Bali Brain

My Blueface is about 7 in, Emperor about 5.5 in and Asfur about 4.5 in. The Queen I have in mind is about 4 in. As you can see, the Queen would be a midget among gaints, and if she is being picked on and harassed and even injured, then chances of survival are slim. As you can see, I have introduced new Angels before, but the Queen is quite ex, and being the smallest of the lot, I guess I have to be more careful, and hence need to learn from your experiences.

I would assume that all you Queen Angel owners also have other Angels. I am considering getting a Queen but the trouble is that I have three other large Angels viz A Blueface, an Emperor and an Asfur, and the Queen I have in mind is smaller than the other Angels. Because it's such a large investment, I want to find out from you guys if you have any problems with aggression. To my mind, since the genus Holocanthus is different from the Pomacanthus and that the Queen is found in the Atlantic whilst the others are found in the IndoPacific/Red Sea, they would not encounter each other in the wild, and hence would not display the same kind of aggression as they would with another Angel. Is there any truth in this? Would appreciate your input on this. Thanks. My tank size is 5' by2.5' by 2.5'

If it is still a juvenile, why don't you place some Caulerpa. Juvenile Queens relish macroalgae, and this could be an alternative until he accepts pellet food.

Here's mine - Charlie's 3 Angels

I don't have a Koran, but I have other Angels. In my opinion, I do not think that it's the Angel. Firstly, the Mandarin and the Maroon are not conspecifics, and not the least bit identical to the Angel, and should not normally be targets of Angels. The Mandarin especially do not even eat the same food. Large Angels do not normally consider smaller fishes as a threat to them, and apart from ocassionally chasing them, do not normally kill them. Incidently, do you have a six-lined wrasse? These share the same food as Mandarins and will and do kill them. Just my 2 cts worth.

I think it all depends on the size of the tank. If it is 3 foot or less, I wouldn't suggest these big Angels much less having more than one. If it is 5 or 6 ft, I think an occasionally face-off should not come to any harm. I myself have an Emperor, Blue face and Asfur. Usually the smaller would try to avoid the bigger, and Angels unlike Tangs are not the persistently aggressive kind. In my opinion, the Emperor is a more aggressive fish, and hence it would be better to position the Majestic in the tank first, or together if you are getting them at the same time. The Emperor should also be the smaller. Rearranging the rockwork would also help when adding another Angel to defuse the territorial claim that the existing fish has. All in all, having more than 1 Angel is entirely possible, which I am sure many of the Singapore Reefers can testify. Hope this helps.

"Good morning, Angels" as Charlie would say. Here are my 3 Angels.

My take on this is that you can teach Mandarins to accept frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp. The only problem is that you may have to target feed since if there are other aggressive fishes around, because the food will be snatched away while the Mandarinfish is still deciding "should I or shouldn't I?"

Based on the picture of the Red Sea Emperor, the yellow lines are narrower. Is there an optical illusion? Wow, I didn't even know there is a difference in Bali and Medan varieties.

Well, if that happens, I'll add in ice cubes, Ha Ha. Seriously, I don't doubt what you said but it's also a matter of economics - acquiring a chiller to keep fishes is somewhat extravagant, isn't it?

Thanks for the advice, guys. I realise that corals need lower temperatures. In fact I used to have corals in my previous tank which used a cannister filter (not the best set-up), and using a fan to lower the temperature. This was quite satisfactory, lowering the temperature by 1-2 degrees. Now my new tank has a sump and with the return pump generating so much heat, and the tank volume 3 times the size of my old tank, a fan would not be effective and I guess keeping corals is out unless I get a chiller. Trouble is I also have big Angels, and I don't think it would be worth it to invest so much just to keep Mushies, which my Emperor doesn't touch. My concern now is more of whether the 30 degrees C would have a long term effect, even if it doesn't appear immediately so from my observation.

Hi, Just set up a 5' by 2.5' by 2.5' tank after my last tank leaked. Trouble is that the LFS who set up the tank for me used an Atman as a return pump, and the water gets very warm, about 30 degrees Centigrade. Now, I know that fishes can withstand a wide range of temperature, but if the water is constantly this warm-it actually feels warm to the touch - will this affect the fishes in the long run? Would appreciate some feedback from anyone who is still keeping slightly cooked fishes

A cheap alternative - get one of those small hang-on filters, shorten the intake tube so that it's just near the surface (not necessarily at the surface). Operate this at one end of the tank, and have a fan blowing at the surface at the other end. It's very effective - all the surface scum will disappear in a matter of minutes.

If you are still interested, this is how I do it. I take a live shrimp and grasp it by the tail with one of those instruments that you can get from aquarium shops (the clamps that you operate at one end with your hand at the end of a long handle). You dangle the shrimp near the Lionfish's mouth. As long as the the shrimp is moving, you should have no problem in getting the fish to eat the shrimp. Once the Lionfish is used to feeding this way, you start feeding it with half dead shrimps, ie it's still alive but not moving a great deal. When this is successful, you continue with dead shrimps, feeding the same way. This may take some time, and you could alternate with dead and half-dead shrimps. Patience should pay off and they should soon be eating dead shrimps. Once you are comfortable with that, you should then graduate with pieces of frozen fishmeat offered using the same instruments. Finally, when they are used to eating fishmeat, you may then dispense with the instruments, and can even handfeed, not that I advise it.

This may be a bit far fetched, but it's a possibility. Have you tested the water with a test ....pen??? A few days ago, my mushrooms, red and blue, shrivelled although they had been doing very well earlier. I had also felt a tingly sensation when I touched the water. I placed the tip of a test pen in the water, and amazingly, the pen lighted up. I then began the process of testing every single external electrical item for any leaks, and wiping the tank edges dry, thinking that these could be the possible sources. Finally, I found the culprit - one of the submerged power heads. I had that changed, and although the mushrooms have yet to recover, I am hoping, given time..... Funny thing though, the fishes didn't seem to be affected. Anyway, that's my experience. Don't know if it's relevant.

I use a small hang-on filter at one end with the intake tube shortened to as close to the surface as possible. At the other end, I have a fan blowing at the surface. This has the effect of pushing the dirty film towards the filter and once it goes through the filter, the water coming out would be clear. Hope it helps.

I too do not have a chiller. Corals as such, sometimes could be a touch and go thing and I have had my share of failure in keeping them alive. Generally, I find mushies, leathers and hammers easier to keep. Just wondering if anyone out there is keeping Acropora successfully without a chiller?

Enjoy it whilst it last. The polyps will just get smaller and smaller until one day they just don't come out at all.

It's a Scribbled Filefish, Aluterus Scriptus

Shoelevy, PO4Remover? Is it safe for fishes and invertebrates? How much do you have to use, daily, weekly? Even if you succeed in removing phosphate, what about the nitrates? Itchy hand- I have a sea cucumber, 3 snails, 2 seastars but they are not much of a help as far as the glass surface is concerned especially between the glass and the substrate (where they can't reach)and this builds up very easily.

I do not have algae blooms, but I have red cyano growth on the glass especially around the substrate level, which I have to clean everyday. Anyone has a good way of eliminating this?

I have an Orangelined Trigger with my Lion. He's almost as big as the Lion, and I have seen the Lion chasing the Trigger. I guess mine's not the norm.

Ooops, I did it again! Well, it's a big Lion!!!

I have a Volitans with an Orangelined Triggerfish in a 2foot tank. The Lion is very alert and will come to the front of the tank the minute someone approaches the tank. I have already weaned it off livefood and it now feeds totally on chunks of fishmeat (frozen) that I throw into the tank. Attach a pic of Lion. By the way, the tank used to be my QT, barebottom with just LR and aerator.

My first CBS died the day after I introduced him to the tank. So did my second one. Acclimating them is very important - take whole day to drip the tank water into bag if possible and see if it works. FYI my 3rd CBS has been with me for 2 years. I also have a cleaner shrimp and a scarlet cleaner shrimp.