Genicanthus Angels: The True Reef-Safe Angels, Part 2

[CindyKz]

I hope to add a pair of Bellus Angels to my 180 when it is ready.

I've looked on a couple of websites and noticed that "pairs" are sold for a much higher price than an individual male and female. Why? If it is because they are "bonded" which is what I suspect, what does that mean exactly and why would I care?

Just looking for justification for the higher expense...is it worth it?

 

[FREAKINRICAN69]

Which are reef safe??? And could you keep a couple or singles only females males etc...

 

[fabutahoun]

I hope to add a pair of Bellus Angels to my 180 when it is ready.

I've looked on a couple of websites and noticed that "pairs" are sold for a much higher price than an individual male and female. Why? If it is because they are "bonded" which is what I suspect, what does that mean exactly and why would I care?

Just looking for justification for the higher expense...is it worth it?

My advice to get them separately , but make sure to introduce both male and female at the same time.

 

[fabutahoun]

Which are reef safe??? And could you keep a couple or singles only females males etc...

All angels mentioned here in this article are reef safe. You can keep them as couples, or harmes of 1 male with multiple female, or a group of females without a male, or single male ore single female. However if you keep single female for long time it may transform to male , or if you keep a group of females the dominant one may change to a male.

 

[CindyKz]

My advice to get them separately , but make sure to introduce both male and female at the same time.

That's what I was thinking too so no argument but can you explain your rationale ?

 

[fabutahoun]

They will pair on its own, these fish are usually found in the wild as harem of 1 male and multiple femals usually 3 females. If the male is removed the most dominant female will turn to male.

So logically they will Always find a way to pair up. Even if you added 2 femals you will end up with a pair of male and female, however it will take some time.

 

[FREAKINRICAN69]

All angels mentioned here in this article are reef safe. You can keep them as couples, or harmes of 1 male with multiple female, or a group of females without a male, or single male ore single female. However if you keep single female for long time it may transform to male , or if you keep a group of females the dominant one may change to a male.

Well noted, thanks for your prompt reply. I can't wait to get into purchasing some once tanked is established. I'm planning on to have a 120 g with angels and mixed reef & a 129 g w/tangs and mixed reef once it's established. 120 g is up and running and established but i'm babysitting my cousins tangs in the meanwhile while his house gets renovated & his new tanks cycles and gets established so it's going to be a while for him and myself in the transition.

 

[kenle74]

testtest

 

[kenle74]

I currently have 2 Watanabe, 3 Lamarck and 2 Swallowtail in QT. All females. Seems to be eating well so far.

 

[fabutahoun]

I currently have 2 Watanabe, 3 Lamarck and 2 Swallowtail in QT. All females. Seems to be eating well so far.

Nice fish collection

 

[MrObscura]

Just discovered the masked angel yesterday. Apperantly its can be more expensive than the 30000 dollar peppermint angel.

On a side note, while I love my nano and got into corals big time, I would love to have a large tank so not only would I have more room for corals, but I could collect fish as well. Ive been into fish since I was like 7 or 8.

 

[FREAKINRICAN69]

I currently have 2 Watanabe, 3 Lamarck and 2 Swallowtail in QT. All females. Seems to be eating well so far.

They look nice WOW!

 

[Zionas]

One of the members, @Haydn has encouraged me to take a serious look at this genus. Before this the only genus I really knew about was Centropyge.

Lamarck’s gets some pretty good reviews from my fellow Chinese / Taiwanese aquarists. They can generally agree it’s not a hard fish to keep and reef safe, eats with gusto once acclimated. OTOH, many of the Centropyge angels (including ones that have a reputation for being easy, like Coral Beauty and Flame and Half Black) get poor reviews from my fellow Asian aquarists when it comes to their survivability. I wonder why?

On a Taiwanese forum I see many threads where people complain they can’t keep Centropyges, especially the Flame, alive for long, but I don’t see as much negativity about the “Gs.” My personal belief is that the “Cs” contain many more popular species, mass collection + use of cyanide in Indonesia and Philippines contributes to their poor survivability. The “Gs”, OTOH, are a relatively fringe / niche genus for the majority of aquarists where I am. I have seen no less than 10 threads on that forum complaining about Flames. One guy wrote a whole guide on how to keep C. loricula.

Here in my part of the world, the decompression issues of Bellus and Watanabei have also been noted. However, most seem to agree that there’s not much issue in keeping them if (IF) they can secure healthy specimens. I’d imagine for my fellow reefers in North America and Europe, due to the longer travel distances it’s even more crucial to choose the most robust specimens.

I’d either get a single Lamarck’s or a pair of Spotbreasts. If I get a single Lamarck’s, for the tang I’ll get a Bristletooth (6”-7”) because even a YT gets to 8”, and I am worried about aggression. If I can find a pair of Spotbreasts the only Tangs I’d still consider would be Tomini or the 6.5” Bristletooths (Squaretail, White Tail), or maybe forego a Tang altogether. I worry about Zebrasoma bullying one of these angels. Usually I only see the females of these angels for sale, the males are sold at almost 2x the price.

The male Spotbreast is sometimes sold as a separate species here, we call it the “Zebra Swallowtail.” The other fish we call “Red Sea Zebra Swallowtail.”

I think if I get one of them or a pair it will play well with my other fish. In Taiwan, some people can collect their own Lamarck’s Angelfish when they dive. It has a pretty wide distribution from Japan to Australia and Eastern Africa, if only I could do that too (how cool it is to collect your own saltwater fish) but I am about as good of a swimmer as a Hawk or a Mandarin. xD


I figured I could actually do a fairly inexpensive “build” with the following choices:

x1 One-Spot Foxface

x2 Darwin Ocellaris / regular Ocellaris Clowns

x1 Marine Betta (this will probably be second in price to the Flame Hawkfish, but is a must have for me!)

x2 Flame Hawkfish (these will be my most expensive fish per unit)

x3 Pajama Cardinalfish

x1 Lamarck’s Angelfish

x1 Tomini / Squaretail Bristletooth / Yellow Eye Kole Tang (all of these cheaper than Yellow Tang with the Tomini being the cheapest)


Spotbreasts are smaller than the Lamarck’s so I hope I can get a pair.

 

[mrtian97]

This maybe answered previously, just wondering if the swallowtail masked angelfish will pick on bubble tip anemone, hammer coral or candy cane coral? Thinking to just get 1 male

thanks much

 

[Maritimer]

Any member of the genus "Genicanthus" ... including the masked swallowtail ... will be among the least likely angels to pick on any coral or 'nem. Guarantees . . . don't really exist in a reef tank.

~B.

 

[kvosstra]

guys - question for you on Genicanthus angels - I have a 560g tank, and i was considering something like adding two different harems of angels.
A trio (or quad) of bellus - 1 male 2/3 females
A trio (or quad) of swallowtail - 1 male 2/3 females.

Maybe this is overkill, but would they co-exist? Anyone have experience with mixing a harem of these angels?