Multiple dwarf angels in one tank?

[reefsamurai]

My LFS recently brought in several dwarf angels, two of which are in the same tank. They have a Bicolor, an eibli and several cherubs. The eibli and bicolor are being housed together already. The eibli is the largest at around 2.5 in with the bicolor the same size as the cherubs.

I have corals(mostly shrooms and zoos) but the real concern is my other fish. I have a 7+" scribbled rabbit, same size pink tail trigger, sailing surgeon, Atlantic blue surgeon and mated pair of Bella gobies. I roll a 220g currently (monster planned but years away due to new construction needed).

I've had dwarfs like cherubs in previous years but never multiples. I am not in the market to start a cage match so I'd like to hear some advice on this.

 

[Timfish]

I've had success keeping multiple species together but they are quarantined together to reduce the risk of aggression and get tehm used to each other. Once a dwarf angel is established in a display tank trying to add any more is not likely to be successful. Behavior issues may develop as the fish mature as you are likely going to get subadults and as always an aquarist needs to be ready to rehome any fish at any time.

 

[reefsamurai]

What do you think about for the behavior issues of the sub adults concerning the current fish I already have?

 

[Reef AquaCult]

youre taking a big chance. you can ask them to put together in tank at store. IME you will know right away if its going to work or not.

 

[reefsamurai]

Were trying this! I had no idea how tiny these guys are compared to the size of the 220. I have some old cave tunnels that these guys are small enough to use as all the bigger guys out grew. I waited till everyone else went to roost and then released the hounds. I look forward to tomorrow after work as I go in well before the tank or the US even sees sunlight.

 

[blaxsun]

Expect some interesting GTA action for the first week or two. Dwarfs are much, much faster than they hint at...

 

[reefsamurai]

The wife sent me pics when she went home for lunch. I asked for more and she told me I get live action when I get home lol two out of three seen by lunch I feel is a good sign. That cherub is tiny so it could be anywhere.

 

[reefsamurai]

The eibli so far is the most extroverted of the three.

This is the overhang the bicolor has been hanging out under. Of course everyone wants their pictures taken instead.

The cherub is MIA as of last night. It was a very active fish in the shop so I'm not worried.

Going forward, I will reply to the thread with updates of my angel progress so that if any issues arise not only is there a history, but also so that others can learn from mistakes I'm sure to make along the way.

 

[reefsamurai]

 

[LaloJ]

My favorite fish and my absolute passion in this hobby are angelfishes and butterflies, I prefer to keep these fish before any coral, so I have read many threads of angelfish, I can assure you that you did the right thing putting the 3 together, but without quarantine is risky, how long have you been in the store? They fed well in the lfs?
Generally, C.eibli has a more aggressive behavior, so it must be a type of care, I hope that its individual character is to be peaceful, I'm noticing some characteristics of your fish with the naked eye but the photos do not help, you can take one more clear photo? I don't think you have aggressiveness problems with the bicolor angel, they are generally peaceful types, but if one day you try to place, for example, a lemonpeel angelfish then this may change. The angel cherub is a small fish but with a challenging character, the situation here is if you are going to want to add more angels, if this is correct then eibli and cherub would be your main concerns, you can combine several angels in the tank but it requires a pair of cheats, either way 220 gallon is a pretty good size to try, keep us posted on these 3 beauties.

 

[blaxsun]

Don’t forget to feed them seaweed. Angels love nori!

 

[reefsamurai]

Don’t forget to feed them seaweed. Angels love nori!

The receives two to three sheets a day because of the current pigs.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have flame and coral beauty in same tank. Bi-color angel will likely nip coral and are often difficult to keep feeding even when eating upon purchase.

 

[melonheadorion]

I have flame and coral beauty in same tank. Bi-color angel will liely nip coral and are often difficult to keep feeding even when eating upon purchase.

myu bi color doesnt touch the coral. he will nip at rocks for the algae, but he rarely does that anymore. i just make sure he gets plenty to eat. he doesnt even look at my zoas, hammer coral, gsp or mushroom. perhaps if it were LPS, he might, but as of now, he doesnt even bother.
on the other hand, dwarf angels are hit or miss, or at least thats what i hear, when it comes to being coral safe

 

[Zionas]

You guys might wanna look into some captive bred options from ORA and Biota. Biota imports stock from Bali Aquarich which has bred the more difficult species like Multibars, Venusta, and Colin’s. They themselves do Coral Beauties. ORA does Coral Beauties, Flamebacks and Cherubs. I wish more people did Flames.

Biota themselves also do Lemonpeels and Bali Aquarich do hybrids of Lemonpeels and Half Blacks (naturally occuring).

 

[reefsamurai]

It was asked why I did not QT before they hit the display. I have had white spot in the DT within the last 4 months. So regardless of these guys being treated, they will still be succeptable to disease upon entering the main system. That being said, everyone currently is fat and happy. The new inhabitants were all alert and moving about before I brought them home. Ideally. I would have a 40ish setup and ready to be used for QT for everyone. I will be doing that in the future years to come when I start the plywood aquarium.

 

[reefsamurai]

No new pics yet but all are still alive so far. They all are still pretty skittish and only show this face during feeding time. The eibli and my Atlantic blue surgeon have butted heads a couple times(I'm surprised since the blue is the smallest in the tank, even smaller than the Bella Gobies) but no visible signs of assault. I finally saw the cherub tonight! First time since the night they went in and it's not even close to the cave it initially went into. Of course it saw me and dove for cover but, it's alive!

So far my initial reaction with how much these guys are hiding right now is, I would not try this on an unestablished aquarium. I think that they must be hiding enough that they are picking at the rockwork that has been going for almost two years(not in this specific tank but collectively).

This behavior so far and watching several YouTube videos on people doing way more angels and surgeons than I ever dreamed of in one aquarium has solidified my thoughts on an 8-10ft system. I think the length is needed when someone is put in check and they need to swim straight away.

Hopefully the next post will be more fishy pics.

 

[Sleepingtiger]

I think @OrionN keeps flames and flame backs in the same tank. He has harems.

 

[reefsamurai]

These fish are impossible to photo as they are only coming out in the early morning or late evening hours but all are still alive! They are still skittish and when people appear, they are gone into the rocks.

I've been thinking about a webcam, can anyone make any recommendations?

 

[reefsamurai]

Two out of three ain't bad!
I feel like I just tried to post evidence of bigfoot...