Are lamarck's angelfish really reef-safe?

[Dongjie Han]

Good evening form England
I saw a lamarck's angelfish (Genicanthus lamarck) in a LFS and I wanted to buy it, but they told me that this fish eat soft corals sometimes.
That was quit strange for me, because fishes in the genus Genicanthus are usually ree-safe. But that clerk said they had kept this Lamarck’s angelfish in their reef tank and some soft corals were hurt by this fish.
Does anyone have a same experience? Thanks for your help.

 

[saltyhog]

They're all individuals and any species can have a member outside the norm. Some people have had tangs that eat coral. That said, genicanthus angels are all regarded as reef safe. I haven't kept Lamark's but the G. watanabei I kept was as reef safe as you can get.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Like saltyhog said. Fish are individuals. Some follow the rules, some do not. My Genicanthus melanospilos have always been very good in my reefs. Had one for many years and now have a pair. If that one is known for picking, I would get a different one.

 

[Dongjie Han]

I agree with you, fish are individuals. But Genicanthus are usually reef safe.
By the way, are your G. Melanospilos friendly with each other? Because I keep two Coral Beauty fish in my FOT and they even spawned last week, but G. Melanospilos are much bigger than Coral Beauty fish, so that they need much more space. I think I need at least a 1500 liters tank, if I want to keep a pair of G. Melanospilos.

 

[Zionas]

燕尾神仙相对比较安全、因为它们在野外吃浮游生物为主。黄霞蝶跟蓝霞鲽可以被当作鲽鱼中的燕尾 / 拉马克神仙。不过，都不能100%保证。

Swallowtail Angels are comparatively safe, because in the wild they are mainly planktivores. Yellow Pyramid and Zoster Butterflies can be treated as the Swallowtail Angels among butterflies. However there’s no guarantee.

 

[Zionas]

You don’t need that big of a tank. I think a standard 180 (maybe even a 6 foot 150) is enough for 2 G. Melanospilos, G. Bellus, G. Watanabei, or maybe even the Red Sea Lyretails.

 

[Dongjie Han]

燕尾神仙相对比较安全、因为它们在野外吃浮游生物为主。黄霞蝶跟蓝霞鲽可以被当作鲽鱼中的燕尾 / 拉马克神仙。不过，都不能100%保证。

Swallowtail Angels are comparatively safe, because in the wild they are mainly planktivores. Yellow Pyramid and Zoster Butterflies can be treated as the Swallowtail Angels among butterflies. However there’s no guarantee.

Thank you sir, that information is really helpful. some kinds of fish have different English names, i need to google them every time. For example, we call Zoster Butterflyfish “ blue afterglow butterflyfish“ in Chinese. And in Germany people call Angelfishes “Caesar fish”. When I was new to chat with English reef keepers, they always ask me, what’s that fish?
Have a good day. Good morning from Portsmouth.

 

[Zionas]

You too! Glad I could help. I’m a fellow Chinese hobbyist by the way.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I agree with you, fish are individuals. But Genicanthus are usually reef safe.
By the way, are your G. Melanospilos friendly with each other? Because I keep two Coral Beauty fish in my FOT and they even spawned last week, but G. Melanospilos are much bigger than Coral Beauty fish, so that they need much more space. I think I need at least a 1500 liters tank, if I want to keep a pair of G. Melanospilos.

Well, my pair are civil currently. The male will sometimes chase the female a bit, but nothing that causes stress. She is still quite young and so is he. I am hoping to get some spaawning behaviors as they get older. My tank is 210g, 7ft long and they spend most of the time in in open water. They both eat anything I throw in. The both love the algae sheets. Especially the male. Hard to telli n pictures but male is almost 1.5 times female size.