A discussion on Angelfish and their placement in reef tanks.

I see a lot of advice on this forum saying that Angelfish should not be put in reef tanks because they WILL "eat" corals, and that all Angelfish outside of the genus Genicanthus are not "reef safe." In the wild the diet of most Angelfish is mainly algae, sponge, and detritus, not so much coral polyps. I think maybe the main reason that Angel's pick at corals in aquariums is that they are underfed and are forced to search and sample foods they wouldn't normally. I feed two times a day and have never had problems with picking Angels. I have seen many large reef tanks with Angels in them, even genus's Chaetodontoplus, Holocanthus, and Pomacanthus.

I currently keep two species of Angelfish, Centropyge bispinosa and Pygoplites diacanthus. Both peck at the rocks and substrate all day but never have they messed with any of my corals. I have also kept Centropyge acanthops and Chaetodontoplus duboulayi in my old 120 reef, and I experienced the same. IMO Angels don't deserve to be automatically deemed NOT reef safe. Really though, there isn't a single species of fish that is completely reef safe because it comes down to the individual. That being said you may get an Angelfish that wrecks havoc in a reef. They are probably one of the riskier reef additions but if they adapt successfully without harming corals they are also one of the most rewarding and personable additions. I would like to hear what you guys think about Angel's in reefs and whether they are worth the risk.

 

nice comments! I agree, i have kept angels (dwarfs being said) for a while now, and never had a problem. They are some of the most beautiful specimans and dont deserve the rap they often get....

 

i agree with you, but I don't think there is an overall feeling that they are not reef safe. Many people have them in reefs so if people considered them completely reef safe or not reef presumably they would not have them in the tank. IMO, they are generally ok, but need to be added with caution, at least the dwarf angels. But good points.

 

I agree they should be added with caution. I just think they are 100% worth the risk.

 

I don't have any personal experience with them but I've heard of people who, even having well-fed fish, still end up with coral nipping. Of course you always have to take these reports with a grain of salt but like you said it's a risk. Some people are willing to take it, others aren't.

I like playing it safe personally but see no problem with other people taking risks as long as they're aware of them.

 

I love angels but the reality is a lot of them DO in fact eat corals. I built a 700 gallon reef tank in a children's hospital. It was awesome if I do say so myself. It was built into a wall and was viewable on two sides (the reception area and the waiting room). I also had the biggest T. gigas clam you've ever seen in your life. The staff told me that the kids would spend hours watching it and said that it really helped calm the patients parents while they were in the waiting room. Several months later, I asked the employees of the LFS that was doing the maintenance on it, how it was going. The employee gave me a very sad look. I said, "OMG, what happened???" He said that after I left, my former partners went against what I said and put a show emporer angel in there. In one week it ate every single coral and the clam.

If you want an angel, do it. But do it with your eyes open knowing the risks.

With that said, I've kept angels in reefs. Before I move them to a reef, I train them to eat out of a particular rock. Basically I find a couple of fairly nice sized pieces of rubble that has a lot of indentations and holes. I shove sponge, angel-food, home-made blender mush that his been thickened with unflavored gelatin and they just get to pick at it all day. That tends to give them something to do and they are less likely to go after corals.

 

Are you mainly talking about non-dwarf angels or all angels in general?

 

Angels in general. Most dwarf species are considered reef safe with caution. In the past, I've had fairly good luck with dwarf species.

There are many other non-dwarf species that I consider reef safe. Off the top of my head, I can think of Bellus, Watanabe, Conspiculatas, Regal (which comes with a whole other set of issues other than reef-safeness), and Asfur (which come with a whole of set of issues too).

There's more but I don't have any books with me right now.

 

Thanks for the info, I'm considering adding a dwarf angel to my tank and think it's worth the risk, but your input is much appreciated.

 

Other Angel's that most likely won't pick on corals are C. colini and C. venustus because they both inhabit deeper water and don't encounter corals in the wild. The only problem is their fatality rates are extremely high in aquariums because of decompression issues.