Coral Beauty and SPS

[goody]

I've read some reefers have had good luck with dwarf angels in a reef tank and others not so much. Well, I bought a Coral Beauty hoping it would work in my mixed reef and it's been in my tank for several months and been a model citizen. Within the last month, I noticed my sps PE decreasing and then eventually gone other than 2 frags that had a little bit of PE.
I first thought maybe AEFW or white or red bugs but nothing I could find. I still had good color but growth seemed a bit slow. ICP tests came back good, so it wasn't water parameters. I checked PE when lights were out and all sps had great PE. That led me to believe it was my Coral Beauty even though I had never seen him nip at the coral. That was until about a week ago, so I decided it needed to go. I was able to catch it today and is in my sump for now. Do you think my sps will begin to have PE again when lights are on? A couple of examples of what PE used to look like and more recently.

 

[edsbeaker]

If it truly was the coral beauty, then, yes, PE will come back. But there could be so many other reasons affecting PE. If you never saw the CB irritating the SPS I would not jump to that conclusion
If PE comes back with the CB out of there, and you haven’t changed anything else, I think you will have your answer.

 

[goody]

Last thing I wanted to do was to remove it from my tank which is why I was looking at other possible causes first. I would have left it in the display but I did see it nipping at corals. I had last week off of work due to an injury and was able to watch it more closely during the day and saw it going after the sps nipping at some and looking closely at others but PE was not there to be had. I even considered leaving it in the tank because I still had decent color but wasn't sure if the nipping would cause slower growth or unhappy corals that would eventually die. Will hopefully post photos of sps with full PE within the week.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I’ve been through this multiple times over the years. Polyp extension will go back to normal if it’s nipping.

Fish will usually go from acro to acro. It’s hard to miss. I wouldn’t remove a fish until I witnessed it nipping at my acros on a regular basis.

 

[Lavey29]

I'm loaded with corals wall to wall and my coral beauty never touches anything.

 

[Roatan Reef]

My coral beauty never touched a coral, sadly, he did what all angles do...big or small, after about 1.5 years he became very territorial and decided to own the tank, and stressed out many other fish to the point of death. So I traded him. Sad to see him go, but I have more fish now who live in peace.

 

[winxp_man]

My coral beauty never touched a coral, sadly, he did what all angles do...big or small, after about 1.5 years he became very territorial and decided to own the tank, and stressed out many other fish to the point of death. So I traded him. Sad to see him go, but I have more fish now who live in peace.

I wonder if a flame angle would do the same. Want one for my main tank. Was thinking of a CB but after talking with my brother I decided no. Haha.

 

[Lavey29]

I wonder if a flame angle would do the same. Want one for my main tank. Was thinking of a CB but after talking with my brother I decided no. Haha.

Angels need sponge in their diet or they may nip at some corals. As long as you feed frozen that includes sponge then no issues.

 

[Tahoe61]

I have had ones that do and ones that don't. My Acropora used to literally pull in the polyps if the CB just passed by. Only occasionally did I see the CB nip. Then the CB's attention turned to my clams. CB was removed and everyone lived happily ever after.

 

[bobnicaragua]

Angels need sponge in their diet or they may nip at some corals. As long as you feed frozen that includes sponge then no issues.

I’ve never heard this. Has anyone else kept angels from nipping by feeding food with frozen sponge?

 

[Tahoe61]

I’ve never heard this. Has anyone else kept angels from nipping by feeding food with frozen sponge?

I haven't, but I have read that once the nipping starts the behavior continues regardless of change in diet. And yes in the wild the diet includes marine sponges.

 

[Lavey29]

I’ve never heard this. Has anyone else kept angels from nipping by feeding food with frozen sponge?

I would add that I have only kept coral beauty and flame angels with no issues. I have not tried the sponge diet with a Lemon peel or some other angel to see if it works with them too but 4 years now and everything is fine in my tank.

 

[areefer01]

Every fish is different as is each hobbyist display and feeding habits. I kept one for a spell and it was fine in my mixed reef. I feed small portions hourly of dry and 1 to 2 frozen in the evening though. I am of the opinion that if a hobbyist has a healthy system with mature colonies they can withstand the drive by nips and tucks. At least the Acropora. The only corals I had difficulty with that couldn't keep up was Xenia. My Zoster and Pyramid butterflies always stayed ahead of those and deiminated every piece of it...

I will say that I just got back from a dive trip in Fiji and every healthy reef crest I did my safety stop at had Coral Beauties weaving in and out of the colonies, nooks, and crannies. Never saw bite marks but not like I was examining to that level of detail. It was bobbing in and out swimming around and diving in the colonies for something that I assumed was food related. Lots of small fish lay their eggs in them.

Pretty fish - sorry you had to rehome it.

 

[bobnicaragua]

My Lamark’s angel is reef safe. I’d love a coral beauty, but I absolutely won’t give up polyp extension!

 

[winxp_man]

Angels need sponge in their diet or they may nip at some corals. As long as you feed frozen that includes sponge then no issues.

Interesting, have not heard of such acts haha. Might give one a try in my 25 lagoon.

 

[goody]

I wonder if a flame angle would do the same. Want one for my main tank. Was thinking of a CB but after talking with my brother I decided no. Haha.

I read that Coral Beauty was less aggressive and seemed to have better chances with CB not nipping at coral than Flame Angel. But as stated all fish can act differently.

 

[goody]

Every fish is different as is each hobbyist display and feeding habits. I kept one for a spell and it was fine in my mixed reef. I feed small portions hourly of dry and 1 to 2 frozen in the evening though. I am of the opinion that if a hobbyist has a healthy system with mature colonies they can withstand the drive by nips and tucks. At least the Acropora. The only corals I had difficulty with that couldn't keep up was Xenia. My Zoster and Pyramid butterflies always stayed ahead of those and deiminated every piece of it...

I will say that I just got back from a dive trip in Fiji and every healthy reef crest I did my safety stop at had Coral Beauties weaving in and out of the colonies, nooks, and crannies. Never saw bite marks but not like I was examining to that level of detail. It was bobbing in and out swimming around and diving in the colonies for something that I assumed was food related. Lots of small fish lay their eggs in them.

Pretty fish - sorry you had to rehome it.

I'm sure that I wasn't feeding the tank frequently enough which led to the nipping. Being a teacher it was not an issue over summer but when the school year started, I fed less. Maybe I should have tried an auto feeder. Do you think I should maybe give it a try once all sps get PE back?

 

[areefer01]

I'm sure that I wasn't feeding the tank frequently enough which led to the nipping. Being a teacher it was not an issue over summer but when the school year started, I fed less. Maybe I should have tried an auto feeder. Do you think I should maybe give it a try once all sps get PE back?

Let me preference this by apologizing. I was not suggesting or blaming. I did not mean to come across that way.

To the question of getting polyps back and my opinion. I am honestly not sure. As I mentioned above I feed small portions dry hourly with a mix of pellet. TDO x-small, small, PE mysis, and a couple different Hikari blends. I feed frozen at least once a day, sometimes twice (when I remember). The reason why is that I have a variety of sized fish from tiny gobies (upside down and links) to large Gold Lined Rabbit. In between are fast damsels, anthias, and some butterflies. This way I feel someone get something or has a chance. Frozen I rotate between LRS reef, fish, nano, PE calanus, mysis, and brine. Again different sizes so someone should get something. Dry is in an auto feeder, frozen manually me in the evenings.

Regarding polyp extension. I have a 210 gallon mixed reef with a couple of large LPS and SPS colonies. There is one colony that always has polyp extension that I did not expect. It is the Red Planet (picture below for reference). There is another Acropora right by it that I expected to have polyps out but it doesn't. At least not during the day or when I observe it. It is a unknown red millipora. Growing well but no polyp extension. I have a few other acroporas and some do, some don't. I don't know why that is.

I've had a coral beauty and I would see it nip here and there. Picking at something which I usually thought was food or algae. This was lost about a year ago which I believe was due to old age. Maybe age and fighting with a sapphire damsel, not sure but it was pushing 12 years. Anyway I now have a couple butterflies (Zoster, Pyramid, Copperband, and Milletseed) which destroy Xena but leave everything else alone. Why mention them is because the Milletseed behaves much like the small Coral Beauty in that it is always foraging around the reef which includes the Acropora. I do not see bite marks. I do not see any torn flesh. I see it also nip at my larger LPS colonies but I do not see skeleton exposed. The LPS is still waving around doing what it does.

The table in the upper left in the second picture has polyp extension throughout the day as does the red planet below. The green Acropora in the top near the red montipora as well as the purple below it do not have polyps extension. The green in the front does at times but mostly at night.

TL; DR - I don't know if it would solve the polyp extension problem but I do believe it lowers aggression and gives everyone a chance to get food. My line of thought is a fully belly leads to less risk but I can't prove it. It sounds good, makes me feel good, and it is an acceptable risk to me.

 

[goody]

Let me preference this by apologizing. I was not suggesting or blaming. I did not mean to come across that way.

To the question of getting polyps back and my opinion. I am honestly not sure. As I mentioned above I feed small portions dry hourly with a mix of pellet. TDO x-small, small, PE mysis, and a couple different Hikari blends. I feed frozen at least once a day, sometimes twice (when I remember). The reason why is that I have a variety of sized fish from tiny gobies (upside down and links) to large Gold Lined Rabbit. In between are fast damsels, anthias, and some butterflies. This way I feel someone get something or has a chance. Frozen I rotate between LRS reef, fish, nano, PE calanus, mysis, and brine. Again different sizes so someone should get something. Dry is in an auto feeder, frozen manually me in the evenings.

Regarding polyp extension. I have a 210 gallon mixed reef with a couple of large LPS and SPS colonies. There is one colony that always has polyp extension that I did not expect. It is the Red Planet (picture below for reference). There is another Acropora right by it that I expected to have polyps out but it doesn't. At least not during the day or when I observe it. It is a unknown red millipora. Growing well but no polyp extension. I have a few other acroporas and some do, some don't. I don't know why that is.

I've had a coral beauty and I would see it nip here and there. Picking at something which I usually thought was food or algae. This was lost about a year ago which I believe was due to old age. Maybe age and fighting with a sapphire damsel, not sure but it was pushing 12 years. Anyway I now have a couple butterflies (Zoster, Pyramid, Copperband, and Milletseed) which destroy Xena but leave everything else alone. Why mention them is because the Milletseed behaves much like the small Coral Beauty in that it is always foraging around the reef which includes the Acropora. I do not see bite marks. I do not see any torn flesh. I see it also nip at my larger LPS colonies but I do not see skeleton exposed. The LPS is still waving around doing what it does.

The table in the upper left in the second picture has polyp extension throughout the day as does the red planet below. The green Acropora in the top near the red montipora as well as the purple below it do not have polyps extension. The green in the front does at times but mostly at night.

TL; DR - I don't know if it would solve the polyp extension problem but I do believe it lowers aggression and gives everyone a chance to get food. My line of thought is a fully belly leads to less risk but I can't prove it. It sounds good, makes me feel good, and it is an acceptable risk to me.

I was not offended at all. I knew that these fish need frequent feedings and I simply couldn't keep it up and my rocks are free of algae now, so it didn't have anything to graze on while I was at work other than polyps. I didn't think of trying an auto feeder which I use on my classroom tank.
If I had large colonies like I see in your photo ( beautiful looking tank), I probably would have left it in, but my sps are all smaller frags so I think it was having a bigger impact on their overall health. I am already seeing some polyps starting to come out on a few pieces that haven't had any for awhile now, especially this early before lights are out.

 

[Lavey29]

Interesting, have not heard of such acts haha. Might give one a try in my 25 lagoon.

25g is way to small for an angel. You might be able to try one of those pygmy cherub angels but not a CB or flame.