed as wide a variety of foods as possible to ensure you are meeting their dietary requirements</li>
<li>wait until your tank is fairly mature so that you have fairly productive live rock giving the angel something to pick at besides corals</li>
<li>try to get a young fish, I suspect that younger fish haven't developed ingrained habits yet and are more likely to settle into captive life</li>
<li>they seem to like an active tank with good circulation, mine will take turns following around other active fish and playing in high flow zones - maybe it helps to keep him out of trouble</li>
<li>they also seem to really like rockwork that has a lot of small holes/tunnels to swim through</li>
<li>it should be close to the last fish added - I've heard reports of these fish being very aggressive but mine doesn't seem aggressive at all and I think it's because he was the last fish in the tank</li>
</ul>
Hope this helps,