Captive bred Vs. Wild caught....

[Swoody]

With regards for a love of eating corals, does anyone have any experience or knowledge of whether captive bred are less prone to eat corals since they immediately start life off eating flake, pellet etc....
The fish I am most interested in is a Blue Line Angel, as this is my dream fish... I absolutely love the way they look. But I am trying to keep a reef type tank and know they are a species well known to eat corals. Any thoughts???

 

[Claus84]

I have a captive bred flame and coral beauty with soft corals and they haven't touched them, had the beauty nearly 2 years and the flame for 18months or so.

I also have a CB blue line and majestic which will be going in with my corals in a few months but I'll have to wait and see what happens with them, it is a risk but worth it imo.

 

[mort]

At the end of the day the way fish feed is natural instinct, so it's hard to remove this from one generation of captive breeding. I do believe that they are slightly safer simply due to their upbringing on substitute food but angelfish learn with their mouths in the same way that puppies do, so it's hard to eliminate nipping.
If you want to enjoy angelfish then it's best to work around them, staying away from anything they ferociously go for and excepting the odd bit of nipping. Some species are worth the compromise.

 

[shred5]

At the end of the day the way fish feed is natural instinct, so it's hard to remove this from one generation of captive breeding. I do believe that they are slightly safer simply due to their upbringing on substitute food but angelfish learn with their mouths in the same way that puppies do, so it's hard to eliminate nipping.
If you want to enjoy angelfish then it's best to work around them, staying away from anything they ferociously go for and excepting the odd bit of nipping. Some species are worth the compromise.

Agreed.. I had two wild flameback angels once. one never touched a coral, the other never did for years and then one day got a taste for them and became relentless.
It is just a matter of tasting and once they do watch out. Feeding does not really seem to help much other than how much they eat. With angels they just brows all day even if they are fed allot..

There are exceptions to every rule though.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I have a Poma Labs Blueline which nips at Xenia, Sinularia, and Kenya Tree. So far it's ignored polyps but the Emperor and Blue Face pick up the slack. Corals are primarily the "invasive" softies most don't want- Xenia, GSP, Blue Clove... Fast growing corals and I'm not out alot of money if the Angels chow down.

ETA-- The Blueline really picks at the Cespitularia. It decimated a fairly large colony down to a couple of nubs.

 

[Jesterrace]

Euphyllia Corals are also among the better ones to keep with Angels. My Coral Beauty has taken the occasional exploratory nip at my Frogspawn and Hammer Corals, only to spit out what it just tasted. I do believe with any angelfish it helps to have a well established tank with plenty of algae to graze on and daily seaweed/nori feeding. I'm not saying it will cure them of their coral nipping ways, but I do believe it increases your chances of success.