Anybody have a Bi-Color Angel experience?

[oregon_gorge]

Okay Gang,


I keep finding out I am doing all these things wrong! People keep coming by and showing me books that say what I can and cant do in a reef. And we seem to be breaking a bunch of rules. So, after I list them, can I try one more tabboo?

#1 My SPS have long polyps and look shaggy. Supposed to be much more smooth??????

#2 I have 2 really awesome pink Anthias. The book I was shown said they are hard to keep and very picky on eating and very tempermental. Will not live long in system. I have had them for 6 months now and both M/F have grown and have nice coloring, fins and appearance. They are a little skittish, but are always ready to EAT!?????????

#3 I was told Potters Angels are very hard to keep. We have had ours for over a year and seems to be doing just fine. He survived moving to the new tank as well. He will not eat and added food though. Only nips at rock and glass.

#4 We have a very fat Flame Angel that is awesome in color with a huge belly. The wisdom says I cant have two angels in a tank either. ???

So, now that I have all the rules broken, how safe would it be to add an awesome Bi-Color Angel I have been watching at the LFS for a month?

I might add that none of our fish picks at corals, hard or softies, clams or inverts. What do you think?????????

Thanks, Chris

[aquaticsdeptleader]

you can have more then one angel in a tank the rule was diffrent species diffrent size. flame angels you can keep multiples in a large enough tank as long as you have atleast three, i would think a coral to simliar in shape to the flame but nothing else in your tank reads any books so it as always is up to the reefer in this case you

[Alice]

All fish have different personalities so "reefing rules" are more guidelines than anything else. Every tank and every situation are different.

Potter's angels can in fact be quite hardy once they settle in, most of the dwarf angels are pretty tough. The Bi Color is a touchy one though, Chris, and is another fish that may not eat prepared foods very well. I think you need to look at the fact that you may be pushing your luck Bi Color's don't have a good survival rate. If it was me, I don't think I'd do it, but it's your call; you know your tank best.

As for the Anthias, if they are fat and happy, I wouldn't worry about them, although if they've read "the books" they think they should be getting fed three times a day!

Alice

[aquaticsdeptleader]

i had an anthis once got so freaked out it jumped out of the tank and landed six feet across the room on a concrete floor picked em threw back and he lived so the rumors of them being lacking in the hardiness dept may not all be true

[reefcam]

Chris,

I've had a bi-color angel in the past, and was he hardy. Ended up at Woodies. As far as keeping another in a reef tank, for me the answer is no way in hell. The one I had went after every LPS I had in the tank, but didn't touch the SPS. But given enough time, I'm sure it would. So that was my experience.

I also have 2 angels in my tank (Flame and Midnight).

Jim

[aquaticsdeptleader]

duh iam confused i thinking coral beauty you talking bi-color duh

in regards to bi-color my experince seems like a very timid fish every time i have another angel with em it gets picked on relentlessly only time diffrent was when bi color there first.

others experince "my bi color died" does not seem to be a good candidate for captivity but again your bad candidates seem to be paying there taxes

sorry for my prevoius post wich was completely off topic

jim

ps i always have had and heard good things about the coral beauty angel

[icebear]

i have a Coral Beauty and she's a tough little nugget... i have read that they are easy on corals and asked a question in another place on the net about adding some leathers and anthelias to my tank and if i would have issues with the CB and was told i shouldn't. She has a great appetite for the flake food i feed and spends much of the day gliding around and grazing away at the different algaes i have growing in my tank. I have a few smallish pink/brown hitchiker polyps (not aiptasia) in there too and she leaves them completely alone.

[zaireguy]

Hi
Had to remove mine.She tore my tank to part.Nothing was save no corals not even my green brittle stars.She would pick at their legs any time she got the chance.

I had to remove her after she cause so much trouble and at all my yellow stars

Ron

[Casey]

Chris I have almost all of the dwarf angels in my tank except the bi color, he died, they are very hard to get to eat and very sensative to water quality,the best thing to do is to add all dwarfs at the same time it has worked pretty well for me. Casey

[oregon_gorge]

Well, shucks!

I a out voted. I figured it would be to good to be true. My Daughter-in-law wanna-be thinks I need more fish and of different colors. The blue on the Bi is just the ticket. Too bad for me

Well, onward with the search!

Thanks Gang!

Chris

[triggereel]

I agree with Alice that all fish are individuals some angels pick on corals some dont (luck of the draw)

I also agree that the potters angel, which is a beautiful fish, is very easily kept under the right conditions.

[Uel]

Chris,
My experience says #1 depends on the species, but usually that is a sign of great health. #2- You are lucky, mine never ate and died within two months. #3- I have never tried a Potters, but all angels are algae eaters so he must be surviving on the algae on the rocks and glass as well as pods in the rocks. #4- Yes, I have had as many as four different ones in my tank at the same time. Unfortunately, I have had to take everyone out because they love to eat brain corals. The Bi-color was the first to go because he was the worst one of all. They all seemed to prefer green open brains the most. I have a red lobo brain that none picked on. Any color of open brain was fair game though.
Some people get lucky, but I will only put them in my 55 FOWLR only from now on. Another fish that I haven't had good luck with in my 180 reef is wrasses. The radiant and six line are the only ones that seem to work for me.
Good luck!