Dwarf angels- Better as pairs or harems?

Zionas · Nov 30, 2021

Is it better and safer to keep dwarf angels in pairs or harems (usually trios)? I have heard arguments in favor of both and both arrangements exist in nature depending on the population of said species on that patch of reef. The argument for pairs seems to be that individual females won’t have the space to mark their own territories and that the non-dominant female / s will get harassed so 4 becomes 3, and 3 might become 2 anyway.

I am not sure about the dynamics of harems, whether the females fight a lot to spawn with the male. I also don’t want any challengers that end up becoming a second male and one will almost certainly die unless the tank is huge.

The argument for harems seems to be that aggression is more diluted because the male has 2 targets.

I am not sure if Centropyge / Paracentropyge are monogamous or at least form lifelong bonds whether in a pair or a harem. To my knowledge many large angels do, and so do Clowns and butterflies (unfortunately their sex is fixed), but I am not sure about dwarfs.

If anyone has lots of experience (or any), I’d love to know. To my understanding each female Centropyge / Paracentropyge should be allocated 30” squared worth of space as a rule of thumb.

alton · Nov 30, 2021

First of all I am not a pro at this, Orion is but here are my years of keeping Flame Angels. Many years ago I had a large male in a 300 and added a smaller female. It took two weeks for them to pair. Although the male was aggressive during that time it was never a chase to the death, just to where the female stayed in the rocks. Never any issues with spawning or with only having one female. One day I found a baby Flame at my local fish store and added it to the tank. It took about a minute for the male to accept. After several years I made the mistake of adding a fish and not keeping it long enough in isolation. It killed most of my fish including the large male. I assumed the larger female would turn male and continue with the smaller as a pair. It didn't happen and the larger killed the smaller. The larger female became the devil and I had to trade it in at the fish store and start over. I created a pair, then turned to Orion for my second female since I could not find one locally. I still have them today. Since down sizing from a 310 to a 120 they have not spawned, I think I need to remove some liverock and create more space to recreate their ritual.
First harem

310

In the 120

One of my large angels must of liked aptaisia because after selling them it popped up in the 120

Zionas · Nov 30, 2021

How many years have you had your Flames? And apparently they’re still getting along as a harem so yeah it’s nice to see long term success.

But I’m also curious to know how easy it was to pair your Regals (are they from the Maldives?) and how big do they get in captivity? Probably rare to see them get past 8”?

Peter Houde · Dec 13, 2021

alton said:
First of all I am not a pro at this, Orion is but here are my years of keeping Flame Angels. Many years ago I had a large male in a 300 and added a smaller female. It took two weeks for them to pair. Although the male was aggressive during that time it was never a chase to the death, just to where the female stayed in the rocks. Never any issues with spawning or with only having one female. One day I found a baby Flame at my local fish store and added it to the tank. It took about a minute for the male to accept. After several years I made the mistake of adding a fish and not keeping it long enough in isolation. It killed most of my fish including the large male. I assumed the larger female would turn male and continue with the smaller as a pair. It didn't happen and the larger killed the smaller. The larger female became the devil and I had to trade it in at the fish store and start over. I created a pair, then turned to Orion for my second female since I could not find one locally. I still have them today. Since down sizing from a 310 to a 120 they have not spawned, I think I need to remove some liverock and create more space to recreate their ritual.
First harem

310

In the 120

One of my large angels must of liked aptaisia because after selling them it popped up in the 120

What do you think of 2-3 flame angels in a 6'W 125 aquarium? I've already got one, about 1 3/4" that has been in there for 5 months - it would be 6-7 months by the time I got another thru quarantine. IF I did this, would it be best to seek others that are a little bigger so they would be less likely to get bullied by an established resident? Thanks, Peter