7yr clown died, new Emp

Well after 3 years+ in my nano, my false percula has croaked :-[
So today I went out in search of a new fish for the reef im setting up. Found the smallest Emperator Ive ever seen ( yes im bent on raising everything), was eating on flake and mysis @ the store so he is now the proud owner of his own reef. As soon as he hits the 4" mark hell be going into the FOWLR (tons of macro). This lil guy is already showing a cool personality.

 

So have you found out why he died? Old age?

 

Im pretty sure it was old age, no signs of disease/malnutrition. He was over 4 when i purchased hime 3 years ago. Had a very good life though, a reef to himself the whole time.

 

Sorry bout your clown.
That is a small angel. How fast do they grow? Nice that it's your only fish in your nano.

 

Depends of the tank, I raised one for over a year, in a 12 gallon. It got a bit under 4".

 

I thought that was just a folk-lore, or whatever, about the fish growing to the tank size. So this really is a fact?

 

Growthe "controlled" in a few fashions....diet, enviorment, and temperature. Slow thier metabolism and limit thier enviorment in terms of size and they will still grow, but at a much slower pace. Playing with thier metabolisms unfortunatley can lead to problems associated with thier immune systems I would assume so you should keep pristine parameters. The emp i had started around 1" and only grew to 3 1/2" in about 16 months in a stock 12g Nano Cube.

 

That is a nice Emperator Angel! They are truly beautiful!!! The only question I have is how big is your FOWLR tank? Emperator's as with other Pomacanthus(large Angels) require tanks of 180 gallon or larger. They get very big if I remember correctly(8-10 inches long or more). Plus they are grazers as are Butterfly's and Tangs. I guess, you could keep it til it out grows your tank, just be careful that it doesn't stress out and has enough to feed on.

 

condolances and congratulatons respectively-

 

that is one of the smallest i have ever seen or heard of eating!!! congrats!