Which Angel

chris3323

AC Members
Mar 12, 2009
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Missouri
Here i am at the end of my 40 gallon reef tank fish stocking. At this point I have 2 oc. clowns, 4 green chromis, a lawnmower blenny, a diamond goby, purple and red firefish, and a yellow watchman goby, along with a handful of hermits, snails, an emerald crab, and a cleaner shrimp. I need the last fish. I want something big, and flashy (comparatively speaking). I am planning for some sort of angel but I do not know which one. I love all of them except for the coral beauty...everyone has one. Basically I just want to know what experiences others have had with them and given my situation what would work best. Lemonpeel, bicolor, flame, flameback, or others.
 
My favorite is the Potter's angelfish, Centropyge potteri. They are a bit more difficult to keep than the species that have been listed, but they are fantastic once established. The main downsides is that they are a larger dwarf angel, maxing out at 5" and they can be difficult during the initial few months.
 
I like the flame. Have had good luck with them in the past. I understand dwarf angels to be polyp nippers but I have never had that problem. I always try to feed a variety of foods and feed fish daily so this may help to keep them from becoming polyps nippers. I would only start out with the smallest dwarf angel I could find though, no matter what kind. Cherub angels are nice too. That is what I have now. They are not as colorful as the Flame, but don't get as big either. I have a nano so smaller is better for me.
But going with the smallest dwarf you can find might lessen the chance that it will nip your corals. Get it used to prepared foods and a feeding regimen from the start instead of getting one that has possibly nipped at corals for a longer time before captivity.
 
so no one has ever had the lemon peel or bicolor?

Difficult to keep a Bi-color alive.

Lemons are easier, but not by a lot. Tanks raised ones are more expensive but have a better life-expectency.
 
so no one has ever had the lemon peel or bicolor?

Neither of those are particularly noted for being reef-friendly (lemonpeels less so than bicolors). But as already mentioned, bicolors have a notorious captivity record, though I can recall a few successes. The key is to avoid specimens that hail from the Philippines. I've heard and seen that ones from Papua New Guinea and Australia do much better.
 
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