Experience with Rock Beauties

[msmith619]

Our LFS has a 3 inch, fat, healthy-appearing Rock Beauty. It is eating flake and live brine shrimp and has been there for weeks. I have had my eye on him for some time and am sorely tempted. I read that rock beauties are hard to keep because they are sponge feeders and usually will not accept comercially prepared foods.
Has anyone had success? I have lots of live rock and am more than willing to buy frozen angel food with sponge but, don't want a buy him and he die in a few weeks from lack of a proper diet.
I do intend to keep a few mushrooms, softies, and anemonies. The Rock Beauty does not include them in it's diet: sponges, algea, and mussles are what is listed as their natural food with sponges being the main component. (I have done a lot of web searching on diet in the wild and in captivity. Most sites state if they will eat AND are the right size (3-4 inches is listed as ideal) you have a good chance of keeping them successfully.
Over the past 20 years I have kept many angels successfully, including Imperial, King (Passer's), French, Queen as well as several dwarf angels, so, I am not a novice.

Mike

[Bill S]

These are one of the hardest angels to keep - but only for the first month or so. I had one for a LONG time, but lost him in a tank crash when we were out of town skiing a few years ago. This is my all-time favorite fish - and this one was a great one.

The big challenges are 1) parasites and 2) getting them to eat. As you noted, they eat almost exclusively sponges in the wild. Mine went 3 weeks without eating. Finally, one day - I swear hours away from starving to death - he decided to eat. He got bolder and bolder until he ate out of my hand. If that one is eating frozen food, I'd say you've got a good shot.

Remember, these are pretty big Atlantic angels. Not as big as Queens, but big. They need a tank of at least 100 gallons.

These guys are not particularly "reef safe" - better than some angels, but will likely pick on clams. They seem to pick on everything - just browsing, usually. But, mine LOVED zoas. I swear he was stoned on them...