Asfur and Chrysurus Angels- Anyone kept them?

[Zionas]

Does anyone have experience with Asfur and Chrysurus Angels? I’ve read somewhere that Asfurs despite their 16” max wild size grow slowly and don’t get all that big, but I’d like to know if this is true from any long term keepers out there. Would also like to know about hardiness and captive size of the Chrysurus.

Is either aggressive and are they reef safe at all? Thanks.

 

[i cant think]

Does anyone have experience with Asfur and Chrysurus Angels? I’ve read somewhere that Asfurs despite their 16” max wild size grow slowly and don’t get all that big, but I’d like to know if this is true from any long term keepers out there. Would also like to know about hardiness and captive size of the Chrysurus.

Is either aggressive and are they reef safe at all? Thanks.

This is my experience with a juvenile Asfur angelfish in a holding tank.

The Asfur was a boisterous specimen, didn’t allow many if any fish to be added in the tank. Ate like a pig though - I dont think I ever attempted putting it into one of the reserved reef tanks (This was where we put most of our reserved fish). Same thing occurred with the french angelfish juvenile we had.

 

[Zionas]

I see. Was it a wild specimen? They’re being bred in Taiwan along with Maculosus but the Maculosus grows to the size of a horse. How long did you have your Asfur and how much did it grow?

 

[i cant think]

I see. Was it a wild specimen? They’re being bred in Taiwan along with Maculosus but the Maculosus grows to the size of a horse. How long did you have your Asfur and how much did it grow?

Yeah it was a wild specimen, was about 3-4 inch long. Most juvenile tall angels we got in came in around 3-4 inch so we’re at the stage of their aggression growing.

 

[Zionas]

I see. I wonder if it’s true that if started small they are a species that grow slowly and don’t get near the 16” (or even 10”).

 

[i cant think]

I see. I wonder if it’s true that if started small they are a species that grow slowly and don’t get near the 16” (or even 10”).

We kept this guy for about 6-7 months and he didn’t grow much at all compared to some of the faster growing angels.

 

[Zionas]

This seems to be the case for Regals, I haven’t heard of one over 7” or so (after many years) that wasn’t caught at such a large size.

Tanne Hoff’s Regal topped out at about 14-15cm after 16-17 years or so. Some other keepers have had theirs 10+ years and they were like 5-6” or so.

 

[jda]

IMO, these two fish could not be more different, other than they are both hardy...

Asfur can get huge, even in captivity, at nearly a foot can be very aggressive at moments and are almost surely going to eat corals and anything fleshy. IMO, these are only good in reef tanks when small. I had one that was at least 2 inches thick and over a foot long and was really ready to head to the 10000g display in a restaurant in town. It was not mean, but it was not nice either... if that makes sense.

Chrysurus angels, on the other hand, stay relatively small at a solid 7-9 inches after many years and one can live in my 240g it's whole life, and has. I have also given them away to larger homes, so it is right there on the edge of that 240g range. I had one eat Z&P, but it left all else alone, including clams. I had two others that picked at nothing. They are among the least aggressive large angelfish, outside of Genicanthus, that I have ever owned, and are great tank mates.

I currently have a Chrysurus nearing the end of isolation ready to go into the display. I got it beginning of winter (ish) and it has gotten fat, non-skittish and is growing. It comes out when it sees me and eagerly awaits food. I love that they keep their stripes.

Chrysurus are collected from Africa and only available at certain times of the year. If you see one, be ready to purchase or you might not see them again for another year.

 

[Zionas]

That’s great to know. The Asfur will definitely be a pass for me. No interest in something that gets large and potentially aggressive.

What about the maximum captive sizes of Majestic, Goldflake, Regal and Blue Line Angels do any get that large? Or any other large non-Genicanthus angels that don’t get really big in captivity?

Thanks and glad to see you here.

 

[jda]

Genicanthus are my favorite, so I focus on those. Regals stay smaller, at least for me. Cream, goldflake, flagfin, rock beauty all stay smaller. There a a bunch more that I am forgetting. Anything that maxes out at 7-11 inches will stay a bit smaller than that... usually.

I currently have a queen and emperor, but they have probably another 12-18 months and then they will go to a larger tank. I think that I posted some photos of them in my re-build thread. They are a good 5-6 inches now and show no signs of slow growth.

 

[Zionas]

I see. Maybe the Majestic falls in that category too. How big were the Chrysurus you had to give away?

Good luck. How big is your display is it a standard 8 foot 240?

 

[jda]

They chrysurus were 7", or so. They did not have to go, but I had good homes for them and moved them along. I got rid of one because I moved from Missouri to Colorado and got rid of a lot of my fish. I would want have needed to move them on if I did not want to.

 

[Zionas]

Thanks for the info, I’ll consider the Chrysurus but won’t consider the Asfur. Good luck with your system and everything.