Flame angel in mixed reef?

ReeferBud · May 23, 2019

Ive been keeping flame angels in mixed reefs for 20 years. Never had a major issue. I currently keep a flame, coral beauty, flameback and they’re some of my favorite fish.

As others have mentioned, they are grazers but that’s not a big deal in an established reef tank.

Feeding well is also important so that they don’t view your corals as their main source of food.

Kmsutows · May 23, 2019

Noooo! Too risky unless you are willing to take apart your scape to catch it! I never had any issue until recently I added a trio... one disappeared and the other 2 ANNIHILATED my reef! Primarily my sps. Many $1000s worth in high end colonies killed in a matter of weeks. NOT WORTH IT. They're one of my favorite looking fish by far but never again!

phil bevilacqua · May 23, 2019

Ugh. Thanks guys!

Mozby · May 23, 2019

Reeferbud and Kmsutos’ posts seems to be a classic representation of the answer to this issue..... that it really seems to be 50/50 and luck of the draw. The experience has gone both ways, so it comes down to whether you want to risk it or not.

OrionN · May 23, 2019

I think ReeferBud is a lot more common that Kmsutows.
Mine rarely bother my corals. I always have Flame Angel in my reef in the last 20+ years. (either have them or looking for them to put them in)
Midnight angel is another mater. They are so graceful and beautiful but deadly to my corals.

Andy429 · May 23, 2019

I have a flame and a lemonpeel (asking for trouble) they haven’t harmed any SPS but I get no PE during the day and they seem to like expensive Zoas and my acans are closed up. They are both lovely fish but I kinda wished I’d not bothered. Better to have free choice on corals and not have to worry about it.

asting · May 23, 2019

I'm risking it and have a pretty substantial euphyllia collection. Hoping that's no issue.

phil bevilacqua · May 23, 2019

I can’t risk it. cant afford to replace coral

Mozby · May 23, 2019

phil bevilacqua said:
I can’t risk it. cant afford to replace coral

I know how you feel, as I have some really nice acans I’d hate to see destroyed..... but I might still go for it because of how beautiful they are! The struggle is real....

Hemmdog · May 23, 2019

Mine is a nightmare, he eats acans, poccilopora, zoas, palys, chalices, he doesn’t discriminate.

Jet915 · May 23, 2019

Dont do it, i had a bicolor and coral beauty, they will pick at your corals, zoas were closed all the time, leather and sps had no polyps. Not worth it imo. So much happier when they were gone.

Jesterrace · May 23, 2019

mattzang said:
i went for a flame angel a couple of months ago and i'm happy with it so far

i heeded the advice of experienced folks like @ca1ore who gave that advice again here, if you're going to freak out about some nips here and there, don't bother. but if you're ok with nips, then you're probably good to go.

from what i could gather, if you're going to try angels, or really any reef safe with caution fish, avoid meaty corals, acans, zoas, etc. when my little rock of acans all died, i decided to replace acans with a flame angel. i don't have any scolys/wilsonis/trachys things like that. i have a fungia plate and a space invader which he has seemingly left alone. in fact, if he wouldn't mind trimming those space invader sweepers, i'd appreciate it.

the only sps nipping i've seen is on day 2 of having him, he darted across the tank right to my frag rack to give my purple stylo a smooch. but since then, no smooches seen. i feed a lot and my tank has been up for about a year so if he gets bored he can go clean up random algae spots. one downside is my polyp extension on acros is poor, but that could be my tank or flow or something else. i'm no expert on the acro game. corals seems otherwise healthy and growing, though, so whatevs.

Agreed. I have a Euphyllia dominated tank and it's actually what I recommend for folks who have plans of keeping a dwarf angel. Not saying they won't nip but I do think it increases chances of success. I also agree that you don't need to worry about the occasional exploratory nip, it's the repeated nibbling that is cause for concern (ie taking multiple nips at one go).

Jesterrace · May 23, 2019

Jet915 said:
Dont do it, i had a bicolor and coral beauty, they will pick at your corals, zoas were closed all the time, leather and sps had no polyps. Not worth it imo. So much happier when they were gone.

Bicolors are one of the Dwarf Angels more prone to nip. Coral Beauty can go either way. My CB has been a near model citizen for almost a year now.

Mark Gray · May 23, 2019

Hit or miss I think I have one I have never seen him go after any SPS. But he has a fancy for 2 zoos I have, but it's ok he keeps them trimmed back

LesPoissons · May 23, 2019

I have a flame in a 220 with LPS and SPS. Hes never bothered anything (so far!) . Recently a monti ive had for 2 years broke and I moved a piece of it to a new rock to grow- he ate it in about an hour. Has never touched the monti before and never went after any of the other broken pieces or the original, so idk what it was about that one piece. I have a yellow tang that loves to eat zoas. I have an emperor angel that (knock on wood, fingers crossed, prayers) has not bothered a single thing. I had a "reef safe" butterfly that picked at every coral in the tank and got rehomed. You never really know. Just try it and be prepared to catch him or loose coral, or pass up the fish. = )

Rich Klein · May 24, 2019

I have always loved them and willingly took the chance. My flame angel is a real beauty, but does occasionally nip at my Acans causing them to retract for a few minutes and then come back out. I can't see that it does any real damage. Have not seen it nip at my SPS...yet. I feed my fish really well, and the flame angel gets plenty to eat. They just like to nip at my rocks and Acans..so far ;-).

Aardvark1134 · May 24, 2019

The good things about flame angels are:
1) They are common and cheap so if you get a coral killer you can trade it at any LFS that you have a good rep with
2) They love to eat so they are straight forward to catch in a fish trap