Emperor Angels in the reef?

[JCH]

Hey everyone hope you’re having a great weekend! I’m looking for some opinions and info from people who have put Emperor Angels in their reef tanks. I’ve always wanted one and I’ve noticed people on YouTube are adding them to their tanks. What’s the real risk ? I know they eat sponges, but do they actually eat coral or do they just nip at it ? I have two dwarf angels right now. I keep them well fed and the flame doesn’t pick at any coral and the bi color picks very little. Thought I would get some opinions from you fellow reefers who may have one or have tried putting one in before take the plunge! Thanks everyone!

 

[Danjoethepirate]

Had a full-grown one from a pretty small juvenile, about three years. Pretty model citizen, maybe ate some zoas, not sure. You have to feed the hell out of them. I rehomed mine because I felt like it was time. He was getting huge and starting to bully other fish.

 

[Danjoethepirate]

That being said, a magnificent fish!

 

[JCH]

That being said, a magnificent fish!

Ohh yeah! Stunning fish! I might just try one I’m a heavy feeder anyway. What size tank did you have him in ? I’m thinking of getting a juvenile. Right now I’d be putting him in a 160 gallon mixed reef. Biggest fish I have in there is an 8 inch fox face ,3 pretty good sized tangs . So he didn’t eat acros, torches, hammers or acans that you know of ?

 

[Danjoethepirate]

He did nip some acans but in passing, they were new to the tank. Never touched my sps, lobos, torches, hammers, palys(unfortunately).

 

[Danjoethepirate]

And he was in a 150ish aquarium. 60 ×26 × 24

 

[JCH]

And he was in a 150ish aquarium. 60 ×26 × 24

Ok , that’s valuable info for me ! Thanks for responding! Yeah I took scans out of my other system because my bi colored angel likes them alot . But my flame angel totally leaves them alone. I know that’s subject to change though lol ! Long as I keep them fat they seem to be happy without much nipping . Thanks again for the input !

 

[Danjoethepirate]

You're welcome, but you know YMMV. So I can't vouch for all emperors, just the one I had.

 

[Reeferbadness]

I had one for about 5 years in my mixed reef tank - amazing fish but would at times pick on some softies (zoa's etc) as well as the occasional torch or hammer. Luckily i have a 2nd tank so could move corals around if they became part of his diet. One thing that was really interesting is that mine would make a kind of bass noise heard throughout the living room when he bossed the other fish around. His name - El Jefe (the boss)

 

[JCH]

You're welcome, but you know YMMV. So I can't vouch for all emperors, just the one I had.

Noted yeah I know fish have different personalities

 

[JCH]

I had one for about 5 years in my mixed reef tank - amazing fish but would at times pick on some softies (zoa's etc) as well as the occasional torch or hammer. Luckily i have a 2nd tank so could move corals around if they became part of his diet. One thing that was really interesting is that mine would make a kind of bass noise heard throughout the living room when he bossed the other fish around. His name - El Jefe (the boss)

Ok thanks, was he taking big chunks off the softies? I had a big file fish that started that and he was gone in a hurry ! Thanks more good info !

 

[Reeferbadness]

Ok thanks, was he taking big chunks off the softies? I had a big file fish that started that and he was gone in a hurry ! Thanks more good info !

zoa's he's eat whole.... and sometimes he'd develop a taste for something like a torch and then would continue to pick on it ... if i didn't move it, it would be gone. It was weird actually.. some torches would be ok then one day he'd start picking. Sadly, the same applied to some sps..... i put up with it because he was an amazing fish (sadly died due to an acute case of flukes that was too late stage to stop) and i had another tank to move affected corals to. Honestly, now that he's gone, managing the tank is a lot easier with more coral options

 

[JCH]

zoa's he's eat whole.... and sometimes he'd develop a taste for something like a torch and then would continue to pick on it ... if i didn't move it, it would be gone. It was weird actually.. some torches would be ok then one day he'd start picking. Sadly, the same applied to some sps..... i put up with it because he was an amazing fish (sadly died due to an acute case of flukes that was too late stage to stop) and i had another tank to move affected corals to. Honestly, now that he's gone, managing the tank is a lot easier with more coral options

Ok thank you for letting me know that ! That definitely is gonna make me think twice about adding one . Maybe I’ll just have to set up another tank and make it a Fowler if I really gotta have one? R2R is a handy tool for tapping into knowledge from other hobbyists! Enjoy your weekend!

 

[Louis Z]

His name - El Jefe (the boss)

That maybe be a female . Looking at pictures of pairs in the wild , clear difference is the extension of the dorsal fin in the male? . But no way of proving . Our emperor is 7to 8in adult and rounded dorsal

 

[cj02]

Great fish. You'll have the best chance if the corals are well established before introduction. New frags will be easy targets for these guys, and they "tend", depending on the personality, as previously discussed, to pick more voraciously at new coral intros.