Flameback angel
- Thread starter Milo
- Start date
They're likely not eating the polyps, rather they're picking at the slime and debris on the surface of the coral.
Short answer - the flameback angel is one ofthe very safest Centropyge, and is unlikely to eat your corals. Tibicens, eiblii and bicolors all have pretty mixed reputations.
Long answer - Centropyge are somewhat reefsafe, like most other fish. If you believe that tangs, rabbits, blennies are all perfectly reef safe, you are a little wrong. They are good, but not golden.
There are a few factors to consider - what does the fish eat - no small angel is a real corallivore to the best of my knowledge, nor is any of the larger ones as far as I know. They tend to feed on algae, micro crustaceans , debris and so on. However if they find some easy to eat, tasty polyps, then yes they might eat them. There are lots of factors - the smaller and deeper water fish tend to be safer than than some other species as they get less exposure to corals in the wild. Geography has a part - some populations of Kleins butterfly have a gut analysis of 90% soft corals, on the other hand I kept one in a reef and apart from eating aiptaisia it was 100% safe, so different people get very different experiences. The fish might not have 'learnt' to eat corals. This can help explain how a fish can one day get a mouthful of xenia for example, think 'I haven't tried this before but yum yum' and two days later all your pulsing Xenia is gone....
Also what do you keep as 'corals' - some things like clams, open brain corals, poorly protected lps in general and tubeworms will tempt an awful lot of 'reefsafe' fish (particularly Trachophyllia). SPS are right at the other end - it's rare for them to be stripped. Zo's, some of the finer softies are somewhere in the middle, and really reliant on a particular fishes taste.
You can work with this - I am building/planning a tank with some decidedly 'reef safish' fish like big angels, butterflys and a canthigaster puffer. By selecting tough SPS, toxic gorgonians, and foul tasting mushrooms I am able to keep these fish in a reef. I could not keep these with clams, open brains and pompom xenia.
Short answer - the flameback angel is one ofthe very safest Centropyge, and is unlikely to eat your corals. Tibicens, eiblii and bicolors all have pretty mixed reputations.
Long answer - Centropyge are somewhat reefsafe, like most other fish. If you believe that tangs, rabbits, blennies are all perfectly reef safe, you are a little wrong. They are good, but not golden.
There are a few factors to consider - what does the fish eat - no small angel is a real corallivore to the best of my knowledge, nor is any of the larger ones as far as I know. They tend to feed on algae, micro crustaceans , debris and so on. However if they find some easy to eat, tasty polyps, then yes they might eat them. There are lots of factors - the smaller and deeper water fish tend to be safer than than some other species as they get less exposure to corals in the wild. Geography has a part - some populations of Kleins butterfly have a gut analysis of 90% soft corals, on the other hand I kept one in a reef and apart from eating aiptaisia it was 100% safe, so different people get very different experiences. The fish might not have 'learnt' to eat corals. This can help explain how a fish can one day get a mouthful of xenia for example, think 'I haven't tried this before but yum yum' and two days later all your pulsing Xenia is gone....
Also what do you keep as 'corals' - some things like clams, open brain corals, poorly protected lps in general and tubeworms will tempt an awful lot of 'reefsafe' fish (particularly Trachophyllia). SPS are right at the other end - it's rare for them to be stripped. Zo's, some of the finer softies are somewhere in the middle, and really reliant on a particular fishes taste.
You can work with this - I am building/planning a tank with some decidedly 'reef safish' fish like big angels, butterflys and a canthigaster puffer. By selecting tough SPS, toxic gorgonians, and foul tasting mushrooms I am able to keep these fish in a reef. I could not keep these with clams, open brains and pompom xenia.
Wayne,
I don't have any corals in my tank as of yet. I plan on getting some Probably in 2007. I am currently stocking my tank now and heard somewhere (probably the ever contradictory internet) that Flameback angels eat corals. I wanted to find out if they did or didn't before I put him into my tank.
Thanks everyone
I don't have any corals in my tank as of yet. I plan on getting some Probably in 2007. I am currently stocking my tank now and heard somewhere (probably the ever contradictory internet) that Flameback angels eat corals. I wanted to find out if they did or didn't before I put him into my tank.
Thanks everyone