angels newbie question

[wilsontantw]

Dear angel fish experts,

How possible is it to keep the blue and queen angel together?

Shall I introduce queen first (ideal showfish)? Followed by blue?

The blue is almost reaching adult colours, close to 4".

Queen is just turning adult, abt 3.5".

Oh yes, I would like to transfer my 3" blue face from existing tank too..

All 3 are pellet eating..

Thanks and appreciate advice from the experienced angel keepers..

New tank is 5'.

Other "big" fish are YT and PBT...

[Harlequinmania]

i would introduce the blue angel first follow by the queen , since i find queen angel is more aggressive as compare to the other. This could be follow by your blue face angel and your tang.

I have very bad experience keeping yellow tang together with other angel and butterfly since it kill my golden butterfly and rock beauty that i decided to give it away. But again, my experience may not be the same as others since every living creatures is unpredictable at times,

[Solo77]

My take is yr queen, blue and blue face last if u don't intend to Put more angel. Blue face can be agressive. If u want majestic, better put in first among other angels. My take is queen is nicer and smaller. So after yr queen, yr bigger blue should be abt to withstand. U might want to set a qt area within yr Main tank when introduce new angel. Do quarantine for a period before introducing into yt main tank as big Angels seem to have more parasites and infection when compares to dwarf. For pbt, some are terror. U will have to take yt chance. All the best.

[mengyang_neo]

Hmmm how about intro all 3 together?

For my tank last time, if any of the 3 go in first will become king and bully the newcomer. So better to intro together, just a suggestion. =p

[Harlequinmania]

Hmmm how about intro all 3 together?

For my tank last time, if any of the 3 go in first will become king and bully the newcomer. So better to intro together, just a suggestion. =p

That;s another good idea to introduce all 3 together .

[Solo77]

Got risk unless all are parasite free but this method does work. Lol

[wilsontantw]

Larry, solo and mengyang, thanks so much for ur very prompt reply..

So in terms of aggression, it's blue face, queen, blue? from most aggressive to least?

How about if I'll like to add emperor and French in future? Is that advisable?

Given constraints, I'll like to have these in preference ...

1) queen (beta box - 3 wks at Cf, I just got it 2 days ago)

2) blue (sump tank - 3 wks at LCK)

3) emperor (looking)

4) french (looking)

5) blueface (in holding tank - 1 month)

6) rock beauty (looking)

Tangs

1) AT (looking)

2) PBT (in holding tank)

3) YT (in tank)

Pygmy angels

1) lemon peel hybrid (in beta box now)

2) flame angel (looking)

3) potteri (looking)

4) coral beauty (in tank)

Is this too many?

thanks for reading and hope to get ur advice...

I'm planning to release the queen tonight and upgrade the blue from sump to main tank beta box.. the blue is very aggressive when feeding..

I hope it wouldn't injure the queen..

[Harlequinmania]

Emperor angel is quite aggressive as compare to french but the trick is also to play around with the size of the fish which you will be keeping, i.e for more aggressive fishes it is best to get a smaller size as compare to those less aggressive one but again if your tank is large enough and there is alot of hidden space the chances of the successful keeping of all these fishes together is greatly increased.

i used to have most of the fish above which you mention except for the rock beauty in my previous FOWLR setup without having any issues on aggressiveness except for my Yellow tang, but like what Solo77 mention the chances of diseases is what you should fierce most especially for keeping angelfish.

I remember paying a premium for a 2" Rock beauty at CF since it has been there for 3 weeks and i though it should be diseases free and healthy, so i take the risk to introduce the fish into my main tank without proper QT . But on the 3rd day the fish developed ich and die within a week. I am glad that i promptly put back my UV into use to prevent the outbreak and any further loss of fish.

Stocks slowly and best if you can get those fish from established tank which is disease free since i came to recognize that chances of diseases outbreak in new tank is much higher as compare to a old and established tank.

Hope it helps

[mengyang_neo]

Larry, solo and mengyang, thanks so much for ur very prompt reply..

So in terms of aggression, it's blue face, queen, blue? from most aggressive to least? Yup

How about if I'll like to add emperor and French in future? Is that advisable? I think either get a bigger or smallest one. Bigger then the existing angel in the tank then no fish will dare to bully it, I try intro a small french into my tank my king and blueface, ok no aggression at all.

Given constraints, I'll like to have these in preference ...

1) queen (beta box - 3 wks at Cf, I just got it 2 days ago)

2) blue (sump tank - 3 wks at LCK)

3) emperor (looking)

4) french (looking)

5) blueface (in holding tank - 1 month)

6) rock beauty (looking) (Maybe u will want to take note, rock beauty should be quite hard to get it to feed, with so many fierce angel inside, I think very hard for it to survive, unless it is feeding well. )

Tangs

1) AT (looking)

2) PBT (in holding tank)

3) YT (in tank)

Pygmy angels

1) lemon peel hybrid (in beta box now)

2) flame angel (looking)

3) potteri (looking)

4) coral beauty (in tank)

Big angel should not touch pygmy angel so they should be safe, but u keeping LPS or zoas? I heard lemon peel is a naughty fish that will nip.

Is this too many?

thanks for reading and hope to get ur advice...

I'm planning to release the queen tonight and upgrade the blue from sump to main tank beta box.. the blue is very aggressive when feeding..

I hope it wouldn't injure the queen..

[wilsontantw]

Oops... the queen and blue are only Day 2...

Should I wait one more day???

Perhaps I should.. so far the fish look OK, eating well.

I'm concerned the imprisonment in betabox will do more harm than good..

Thanks Gary for sharing ur experience...

Open to hear more suggestions and advice...

[Harlequinmania]

Another option you can opt for if you do not have a proper QT tank setup . Divide a small section of your main tank with a divider which is comfortable with the new fish to swim around , and during this period you would be able to check for aggressiveness between the new fish and those already in your main tank and at the same time you are able to condition your new fish with frequent feeding before introduce it out.

If any sign of diseases outbreak is observed you would still have the time and able to catch that fish without tearing your rock apart for treatment and preventation the diseases from spreading.

[wilsontantw]

Thanks boss, I'm contemplating creating a temp "prison" in main tank.. currently using betabox, but may not be big enough area... will think of something...

[Solo77]

Yr list is rather challenging especially with AT. So far I understand those who succeeded either keep very few fish or they use copper. Nevertheless, it is still possible but luck will play a big part. Yr scraping can affect aggression. Personally open concept is likely to reduce aggression as notice territory for them to fight but one the other hand, not much hiding space. As mentioned by Larry, segment part of yt display tank for QT purpose. For emperor, personal experience is it get affected easily. However, it can be naught once stablised, thus challenging. The few local angel masters yet to come out and comment. They have their methods. In general, good specimen is required. Thereafter quarantine for weeks to months with treatment. Then introduce to main tank with "fence" and monitor. However, it can be deceiving. My Asfur was not showing aggression towards my macolosus and after releasing it, the chase slowly builds up and killed it. Do take note. Lastly, those popular lfses that do proper qt of their fishes before sending out to sell does not mean 100 % safe. Do note. In selection, feeding is one but alertness, boldness and curiosity are important. Observes that swimming pattern and gill. Many tell tale signs on the fishes. Hope the master can come out to give more proven advices. Be patience and hardwork will pay off. All the best.

[Solo77]

Can consider using egg crate and plastic mesh to DIY qt box. I find better as more flow passes thr. Those off the shelves type somehow don't have good flow in My opinion. Cheer.

Thanks boss, I'm contemplating creating a temp "prison" in main tank.. currently using betabox, but may not be big enough area... will think of something...

[wilsontantw]

Bro... thanks for taking time to share your experience and knowledge.

Much appreciated.. I Am trying to go slow.. but both specimens look too good to pass.. I was rash with the purchases, but it was a calculated risk (of sorts) haha...

Hope to hear from more masters soon...

In the mean time, im bringing out my leftover egg crate... box building time...

[Digiman]

So in terms of aggression, it's blue face, queen, blue? from most aggressive to least?

How aggressive they are depends on their sizes and how long they are being held and also it differs from fish to fish. To me all three are equally fierce and if i were u i'll add all 3 at one go.

How about if I'll like to add emperor and French in future? Is that advisable?

Your tank is big enough so go ahead. You may want to add in both together and during lights off to reduce aggression from existing fishes. A bit of fighting will happen but whether it'll stop or not depends on luck too. U may want to try all the other methods suggested if the chasing does not stop and then pray hard. Feeding more food to the fishes may also work.

Is this too many?

With your list of fishes i'm more worried about ich and velvet running out of control than high bioload. I advise u to prepare to copper your tank, otherwise run a UV, do frequent water change and add fishes very very slowly. The pbt and AT will be the troublesome ones when it comes to disease outbreaks. U'll find out v soon.

Myself i dont practise QT as i dun hav the luxury of owning too many tanks and i find the fish usually more stressed out in a betta box so i usually release straightaway or put in sump first. My last FOWLR i kept a list similar to yours and there was a velvet outbreak and to prevent massive loss i've no choise but to dose copper.

[Digiman]

Just to add most successful big angels and tangs FOWLR keepers run copper in their tank.

It is easy to these fishes if u r willing to run copper, otherwise it can be extremely challenging and personally i've suffered too much loss without using copper last time.

Research on cupramine, it'll come in v handy.

[kiewching]