Butterflyfish vs dwarf angels? Which is less " reef safe "?

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by King, May 6, 2012.

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  1. King

    King Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    May 6, 2012
    Messages:
    47
    Currently I have a 75 gallon reef tank with a whole bunch of LPS, softies, RBT anemone, 2 urchins and an orange sea star. I've got a couple of fish left on my wish list and one of them is a flame angel. I realize sometimes you get flames that reek havoc in reef tanks but I truly believe its worth the risk. I've also always loved the beauty of the yellow longnose butterfly, but have been told throughout the years that there is pretty much a 100% chance of them destroying your reef tank :-/ so I eventually gave up on my dream of keeping one in my tank, however the other day a pack of Fireworms killed my yellow wrasse while he was asleep so I've been looking to " hire " a new yellow fish for the tank, and I keep leaning towards a longnose butterfly, and after reading LOADS of info on them, they seem to be just as risky as a dwarf angel, which I'm willing to risk. I realize that LNB will eat fan worms/feather dusters and have been known to do damage to clams but I don't plan on ever keeping either of those animals in the tank. So my Q is, are YLB just as " reef safe " as flame angels?? Thanks everybody, and I'd prefer first hand experiences or tips. None of that " well the book says........blah blah blah "thanks
     
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  3. nwfd1725

    nwfd1725 Purple Spiny Lobster

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2009
    Messages:
    464
    Location:
    Nashville,Tn
    10 fish is probably pushing your limit what is your equipment and setup.
     
  4. Moby Duck

    Moby Duck Purple Spiny Lobster

    Joined:
    May 3, 2012
    Messages:
    475
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Butterfly fish are not reef safe although some ppl have had luck with the copperband butterfly fish
     
  5. King

    King Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    May 6, 2012
    Messages:
    47
    My 75 has a 20-25 gallon sump/refugium, with a basketball sized ball of cheato morpha and a coralife super skimmer-125. NEVER have I seen a single fish even nip at another, everyone gets along perfectly, even my tomini loves to swim around with my possum wrasse and leopard wrasse who share his section of rockwork. I aquascaped my tank with the right side being occupied by most of the rock work, and the left side is pretty much all open swimming space ( besides one small rock structure ). My nitrates are 0 also.:)

    P.S. I also run a 4 inch deep sand bed in the display