flame angel fish?

[mathias]

I always hear people talking about these flame fish?

what do they look like?

Are they reef safe?

are they aggresive towards other fish?

and how much is one?

[kaiser]

look at my avatar.

[captexas]

They are very pretty fish, my favorite in fact. But you must have excellent water quality for them to do well. How well they fare also is affected by where they are collected. Supposedly they are coming out with tank raised fish soon. They are hit and miss when it comes to being reef-safe. Some will nip at corals and others won't. They can be aggressive towards other fish, especially other angels and should be the last fish you add to a tank if you get one. That way your other fish will already have their territory and places to hide. Prices range from around $30 to $60. Lower prices are online and higher prices are at LFS.

[Ross]

I really love flame angels and plan on getting one. What corals will they nip at?

[captexas]

According to Scott Michael's book, they may nip at large-polyped stony corals, zoanthids, and clam mantles. They may also eat some soft coral polyps.

[mathias]

thanx for the info since he is the last addition to the tank I will have some time to think about it.

[robertpower3]

I forgot where I saw them but they do have tank raised flame angels they are like $80-$90 a piece though. Sea world had a flame in that sps reeef tank we saw didn't they.

[Tim Marvin]

I wouldn't recommend them for a reef.

[matt]

All angels are tough to feed well; their natural diet incudes alot of sponge. I've heard the pigmy angel is the most likely to be reef safe of the dwarf angles, flame angle least likely.

[Tim Marvin]

I have a half moon angel from ORA. Great fish and hasn't gone after corals, or clams YET. It is usually just a matter of time, but sometimes you get lucky and they are happy on regular frozen and flake foods. Mine is perfectly happy to eat anything dropped in.

[55gal]

fish compatability is a factor so try to find out if the fish you have are compatable with the angel you go with 8)

[fx300]

I have one and even though it is very pretty it tends to nip on some of my corals and was the main reason a clam died on me. I would think about getting one because you never know how aggressive it may be with your corals or other animals.

[DeletedAccount]

I have one in my 120 and she nips at every coral I love until it dies! She is killing off my frogspawn, she nips at xenia (good!), she angers my leathers, she is just down right onry. That said, she is my husbands favorite fish. She has a great little personality, she is in charge, even over my much larger mimic lemonpeel tang and Pacific blue tang. She will stick around until she dies or messes with my monster mushroom!

[Bigreefer]

I've had good luck with my flame so far. It's been 10 months and no nipping. I think the beauty of this fish makes it worth trying.

Jason

[mathias]

:( no angel for me its ok maybe Ill just setup another tank

(looks at wife)


then again maybe not...

[brewercm]

I've got a Coral Beauty that isn't quite as colorful as the flame but still very colorful and he hasn't bothered any of my corals. Not sure if they are a little more reef safe or if they are hit/miss also.

[Ross]

For now i am just going to keep some xenia, shrooms, and some other easy beginner corals. Maybe some colts and leathers. Those are the ones i was told are easy anyway. Do think the flame angel will nip at any of those? I am going to get one. They are the reason i got into saltwater in the first place. I guess i will just have to find one that won't nip at the corals.

[MikeP]

All centropyge (commonly referred to as dwarf angels) species can be nippers - lps and clam mantles are like crack to some of them. You take a gamble putting one in a reef tank. The flame angel has a pretty spotty record lately for long term survivability - if you want something fairly safe try the atlantic pygmy angel (centropyge argii) but he may end up eating things you don't want to also.

If your tank is large enough you might consider a Genicanthus species like a Lamarck, Watanabei or Bellus - they grow larger than the 'dwarf' angels but are more planktivorous and less likely to chew up corals etc - I would say overall they are about as hardy as most dwarf species.

[sareef]

I've had a flame angel in my reef for about a year and a half. So far so good. It doesn't even seem to notice any of my corals but I keep it well fed.