I made some poor decisions. . . what to do now?

[MoshJosh]

Long story short, I bought a pygmy angel fish and tried to add it to my tank with a splendid dottyback. . .

The latter relentlessly tried to murder the angelfish until I was able to remove it from the tank (I only had to remove most of my rock work, and break one of my acros to catch it). The dotty is now in my 5 gallon frag tank.

I assume the dotty can’t stay in a 5 gallon tank forever, but I’m not sure it could ever be added back to the display without killing the angel. . . should I just bring the doggy back to the fish store?

Side note, the angel will be too big for my tank full grown, but the one I got seems to be pretty young and is quite small, but will definitely have to upgrade. . .

 

[prodbot7]

Dotty backs are notoriously mean, if you want to have multiple fish I’d probably take him back to the LFS.

 

[Tamberav]

Keep in mind that Pygmy angels in small tanks can also turn really mean. I don’t know what fish plans you have but ya… I wouldn’t add anything else tbh.

 

[reeferguy3303]

You put an angel fish in a 10 gallon ?

 

[MoshJosh]

Keep in mind that Pygmy angels in small tanks can also turn really mean. I don’t know what fish plans you have but ya… I wouldn’t add anything else tbh.

No more fish plans, my 2 clowns and the angel.

You put an angel fish in a 10 gallon ?

not quite, 15 gallon plus 5 gallon sump. . . still too small. . . but will be getting a bigger tank

 

[Tcook]

Did you mention that you have a Nuvo 20 to upgrade to? The angel will do fine in the 20. I've had one in my IM 20 for little over a year and a half and it does well. In with my pink streak wrasse.

 

[MoshJosh]

Did you mention that you have a Nuvo 20 to upgrade to? The angel will do fine in the 20. I've had one in my IM 20 for little over a year and a half and it does well. In with my pink streak wrasse.

I did have one of those, but I recently got rid of it as it did not fit the stand. That said, I can easily fit a 20 long on the stand the 15 is on now. or may go with a different tank entirely. My local Fish Store got in some cool 33 gallon long tanks.

 

[reeferguy3303]

A Pygmy angel will not do fine in a 20 they swim a lot

 

[davidcalgary29]

I have multiple dwarf angels, and I wouldn't put any of them in anything less than 40g. They're all grazers and need a lot of live rock from which to feed, and they can be quite jealous of their food sources. Really, a three foot tank (and up) is ideal, although I suppose a coral beauty could go into a two foot cube.

 

[steveschuerger]

I have multiple dwarf angels, and I wouldn't put any of them in anything less than 40g. They're all grazers and need a lot of live rock from which to feed, and they can be quite jealous of their food sources. Really, a three foot tank (and up) is ideal, although I suppose a coral beauty could go into a two foot cube.

i take it my IM SR60 should be fine size wise? I’ve been toying with getting a Cherub Angel

 

[davidcalgary29]

i take it my IM SR60 should be fine size wise? I’ve been toying with getting a Cherub Angel

Yes, that's a fine size. People do keep them in smaller tanks, but I find mine to be quite boisterous, and it enjoys traveling the entire length of the tank.

 

[steveschuerger]

Yes, that's a fine size. People do keep them in smaller tanks, but I find mine to be quite boisterous, and it enjoys traveling the entire length of the tank.

Boisterous is good. My fish complement is 2 ocellaris clowns, 2 Bangaii cardinals, 2 yellowtail damsels, orange spot blenny and one aforementioned splendids. And yes dottybacks are annoying

 

[MoshJosh]

Here’s the only picture I could get this morning.

he’s probably about an inch long right now.

I’ll start looking for a bigger tank today, LFS has some on sale.

 

[MoshJosh]

A Pygmy angel will not do fine in a 20 they swim a lot

And see, multiple people have told me a 20 was fine. . . Thought I wasn’t to far off. . . Quick change out to a 20 and I’d be fine. . .

but I have been planning on upgrading anyway, so just have to go bigger.

 

[davidcalgary29]

And see, multiple people have told me a 20 was fine. . . Thought I wasn’t to far off. . . Quick change out to a 20 and I’d be fine. . .

but I have been planning on upgrading anyway, so just have to go bigger.

They're small fish for angels, and I think some people equate fish size with tank size. But unlike some fish -- say some clowns and the more passive dottybacks -- which stake out a territory in or around a certain section of the aquascape (and can defend it aggressively), angels will travel the entire length (and volume) of a tank many times during the day. That's why they benefit from such a large tank in relation to their body size. I don't really notice any difference between my Pacific Pygmy and my other dwarf angels (which are at least twice the size) in this respect.

 

[reeferguy3303]

And see, multiple people have told me a 20 was fine. . . Thought I wasn’t to far off. . . Quick change out to a 20 and I’d be fine. . .

but I have been planning on upgrading anyway, so just have to go bigger.

People think the word Pygmy means you can keep them in tiny tanks. I had one in a 55 gallon which is 48” long and it would swim through entire tank.