Multiple dwarf angels in one tank?

[sbbk]

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.

Dwarf angels can be very aggressive. I'd recommend getting one only. If you get 2 be sure they are as different as possible and introduce at the same time. I have a flame angel that is about 2" and it is the bossiest fish in the tank (120 gallon with about 10 fish), plus it occasionally nips coral and once destroyed a large toadstool in a week, ripping a large piece of the stem, so the cap totally detached and took over a month to recover. It has since calmed down and is not a problem now.

 

[pjr]

2 to 3 in my 135g tank for 20 years...... no issues. BUT: no flame angels wither. They are the biggest wild card....

 

[reefsamurai]

Looking good! Now that you bring up auto feeders, seems like a good time to mention I have one go off twice a day. I also feed frozen every night. Could be part of the success formula for me. The auto feeder has various types of flake and frozen food. I figured that would increase the chances of finding something for everyone. I do the same with the frozen food.
I'm surprised the aggression came from the Coral Beauty instead of the Eibli, since they're more similar.
Never been to Omaha but both my favorite boxer, Bud Crawford, and Warren Buffett are from there, right? So, I assume everyone there is insanely talented. Your reef tank success makes perfect sense now

Now that I have a few free moments, time for reflection and updates.

We are almost a week in and both fish are doing fine. The keyhole hides still but comes out for food. I see nori being nibbled at but nothing openly visible yet. July 18th can't come soon enough.

The half black cruises the MT fairly openly now and no one really pays much attention. It even routinely check the algae clip to see if it has been refilled. I will be adding a second clip soon to give relief from a single food source. I will pull the cage tomorrow or Saturday as it's not needed nor paid any attention to for that matter.

I know it's not a dwarf angel but I really want to go back and get that navarchus too. Money and no QT space have stopped me but only temporarily...

Tori, you mentioned your autofeeder does frozen? How is this possible? What model are you using?

 

[Tori]

Now that I have a few free moments, time for reflection and updates.

We are almost a week in and both fish are doing fine. The keyhole hides still but comes out for food. I see nori being nibbled at but nothing openly visible yet. July 18th can't come soon enough.

The half black cruises the MT fairly openly now and no one really pays much attention. It even routinely check the algae clip to see if it has been refilled. I will be adding a second clip soon to give relief from a single food source. I will pull the cage tomorrow or Saturday as it's not needed nor paid any attention to for that matter.

I know it's not a dwarf angel but I really want to go back and get that navarchus too. Money and no QT space have stopped me but only temporarily...

Tori, you mentioned your autofeeder does frozen? How is this possible? What model are you using?

Oh, no, no, sorry! That was definitely a typo! I meant flake and pellet foods. Don't want to get anyone's hopes up! I've been dreaming of an auto feeder that does frozen for years now so probably my subconscious getting the best of me. Glad to hear everyone's doing well!

 

[reefsamurai]

Oh, no, no, sorry! That was definitely a typo! I meant flake and pellet foods. Don't want to get anyone's hopes up! I've been dreaming of an auto feeder that does frozen for years now so probably my subconscious getting the best of me. Glad to hear everyone's doing well!what kind of auto

What kind of autofeeder do you have? Does it require a controller or is it stand alone?

Sidebar topic of conversation, what kind of filtration is everyone running for all these amazing angel tanks? I'm out camping or I would take a pic but it's a 75g partitioned (very amateur for sock drain/skimmer chamber, algae/liverock and return. I have to change the sock every couple days and about the same on the skimmer. I've contemplated buying a 40 breeder and building a new sump with the bacteria rocks and better chambers.

 

[Tori]

I have the hydros auto feeder, so it's hooked up to a controller. I'm kind of picky about being able to see wires so it's tucked away on my light rack. I'm pretty sure you can find a stand alone version of it.

For filtration I just have the standard Waterbox sump, I think it's 30 gallons or so. I run self mixed bags of purit, rox .8 carbon and gfo or phos guard in a filter cup. I've always avoided filter socks for some reason. I would say I run chaeto in the refugium section but it's way more hair algae than chateo at this point. So, I guess it's a macro algae scrubber? I also run a Maxspect Jump skimmer and various bio-blocks and spheres. I have a Klir filter roller on my second filter sock section but I don't really run it that much. The roll runs out way to fast so it just sits there most of the time. Nothing too exciting for filtration.

 

[reefsamurai]

Back from camping and took some pics. Skimmer is a simplicity, can't remember the series as it's 4 years old but going strong. I actually just broke it down for a full 6 mo clean out and its cup is almost half full every 3-4 days. Which is about the amount of time the socks get changed out. Keeps the water super clear though.

 

[Tori]

@reefsamurai Nice! I really like the set up overall. Looks really good! Definitely worth showing off.
My sump isn't really photo worthy but here it is. Definitely something that needs to be hidden from the world, lol. The coolest things to me are on the left side where the control board is on an 80/20 rail that slides out and the ~15 gallon ato reservoir that neatly tucks in there.

 

[reefsamurai]

I figured out if I reflect the flashlight off the back glass I can shoo out the new individual.

 

[Tori]

Looking good! Any issues so far?

 

[reefsamurai]

Looking good! Any issues so far?

Sorry didn't see this, no issues so far. I just fed some frozen when I got home from work and the keyhole openly came out to eat.

The half black is now openly swimming with everyone and eating openly. It has taken a fondness to the eibli which is interesting since they make crosses in the wild.

 

[Tori]

Nice! Openly eating means they're pretty much solid. It would be interesting to see if the half black and the Eibli pair up.

I'm working on making some additions myself. Hopefully I'll have some updates soon.

 

[LaloJ]

I figured out if I reflect the flashlight off the back glass I can shoo out the new individual.

It looks a little pale near the operculum on both sides, is there a stress problem? possibly I'm wrong and it's a matter of the camera.

 

[LaloJ]

I figured out if I reflect the flashlight off the back glass I can shoo out the new individual.

It looks a little pale near the operculum on both sides, is there a stress problem? possibly I'm wrong and it's a matter of the camera.

 

[reefsamurai]

It looks a little pale near the operculum on both sides, is there a stress problem? possibly I'm wrong and it's a matter of the camera.

Not pale but it's more of a greenish color. The fish in whole(I inspected it heavily in the bag) is not fully jet black but having a dark body and then a deep greenish gills forward through lips.

Today's latest video

 

[Tori]

Not pale but it's more of a greenish color. The fish in whole(I inspected it heavily in the bag) is not fully jet black but having a dark body and then a deep greenish gills forward through lips.

Today's latest video

Tanks looking good! Looks like everything went successfully.
I copied you and picked up a Keyhole and a half black myself, and a few others... I may need counseling actually but not the worst addiction to have I guess. I happened to see a really nice Keyhole at the lfs a couple days after you posted yours. I may have also added a couple more flame angels to go with the one I had and a pair of bicolors.

 

[Tori]

Finally figured out how to make YouTube shorts. Now let's see if I can link them correctly.

Keyhole
https://youtube.com/shorts/MjoO83Z2QT8?feature=share4

Multibar eating frozen food
https://youtube.com/shorts/7gLPiIMWxy4?feature=share4

 

[LaloJ]

Finally figured out how to make YouTube shorts. Now let's see if I can link them correctly.

Keyhole
https://youtube.com/shorts/MjoO83Z2QT8?feature=share4

Multibar eating frozen food
https://youtube.com/shorts/7gLPiIMWxy4?feature=share4

Awesome collection of fishes, it's like a dream

 

[Tori]

Awesome collection of fishes, it's like a dream

Thanks! Really appreciate that! Still have some work to do on it.

 

[reefsamurai]

Well we are back to square one in the observation tank. When I came home from from work on Friday evening, the keyhole was laying on the sand barely breathing. I scooped him up and did the usual assessment for disease. I didn't find any but what I did find was a malnourished fish. Our best guess is that it had parasites or it never ate and that there is something in the tank unseen that was eating the food. We never physically watched any food being eaten, only disappearing from the sand bed. See pics below for skinny ness.

Tori, how many tanks do you have? It seems like you have an endless supply of QT space for new fish.

On the plus side, my birthday went swimmingly, literally!! Halfway through golfing, the sky opened up and I was wetter than the bottom of the ocean.