Dwarf Angelfish for a Reef tank?
- Thread starter Shep
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ClearRain
Active Member
Size wise most dwarves would be fine in a 40g, but ANY angel can become a coral picker... Stay away from Lemonpeels and Bicolors, they get a little bigger and most prone to picking. I've had good luck with flames and coral beauties. Just be weary of your LPS and clams if you have them.
saltysilverado
Active Member
Just keep your eyes opwn
Waters
"...in perfect isolation, here behind my wall."
I have tried quite a few dwarf angels (Golden, Flame X2, Bi-Color, Eibli, Coral Beauty), and every one of them had to be removed due to LPS picking. Every fish is different though...I just have not had good luck. Even the ones that appeared to be fine at first, would start picking at some point within the first year.
Do you like your acans? Yes? Then don't get a dwarf angel. 
Ultimately, nature takes its course. The only reef safe angles are those of genicanthus. I don't know their size "requirements". I do know they come in typically 3-5". So I would imagine too big for a 40g.
All angels will pick. It's in their nature as they're benthic feeders. The question is whether they'll eat coral, or repetitively pick to where something will never open again.
I would never put them in a tank full of frags. Frags cannot take picking where colonies can.
Past that just be ready to remove coral. Angels will dictate what corals you can and cannot keep. If you're not willing to do this then I wouldn't try one.
I would never put them in a tank full of frags. Frags cannot take picking where colonies can.
Past that just be ready to remove coral. Angels will dictate what corals you can and cannot keep. If you're not willing to do this then I wouldn't try one.
I've removed three Genicanthus sp. over the years due to picking on coral.
The are plankton feeders, so I don't see how or why they would be eating corals. They just simply don't.
I agree with regards to full reefs vs frag reefs.
Tell that to them
They were not eating coral, they were picking on it. To the point that the corals would not open any longer and began to go downhill. All three cases were in clients tanks and rather than play games I pulled them.
Just because a fish generally feeds from the water column does not mean they will not bother coral. I've pulled a green chromis (Chromis viridis) and a lyretail anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) for the same reason. Certainly two fish I never would've thought would pick at coral, but they proved me wrong
So they were in clients' tanks...did you see them physically eat and pick at the coral? And 3 different ones no less. That's quite impressive. 
My spotted mandarin "picks" at corals, but he's not actually eating them, nor is he actually picking on them.
Have crazier things happened? Sure. But I can say with certainty that genicanthus are much, much, much safer of a choice than any dwarf in the centropyge family.
My spotted mandarin "picks" at corals, but he's not actually eating them, nor is he actually picking on them.
Have crazier things happened? Sure. But I can say with certainty that genicanthus are much, much, much safer of a choice than any dwarf in the centropyge family.
Ryan15236
Active Member
Either way Dwarfs are a gamble. It is one of those great debates of the hobby. I put a flame angel in my tank a few years back and started going at the corals after about a week. Had to remove it but I loved that fish. I loved it so much I am thinking about adding one to my SPS dominate tank, am I crazy? Probably so...
