Flame Angel Aggression

[WatchBrowns]

I have an aggressive Dwarf Flame Angel in my 75 gallon tank I am looking for advice on.

It is about 2.5”-3” in size and I have had it in my tank coexisting with (2) clownfish, a 3”-4” Midas Blenny, a 2”-3” Royal gramma, a clown goby, a mandarin dragonet, and an assortment of coral and inverts for about 6 months.

On Black Friday I added a handful of fish and I think I upset the balance and crated a monster. (Fish added: 2 banggai cardinals, 1 Tomini tang, 1 purple Firefish, and a blue spotted watchman goby - all small and less than 2” in size)

On the first night, the blue spotted watchman went missing.

The next day one of my cardinals also went missing.

Both are known for hiding, so I hoped they would resurface in a day or two but no such luck.

A few days later, the same story with my purple fire fish. Never to be seen again.

I then noticed that my tang stopped swimming the water column and began to hide. I then noticed that the angel was constantly swooping/harrassing the tang but there was no visible damage.

Then once again, overnight, the tang was missing and never seen again.

The last cardinal survived about a 3-4 days after the tang until I found it dead overnight behind the sump return pump inlet.

I have not seen it fully attacking but I am confident that the flame angel has killed all 5 of the new additions.

I also added a yellow watchman goby a few days ago and it was taken out overnight and presumably eaten by the cleanup crew without a trace.

The angel also decided to take out my clown goby that has been in the tank for 6-8 months.

Surprisingly, it never goes near the clowns or dragonet but it will swoop at the gramma and Midas Blenny. However, they are both a decent size and have established territories/caves because they were added before the angel. They both usually either open their mouths and posture and it swims off or they dart into their caves in retreat.

Will a week or two in a breeder box reset its aggression and allow me to add more fish or is time to get the night stalker out of my tank for good?

I also do not want to have to try to catch this thing each time I add a fish if that is what would be required for each addition.

 

[SOGavity]

Are you seeing any signs of illness on the new fish? That's a lot of fish for a 3" anglefish to kill. To be safe, I would move it to a QT tank if you have one to save the rest of the fish from it's aggression if that is the issue and watch the other fish for any signs of illness that the new introductions may have brought with them. If there are no deaths in a couple of weeks or signs of illness, you can add the angelfish back in and purchase new fish. Place the new fish in QT for a month before adding them to the display. Remove the angelfish from the display and add the new fish. Allow the new fish to settle in for a couple of weeks before reintroducing the angelfish.

Unfortunately, if the angelfish is killing other fish, you may have to remove it with every new addition or rehome it to someone as their last fish.

 

[Louis Z]

I started to think disease over the flame angel as culprit . Going after a goby ????? I don’t think that he would . . The only fish that would keep the flame in check would be a larger angelfish . For sure a 8 inch emperor would do the trick . I am kidding . Cause that is what keeps everybody in check in my DT . . Everyone runs from the boss .

 

[MikeReefs]

Add a mirror for a week and hope for the best. If that doesn’t work remove the angel

 

[WatchBrowns]

No signs of illness at all on any of the existing or deceased fish. The yellow watchman did have nipped fins, but I was unable to catch it and place it into a breeder box the night that it went missing.

I do also have a pretty large emerald crab in the tank, (roughly 2.5”) but I doubt it has the speed to be taking these fish out and I do not believe that is typical for emerald crabs anyway.

I am going to buy a trap and try the reset with one last watchman goby. If that doesn’t work, then it’s off with its head. (Back to my lfs)

 

[WatchBrowns]

Add a mirror for a week and hope for the best. If that doesn’t work remove the angel

Where do you recommend placing the mirror? I have not heard of this technique before but I will try anything at this point.

 

[bobnicaragua]

Where do you recommend placing the mirror? I have not heard of this technique before but I will try anything at this point.

It’s an old trick. Stand a good size mirror up against the tank and the fish will focus on their own reflection. This should distract the fish at least some of the time.

 

[00W]

Flames can be quite aggressive.
Most of the dwarves are aggressive and territorial, not afraid of much.
You have too many fish in that tank and it's letting you know that.
All angels, large or small but especially the dwarves use 100% of the tank.
They own it all.
I'm not going to preach at you about over stocking. Not my style.
I'm going to suggest re homing the angel and I'm sure the tank will calm down after.
Good luck.
Joel

 

[WatchBrowns]

All good I appreciate the input!

Are you saying I am overstocked currently with the Flame Angel, (2) clowns, Midas Blenny, Royal Gramma, and the Mandarin Dragonet?

Or I was overstocked prior to the flame’s killing spree?

 

[00W]

All good I appreciate the input!

Are you saying I am overstocked currently with the Flame Angel, (2) clowns, Midas Blenny, Royal Gramma, and the Mandarin Dragonet?

Or I was overstocked prior to the flame’s killing spree?

I'm not the tank stocking police.
How I stock my tank and how you do yours are different, neither one being right or wrong.
I'm suggesting that the tank is overstocked for the flame.
They are too aggressive, too smart and too busy for that many fish.
It needs it's own room.
It's like sharing a room with your brother as a kid.
You both get bigger and start to beat the crap out of each other until you get your own rooms.

 

[Louis Z]

If you really want to keep your flame then I would consider an only species tank but add more younger flames to keep him busy . Still aggression but they will show spawning behavior and focus on breeding . I know that it might sound crazy , but I have seen it happen in a125 gal. More space and more love interest to occupy their time .