Angel Fish Capatability......Please Help.
 

Hi everyone,

I have been wanting to add an angelfish to my display tank but I am not sure if that would be such a good idea I am interested in one of the following, Koran angelfish, imperator angelfish, blue girdled angelfish, blue face angel, and the blue angel. The tank has been up in running for 8 month now.
My current set up:
125 gallon
UV sterilizer
3 powerheads
Metal Halide
30 gallon Sump filter sock
In-sump protein skimmer with matching pump
2 heaters.

Live Stock:
130lbs of live rock
4”bed of “live” sand
(1) 4” Yellow Tang
(1) 6” powder blue tang
(1) 3” maroon clown fish
(1) 4.5” purple lobster
(1) 1” blue damsel
(2) .5” stripe damsels
(1) rose bulb anemone
(1) long tentacle anemone
(1) Haitian blue tip anemone
(1) One spot yellow foxface

And you typical clean up crew which I don’t want to go into detail.

I was wondering would I run into problems if I tried adding any species of the mentioned above angelfish because of my current stock. I have heard that angelfish are difficult to keep and are for experts only, so what it be better for me to forget the whole idea. In regards to my display tank it’s always in good shape I do water changes on a routine basis and test the water.

You've got quite a few fish. Adding an Angel may be too much.

It may seem like i do have many fish but my tank does seem sort of empty when i look at it.

That may be because your fish are still quite young and have some growing to do.

The Yelloe Tang iwll reach 8", the Power Blue Tang will reach at least 12", the Maroon Clown can reach 5", the Damsels can reach 3", and the Foxface will hit 8-12" long. Plus, all the anemones.

I think you may be able to add another fish, but it wouldn't be an Angel. They do get quite large and like you said, are for experts.

Thanks for the advice. I am learning more and more every day on maintaining a salt water aquarium. As i explore more and grow older with this hobby i hope to become more knowledgeable about fish keeping. Eventually being able to have a angel in my tank, but i hope that my current set up dosent mean that angels our out of the question.

Re: Angel Fish Capatability......Please Help.
 

I am going to give another viewpoint. You have a 6'' tank, which provides plenty of swimming room for 3 "large" fish. In my opinion, the Foxface, Powder Blue Tang, and a Pomacanthus angelfish should fit nicely into this tank. The Yellow Tang is a medium size fish, as are the Maroon Clownfish and Damselfish. I see no problem keeping 3 large fish and 3 or 4 medium size fish in a 125 gallon aquarium, provided you give due diligence to water quality and compatibility.

So, lets discuss the long term prospect of adding an Angelfish. As to difficulty, many of the Angelfish available in the hobby are every bit as hardy to keep as your Powder Blue Tang. Lets consider the exact species you mention above. All 3 species are of the Pomacanthus genus and display a lot of similar behavior and care requirements in captivity. One such similarity is that they are best suited for a fish only aquarium. If you have future plans of including any corals or invertebrates, then I would suggest you reconsider your plans and turn to the Centropyge (dwarf) genus of Angelfish. Many "dwarfs" grown to 6 or 8 inches, which is certainly a nice size fish.

Provided you stick with only the anemones you currently have, and not add corals, then we can consider a Pomacanthus angel. The Koran and Imperator are very similar fish. They both acclimate well to captivity, are eager to feed, and display a very bold attitude in the aquarium. The only real difference is price and adult coloration, with the Imperator being one of the most attractive adult fish in the hobby.

The Blue Face and Blue Girdled both are a bit more sensitive and take an experienced hand to be successful in captivity. Until you have kept other angelfish or butterfly's successfully, I would suggest you consider the prior options. By the way, I am also comfortable recommending P. annularis, sold as the Blue Ringed Angelfish.

Please keep in mind that all of these fish we are discussing, including your Tang, will reach an adult size of nearly 2 feet. You will need a bigger tank in your future, regardless of your desire to keep an Angelfish.

A few additional thoughts:

I do no suggest keeping a P. asfur, despite my screen name. It is a beautiful fish, but also a bit more sensitive.

Do you realize that your Foxface is poisonous? It has a similar venom to the Lionfish. Please use caution when placing your hands in the aquarium, as most stings occur by pure accident. Make sure your wife and children are aware of this.

I would feel much more comfortable with your aquarium if you would remove the Damselfish. As they grow they will become much more aggressive. Even if you can not SEE the aggression, the other fish FEEL the aggression. This is a form of stress and should be removed. As a trick for removing the fish.... Use your net to feed your fish. In a few weeks the Damsels will be jumping into the net for you.

I have no experience with the lobster and have no idea how an Angelfish will react to it.

Please take my comment about upgrading tank size seriously. That Power Blue Tang will grow FAST and needs a TON of swimming space to thrive. I would personally not select this fish for any aquarium under 280 gallons. Yes, 280 :wink:

Thanks for all of the advice. My tank is actually 7 feet long and not 6 but dosnt really matter. I didnt really plan in starting a reef tank so i am okay on that part. And i was aware that my powder blue tang would outgrow my 125 gallon tank, i was planning to let it go for $60.00 once it got to big for my tank. So i think im gonna try to keep a inperator angel. I wanted to purchase the angel small i was wondering if it would matter what size i purchased it?

Just don't go to small. Anything smaller than 3'' is probably not good. Sometimes they have a difficult time in captivity when collected as such a small size.

7' is even better!

THANKS