blue face angle

[mytank90]

i have always liked how these fish looked but before spending a small fortune on 1 i have a few questions .are they safe for reef tank?i was thinking of adding a few clams to my tank at later point .also would like know if a 120 gallon tank <4 feet long>would give him enough room to swim in .thanks

[c.m.]

NOT REEF SAFE! especially with clams. Beautiful fish, My Emperor usually leaves my GSP's alone, leathers are usually alright, but any Softies or clams would be a great snack for a large Angel.

[mycat99]

cool want to know as much info as i can get before spending money.sofar have read on 1 site you need min of 75 gallon and on onther min of 180 for angle fish

[viperfish]

Yeah, clam mantle is a large Angel's favorite meal, then it's Zoas, GSP, Lobos... you get the idea.

[George]

cool want to know as much info as i can get before spending money.sofar have read on 1 site you need min of 75 gallon and on onther min of 180 for angle fish

This angel grows to over a foot long in the wild. A 5ft long tank is probably the minimum.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I would want at least a tank well over 100g for a blue face angel (or any large angel). In general, no large angel (Queen, Emperor, Passer King, Bluering, Blue face, etc) should ever be considered Reef-safe. While the occasional individual may behave, these fish grow big and eat all sorts of sponges, clams, corals, and inverts. As somone already mentioned, the full adult size for these fish are 12" in captivity and 18" in the wild (according to wetwebmedia). I've seen some very large (foot long) blue faces in people's tanks so this is a realistic adult size estimate.

Anthony

[WuHT]

I have an asfur angel and it looks like asfur angels could fit your needs:

1. Doesn't seem to grow any more after 4.5" .. so it's basically like a midget large angel. In fact, mine keeps to around 50% of the tank most of the time (not a pacer).

2. Cost wise they are falling down, so it's definately not a "small fortune". You might get one for around 100 bucks.

3. Being from the red sea, they have the reputation of being less likely to be caught with unethical practices, so it's likely to be hardier.

4. Mine has shown no interest in zoas, mushrooms, leathers, GSP, feather dusters, xenia for about a year now, but clams I have not tried (nor plan to).

In fact, I've never seen a captive asfur angel larger than 5" in person, not probably not even in pictures or videos.

[fishoholic]

I have an asfur angel and it looks like asfur angels could fit your needs:

1. Doesn't seem to grow any more after 4.5" .. so it's basically like a midget large angel. In fact, mine keeps to around 50% of the tank most of the time (not a pacer).

2. Cost wise they are falling down, so it's definately not a "small fortune". You might get one for around 100 bucks.

3. Being from the red sea, they have the reputation of being less likely to be caught with unethical practices, so it's likely to be hardier.

4. Mine has shown no interest in zoas, mushrooms, leathers, GSP, feather dusters, xenia for about a year now, but clams I have not tried (nor plan to).

In fact, I've never seen a captive asfur angel larger than 5" in person, not probably not even in pictures or videos.

Asfur angels can grow to over a foot long, "The largest scientifically measured Asfur Angelfish was 40.0 cm / 15.7 inches." Just because some angels grow slower then others doesn't mean that eventually they wont outgrow your tank. I also have seen one (in person) that is close to 10 inches, maybe a bit bigger, in the salt water fish tanks at West Edmonton Mall.

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/angels/images/ArabianAngelfishWMA_Ap8SA.jpg
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/Marine-angelfish/Asfur.php

Large angels even as juvi's should be in tanks over a 100g. As they get bigger they need very large tanks, my king angel isn't full grown yet but I'd say my 230g is a bit on the small side for him. She's not pacing but you can tell that more room would be better. So keep in mind that if you want large angels within 2 years of buying them as a juvi you'll need a minimum tank size of 200g. Also keep in mind that deep tanks are a pain to work with (really hard to reach the bottom to move rock around) but the way large angels are shaped it is good to have them in a 3 foot deep tank. Most large angels will nip at corals. The large angels I've keep in the past seem to leave LPS alone. They have picked at other corals mostly zoos and sps, and they love to eat clams.

If you have a smaller tank and want angelfish look at dwarf angels. While some dwarfs are hit and miss I know a few people with coral beauties who have kept many different types of corals and clams with them and they leave the corals and clams alone.

[Lance]

As Anthony said above, large angels will pick just about everything off. Mr. Fish 55 has several large angels in his 750g FOWLR and the live rock looks like it was just cleaned with a pressure washer; not a sign of life on it.