Dwarf Angels fighting

[Piranha76]

So I did my research. I have a coral beauty and I introduced the coral beauty with a bi color. The bi color got beaten up by the damsels (now gone) and died. The coral beauty has been in the tank for three months. I got a flame angel. I bought it large size but it came the same size of the coral beauty. I quarantined the flame for 15 days. When I introduced the flame all hell broke loose and the Coral unmercifully attacked him. It’s a heavily rocker 125 gallon tank. I got the flame angel out. Can’t get the coral beauty out. What to do? I was thinking A) get rid of the coral beauty. B) introduce both dwarfs into the quarantine tank for a month and introduce them together into the DT C) let them fight it out and hope for the best

Suggestions. And how do I get the coral beauty out of my tank? I really don’t want to have to remove all the rock.

 

[KJ]

@eatbreakfast

 

[eatbreakfast]

If you can remove them both, rearrange the rock, then reintroduce them simultaneously, that would have the best chance for success.

 

[Marco S]

I had to remove every last rock out of my 45 gallon holding tank when transferring my Coral Beauty into my DT. I made the mistake of removing a few and trying to catch him and then removing a few more and so on. If I ever have to catch him again, I will remove every rock before hand because he cut himself up pretty good squeezing under and in between rocks and he looked pretty beat up for a few weeks while he healed. I won't make that mistake again and would recommend removing all the rock if you have to catch him.

Better yet, get rid of the Flame, (since you already have it out) and leave the Coral Beauty alone. You said that you did your research, so you should have seen that it is not recommended to have them together in the same tank. I know that some people do and they are fine, but that is not the norm and you experienced what happened already, why put them through it again?

Edit: Just wanted to add, my vote was to get rid of the Coral Beauty because you don't have an option to get rid of the Flame Angel. My vote is to get rid of one of them, but since you already have the Flame Angel out and cannot catch the Coral Beauty then it just makes sense to get rid of the Flame Angel.

 

[Piranha76]

Ok so I got them both out of the DT. They are now fighting in the quarantine tank. I have the coral beauty now in the fish trap. Urg stupid fish won’t be friends.

 

[Rick.45cal]

Ok so I got them both out of the DT. They are now fighting in the quarantine tank. I have the coral beauty now in the fish trap. Urg stupid fish won’t be friends.

The reef is a dynamic and dangerous place, you’ve got competing species, competing species aren’t friendly to each other. It’s not biologically advantageous to allow a competitor into your territory. The best you can do is attempt to limit the aggression. The tactics above are all good suggestions, but there’s a pretty good likelyhood that they won’t work and the angels will need to be kept in separate systems.

 

[Piranha76]

Well he is for sale in craigslist. Petco won’t take him back even though their sales person said two draws can live in a tank over 100 gallons.

 

[PYRU]

That sucks there's a reason you don't see them together often. I had both in a 125 then transferred to a 180, but I introduced them at the same time.

 

[ArizonaAquatics]

I agree with the many others. It's possible, but not if one angel has already established its dominance. If they were both bought the same day and were added at the same time, they would be more likely to get along.

Ime from working at a LFS, an angel that is established for any amount of time will not tolerate another angel. Tangs are the same way. I added all 5 of my tangs at the same time and haven't had any problems whatsoever. They even all eat from the same algae clip.

 

[Rick.45cal]

I definitely wouldn’t listen to anyone at petco about marine fish choice, or much of anything else. One of the hardest things to do in the hobby is to learn that when you come across something new or exciting you need to walk away and do your research first, and even then there are no guarantees, marine fish all have their own personalities. It’s also important to not just consider short term behaviors as permanent, they often change how they act in their environment as they age. It can be very frustrating sometimes. Good luck

 

[Marco S]

I definitely wouldn’t listen to anyone at petco about marine fish choice, or much of anything else.

Some of them are alright, (at least in my local Petco) but then you get ones like I ran into a couple weeks ago. I watched in horror as a guy asked him what he can get for his 3 week old 55 gallon tank and the sales persons first pick was a Green Mandarin and his second and third were a Blue Tang and a Sailfin Tang...

 

[Jay Z]

I had the opposite. Started with a flame then added a beauty. Flame chased the beauty around all the time. He didn’t beat it up at all, would just run him out of the middle.

After 6 months they now tolerate each other, flame just kind of side eyes him and he gets the point. I did add 4 tangs at once and ever thing was fine. I then added a bi color 2 months later. He was murdered that week. So no more angels or tangs for me until I re home what I have when it’s time.

This was all in my 45 with 110 lbs of rock work.

 

[Piranha76]

It seems like a lot of people have been able to keep two dwarf angels together. Anyone want a coral beauty?

 

[WMR]

Dwarf angels should be added simultaneously, irregardless of size. Once one is established, it will attack/kill a new one. Some times putting the established one in “time” will work, then adding both of the together, but not always. Most Petco employees don’t know compatibility requirements for angels in general, best to find a good LFS or ask questions on R2R, nobody here will steer you wrong, good luck

 

[Piranha76]

So my flame angel is in the DT and my coral beauty is in my QT. It’s been two weeks. Should I try again to put them together? Or just bite the bullet and the thirty bucks and get rid of the coral beauty?

 

[Marco S]

So my flame angel is in the DT and my coral beauty is in my QT. It’s been two weeks. Should I try again to put them together? Or just bite the bullet and the thirty bucks and get rid of the coral beauty?

If it was me I would give up and get rid of one of them. If you keep trying to force them to get along you may end up killing one of them. But you will probably keep trying and ignore the fact that they are not recommended to be in the same tank, so you will need to take both of them out of the DT for a while and then re introduce them together at the same time to give you a better chance. Put the Flame Angel in the sump for a while while keeping the Coral Beauty in QT and then try to put them into the DT at the same time.

 

[James M]

So my flame angel is in the DT and my coral beauty is in my QT. It’s been two weeks. Should I try again to put them together? Or just bite the bullet and the thirty bucks and get rid of the coral beauty?

You let the flame have its territory already by leaving it in the DT. Return the coral beauty

 

[Marco S]

You let the flame have its territory already by leaving it in the DT. Return the coral beauty

The problem is that they are both territorial, so if the Flame already has it's territory, (which may be the entire tank) then they are going to fight. The best thing to do, (besides getting rid of one) is to take them both out and rearrange the rocks so neither of them has a territory to fight for and re introduce them together at the same time.

 

[Piranha76]

Hey everyone,

So I got tired of having my Coral Beauty in my QT tank so I was going to transport him and place him in my fish trap in the DT. Well he escaped the trap.

So he chases the flame angel into the open and then the powder blue tang chases the coral beauty. So now the flame stays on his side and the coral beauty stays on the other side and the powder blue keeps everyone in line.