any "reef safe" angels?

scuba namena · 02-02-2007, 09:57 AM

i realy would like to put an angel (dwarf , pygmy) in my tank but get so many mixed messages.
all i can conclude is basicaly it comes down to the individual's individual personality.
i like flame angels and ellibi angels.
i would appreciate anyones personal experienses, opinions,etc... success stories or horor stories.
i do have clams, zoos, polips, sps, etc

know-it-all · 02-02-2007, 10:03 AM

I had a flame in a softie tank with no problems
I had a coral beauty in a mixed reef, and it ate any softie it could

comes down to individual personalities.
no 2 are the same

JY13131 · 02-02-2007, 10:10 AM

I have had a coral beauty and also pygmy angel in softie tank and neither one ate my coral. THey pick around, but not the corals. The pygmy would leave little lip marks on the film algae on glass!!

xtopher · 02-02-2007, 10:11 AM

All the Genicanthus(sp) spp. are reef safe because they are planktivores and do not eat coral tissue or sponges, IMO they are the only TRUE reefsafe angel, however if you are going sps only an emperor or such would be "safe" to your corals but not to certain inverts. The pygmy angels are 50/50 depending on the individual may be reef safe or not
HTH

cdemeritt · 02-02-2007, 10:14 AM

I have heard that coral beauties are generally more "reef safe" than most, but I've only had one once a long time ago, right before selling everything off. So my Experiance with them is limited.
The term "Reef Safe" should only be used as a guide. Time and time again, I've seen supposedly "Reef Safe" creatures that will turn suddenly on tank mates, sometimes after years of peaceful co-existance. Also, 9 out of 10 induviduals may cause no harm whatsoever, just to have that 1 out of 10 give the rest a bad name. There are certainly some spiecies that will never or seldom be "Reef Safe", but often induvidual personalities and the hundreds of variables between tanks make it very difficult to classify a entire speicies as "Reef Safe"
Of course you are asking the right questions, the more people who have a a particular creature that is harmless, the better your odds of having a similar experiance.
I guess the method I'm using for finding out if something will be fine, is after listening to what others say, if I still want it, is to try it. If it causes problems, move it to a 'fuge.
Chris

scuba namena · 02-02-2007, 10:20 AM

thanks so far.
any other flame angel stories?
what are some examples of Genicanthus(sp) spp angels ?

Koddie Doo · 02-02-2007, 10:26 AM

i got a flame in my 30 and a CB in my 75, both are "angels" sorry couldn't resist,

really dwarfs are the only way to go,

Wiskey · 02-02-2007, 10:26 AM

I had a chrub angel,... though it didn't target SPS, it picked across them just like it picked across the rock.

Whiskey

AquaGrizzly · 02-02-2007, 10:29 AM

A friend of mine has a flame angel in his reef. He lost his crocea to it. All of his corals are fine though. Zoos, leathers, and a couple lps. He did not listen when I told him not to get another clam and he did. 2 days later it was gone again. I've read and lfs told me that angels are no good to have with clams. Is that a chance you are willing to take?

ScruffyRubicon · 02-02-2007, 10:30 AM

Lamarcks Angels are suppose to be reefsafe.

fishinchick · 02-02-2007, 10:38 AM

Genicanthus are the only true angelfish that are 'reef safe'.

A lot of people recommend those lovely little centropyge devils but theres a few things you need to know about those buggers ....

When they are juvies, the centropyges and whatever other little pygmy angels you find are planktivores. Of course they wont eat coral.

As they grow, they learn that corals are yummy and begin picking at them. Once they start they devistate. This is why you get some people posting on the boards about how their 'reef safe' angel just randomly went crazy one day and swam off the deep end.

If you have a lot of soft corals - it wont matter with them. If you have zoa, lps, or sps it will matter.

The only way that I've seen that helps - and is likely the reason WHY some of the pygmy angels do okay - is if you get a very young specimen. If they havent been in the wild for that long learning how to 'be a fish' then they dont know about the corals. As long as you keep the little guy fed well and teach him that a captive diet is the easy way to eat he will be less likely to sample the wares in the tank.

This doesnt work 100% of the time, but it works most often. At the very least you should know that the possiblity of putting a pygmy angelfish into your tank MIGHT end in you losing a few of your prize LPS .... or not.

YOu are now informed and it is up to you to decide if it's worth the risk to you or not. Personally I LOVE flame angels!! Always have. But I love my LPS more.

Geoff · 02-03-2007, 08:56 AM

the Lamarks angel is a Genicanthus angel. for some reason all of the species in the Genicanthus Genus do not have common names except for the species name. the only exception is the Japanese swallowtail angel. most of these are only seen in the female colouration at LFS. they are one of the smaller members of the Genus.

the melanospilous is a great tank addition. i have 2 right now.

G~

leveldrummer · 02-03-2007, 10:21 AM

i have a cherub that was nipping corals in another memebers tank, so i bought him, dropped him in mine, and hes been great. he picks at corals, but not eating them, more like just trying to get algae around them. no harm done to the corals at all, just a quick retract and then it opens right back up.

gwaco · 02-03-2007, 11:19 AM

the genicanthus species are far the best reef "safe" angel . i have two female zebras , with one starting the sex change . put into some type of percentages - genichanthus - 80% reef safe , pygmy - 50% , other larger angels - 10% . realize that there are exceptions to the rule and dependant on what types of corals and other inverts you are keeping .

gwaco · 02-03-2007, 11:21 AM

pic of one of my female zebras . this is the one that is changing sex .