I'm sure I already know the answer but...stopping a coral nipper?

hllb

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I have a beautiful flameback angel in my mixed reef that I love. He's my favorite fish. I've had him for a year. Last summer (after having him several months) we went on vacation for a few days and he was forced to eat pellets instead of the normal frozen food. During that time, he developed a taste for my trachy. Over a few weeks, he destroyed it. I was sad, because it was one of my favorite corals, but I knew it was a risk getting him and he didn't seem to bother anything else (at least not significantly) and he's been fine since. Until this last few days, that is. He has started nipping my zoas. My tank is filled with them and they're a favorite. I don't think he's 'eaten' any of them, but he does enough nipping that many of them are staying closed. I love my zoas and have quite a collection. He isn't bothering anything else that I've seen - montis, chalice, hammer, duncan, galexea, kenya tree.

I am assuming that once he starts this, there really isn't anything I can do other than remove him. I hate to get rid of him but is that my only choice? I don't have another tank to put him in (I do have a tank for QT that I could set up, but it's only 9 gallons.
 

John Bolden

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Mabey get a acrylic box and put him in kind of time out for a while.https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjy2tLv34_xAhUi_-MHHdknCK0YABAFGgJ5bQ&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQeD2RcIxiD50oChBwloZb3N5CSJfZ1sBASba2pA6ic2K1-extq5Fyxlejd1xPlF58A8EY5MGPGT5B-FCoFAHOqcv&sig=AOD64_1LaLlB48MgMGVRS1DxMNYqUdGNag&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjtgcfv34_xAhWUHc0KHYSNCPAQ9aACegQIARBk&adurl=
 
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hllb

hllb

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Mabey get a acrylic box and put him in kind of time out for a while.https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjy2tLv34_xAhUi_-MHHdknCK0YABAFGgJ5bQ&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESQeD2RcIxiD50oChBwloZb3N5CSJfZ1sBASba2pA6ic2K1-extq5Fyxlejd1xPlF58A8EY5MGPGT5B-FCoFAHOqcv&sig=AOD64_1LaLlB48MgMGVRS1DxMNYqUdGNag&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjtgcfv34_xAhWUHc0KHYSNCPAQ9aACegQIARBk&adurl=
I do have a couple of boxes I could use. I actually tried to catch him last night and put him in one, but it didn't work. I didn't try very hard though - he's actually pretty friendly and eats out of my hand so I do think I can catch him with a little more effort.
 

gonzo620

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I had a Flame angel that was picking at zoas. Caught him on a fish hook and traded him in for another Flame angel who has been a model citizen. Moorish idol on the other hand took out my acans. No more acans for me.
 

Kindanewtothis

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I have a beautiful flameback angel in my mixed reef that I love. He's my favorite fish. I've had him for a year. Last summer (after having him several months) we went on vacation for a few days and he was forced to eat pellets instead of the normal frozen food. During that time, he developed a taste for my trachy. Over a few weeks, he destroyed it. I was sad, because it was one of my favorite corals, but I knew it was a risk getting him and he didn't seem to bother anything else (at least not significantly) and he's been fine since. Until this last few days, that is. He has started nipping my zoas. My tank is filled with them and they're a favorite. I don't think he's 'eaten' any of them, but he does enough nipping that many of them are staying closed. I love my zoas and have quite a collection. He isn't bothering anything else that I've seen - montis, chalice, hammer, duncan, galexea, kenya tree.

I am assuming that once he starts this, there really isn't anything I can do other than remove him. I hate to get rid of him but is that my only choice? I don't have another tank to put him in (I do have a tank for QT that I could set up, but it's only 9 gallons.
You cannot put it in a 9 gallons but I'm sure you know that. My flame angel doesn't touch my corals, I don't know what I would do in your place. Sorry about it.
 
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hllb

hllb

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You cannot put it in a 9 gallons but I'm sure you know that. My flame angel doesn't touch my corals, I don't know what I would do in your place. Sorry about it.
Yeah, at most it would be until I found him a home. Haven’t been able to catch him yet anyway though.
 

RobB'z Reef

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GIF by FirstAndMonday
 

Tmanwa

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Lol just found out who was eating my zoas it was my hippo tang can’t get rid of him cause that’s the kid’s favorite
 

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Well, when and if my fish decide corals are food, I have an extra 60 I could turn into a reef. So far I don't have a lot invested in corals. My husband loves the fish and so does my son. I don't love the corals. But, I like them, a lot. So corals would be going to their own setup.
 

Ardeus

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I have a 200 gallon with 4 nipping dwarf angels and 3 not just nipping but really coral eating filefish. I have enough coral to keep everything in balance so far.

It's possible that your angel can live with your zoas if you have a large enough zoa colony.
 
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hllb

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I have a 200 gallon with 4 nipping dwarf angels and 3 not just nipping but really coral eating filefish. I have enough coral to keep everything in balance so far.

It's possible that your angel can live with your zoas if you have a large enough zoa colony.
It's a small tank and while there are a fair amount of zoas, he was targeting all of them but one or two varieties (punk rock girls must taste bad as he never touched that colony!). He went back to the LFS....very sad.
 

Ardeus

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I was lucky enough that the 3 filefish took a liking to the ugliest ones I have and they're working hard to exterminate them.

It's a matter of priorities. My fish can nip and eat all they want with just 1 exception: the magnifica, which is the home of 3 clowns.
 
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hllb

hllb

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I was lucky enough that the 3 filefish took a liking to the ugliest ones I have and they're working hard to exterminate them.

It's a matter of priorities. My fish can nip and eat all they want with just 1 exception: the magnifica, which is the home of 3 clowns.
Yes, definitely a matter of priority. I was OK with him eating the trachy so after that I focused on zoas. Once he got a taste for those, boo....
 

LDH

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I have 9 tangs. Reef safe right? Yes, until I spent 500 dollars on a rainbow trachy and another 400 on a dragon soul rainbow trachy. They thought it would taste like a skittle rainbow I guess so half of them went at it and legitimately bit the thing until it would no longer open. I couldn’t part with the fish because one of them is my husband’s favorite and to have him interested in my tank at all is something I have to nurture and be grateful for so I couldn’t get rid of the fish but I also wasn’t ready to give up the trachy because it is out of this world so I built them an ugly box and now they are thriving. Not sure they are going to stay in the tank but for now I am enjoying them. The boxes will get less ugly as corraline does it’s thing.
 

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