Lonely Flameback

[Jan]

on the question of "tank mates,"

I've been wondering about a dwarf flameback angel I have in my 30 gallon cube. His only fish tankmate is my blind clownfish that spends all its time in the RBTA and doesn't interact at all.

My stepdaughter said, "He looks lonely." It's true that he spends a lot of time chasing his reflection in the glass. (I don't know what sex he is)

Should I move him to my larger 120 gallon reef tank? I have a lot of SPS in that tank I was concerned that he might nip at their polyps. (In the cube is just some zoanthids, feather duster and favia septa.) If this angel turned out to be a polyp nipper it would be extremely hard to get him out of the big tank.

Another option is to add another fish to the cube. I've been trying to keep the number of food competitors down because the blind clownfish needs to be target fed and even that doesn't work very effeciently.

Advice?

 

[leebca]

Considering the confines of the cube, the fish could use more space. It will outgrow the 30 soon enough if it hasn't already.

The downside is as you suspect -- the fish could turn polyp nipper. Quite often a fish that doesn't eat or harm polyps will 'try one out' now and then. If that injures or even kills the polyp, it could entice the fish to eat more. A dieing marine life form usually gets recycled. Mother Nature usually doesn't let resources go to waste.

The Flameback usually comes from south of the Equator (including from around Brazil). There are some coming in from off the African coast, too. They are known to eat clams and LPS.

The bad news is that like most dwarf Angels, they may pick at corals. The good news is that this particular fish, from Africa, is often the most trustworthy. If yours is from Brazil, I would not put the fish in with corals.

 

[Jan]

Hmmm....don't know where he comes from. I know he doesn't pick at clam mantles because he ignored my clam. I'll have to think more about this. Maybe I can find out from the person I got it from where it came from (but I doubt it...most online vendors don't say where they get their fish from).

Thanks, Lee.

 

[Jan]

Update

Okay, I found out that this is an African flameback angel.

The vendor (Marine Depot) says he will get up to 3". He is ~2" now. Vendor also says to keep him in a tank larger than 20 gallons. That's pretty small. I feel okay now with the risk of the SPS nipping....

Do you think he would be happier in the large tank with other fish? My hubby thinks he's happy in the cube.

 

[leebca]

20 gallons for a 3" Flameback. :evil:

Another vendor says 30 gallons:
http://www.vividaquariums.com/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=01-1117

I'd be willing to wager that for other fishes that reach 3" there are other tank size recommendations. IMHO this fish is not a matter of inches of fish per gallon (or vice versa). This fish is, like many of its larger counterparts, a constant browser and picker on the reef. It needs a lot of LR to make life interesting for it. Hence I'd tend more towards a 45 cube.

"Happiness" is a human trait. It's never been shown that fish are happy or sad. But I can say that any fish would be better served in the largest display tank possible, provided it has the proper tank mates and environment. I wouldn't say it is a reason to move it IF. If the fish is thriving where it is, has been a good pet, is getting along where it is, it probably deserves to avoid going through the stress of adapting to another new environment.