Male Bellus Angel - Aggressive towards new Powder Brown Tang

[Detour]

I have a mixed reef 120 DT that includes a pair of Bellus Angels. The pair of Angels have been in the tank 4+ years and I've introduced other fish since (as recent as a month ago) without issue. A few days ago, I tried to introduce a smaller powder brown tang. I added food just before, after, and did so close to the tail end of my lighting cycle. All of my current stock acknowledged the new addition out of curiosity, and after a bout 30 minutes, my male Bellus went all out after the new tang - relentlessly. I've never observed him behave like that. I now have the powder brown isolated in a larger fish trap to keep him safe, but unsure if this aggression is something I can overcome - or if I need to plan to remove the powder brown.

 

[Ron Reefman]

"...unsure if this aggression is something I can overcome - or if I need to plan to remove the powder brown."

Try to see if they can learn to live together... but be prepared to re-home it if it doesn't work out. Fish have personalities too. some good, some bad.

Good luck and I hope things work out.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sounds like a territorial issue. You may want to move the scape around. That at times is not feasible- other options are:
- lower lights to blue only
- place a mirror where the male favors. Upon seeing its reflection, it will focus on the new imaginary male rather than powder brown
- provide nori on a clip diverting the Attention to the nori while nourishing them

 

[Detour]

Sounds like a territorial issue. You may want to move the scape around. That at times is not feasible- other options are:
- lower lights to blue only
- place a mirror where the male favors. Upon seeing its reflection, it will focus on the new imaginary male rather than powder brown
- provide nori on a clip diverting the Attention to the nori while nourishing them

None of my stock really have a place that they predominately hang out - and often, where ones goes, for the most part, they all go (other than my clowns).

I have the powder brown in a med size IceCap fish trap - and he's happy, eating, content, and for the most part could really care less about what is going on around the trap. The male Bellus seems to have less interest in him as the days pass, but he's still interested enough where he swims around the trap fairly regularly, and if persistent enough, I have seen the brown turn it's back to him.

As I mentioned above, other fish have been introduced after the male Bellus without issue - so this is the first I've seen of this behavior from the angel. And before I had the brown in the trap, food was not a strong enough distraction.

Everyone is getting pretty well fed right now....since the brown can't graze.

I'm not comfortable that the angel has lost enough interest yet to have the brown out of the trap.

 

[vetteguy53081]

None of my stock really have a place that they predominately hang out - and often, where ones goes, for the most part, they all go (other than my clowns).

I have the powder brown in a med size IceCap fish trap - and he's happy, eating, content, and for the most part could really care less about what is going on around the trap. The male Bellus seems to have less interest in him as the days pass, but he's still interested enough where he swims around the trap fairly regularly, and if persistent enough, I have seen the brown turn it's back to him.

As I mentioned above, other fish have been introduced after the male Bellus without issue - so this is the first I've seen of this behavior from the angel. And before I had the brown in the trap, food was not a strong enough distraction.

Everyone is getting pretty well fed right now....since the brown can't graze.

I'm not comfortable that the angel has lost enough interest yet to have the brown out of the trap.

I would have placed male in the trap and allowed powder brown to explore the tank. I hope the male has seen it enough to accept it into the environment.
Unusual that he’s bothered by a powder brown

 

[Detour]

I would have placed male in the trap and allowed powder brown to explore the tank. I hope the male has seen it enough to accept it into the environment.
Unusual that he’s bothered by a powder brown

When the angel started to go after the brown and I dug out and assembled the trap - my preference was to have the angel in it, but in the moment of wanting to separate them - I took whichever I caught first. I considered swapping after I confirmed the brown was okay - but the brown is only about 2.5" long and the angel is closer to 5 - so in tight quarters for a number of days, it's a bit healthier for the brown. It's also given me an opportunity to observe how much interest the angel wants to maintain in the brown.

 

[Detour]

I would have placed male in the trap and allowed powder brown to explore the tank. I hope the male has seen it enough to accept it into the environment.
Unusual that he’s bothered by a powder brown

I also think the coloring on the powder brown might be what is causing the Bellus angel to be aggressive - I think the yellow coloring down the spine and lighter color body might be too close to the coloring of the male Bellus and he thinks it is another male. If the powder brown was bigger, maybe the shape would be more of a differentiator. I certainly didn't expect this interaction between them.

 

[Detour]

Just to close this out - after various attempts to get my existing community to accept the powder brown, he, unfortunately, was re-homed. He lived in the fish trap for nearly a week in the tank until there was no noticeable interest from my male Bellus. Then, released in the tank with lights off and all was tolerable for 2-3 days. Then, the female Bellus showed aggression towards the power brown, which then peaked the interest of the male again. I again caught and rescued the powder brown, kept him in the trap for a few days to confirm there weren't any lingering injuries, and then hew was re-homed.

 

[Zionas]

Wow didn’t know these angels could be so aggressive. By the way, how are they doing? Have they grown much in 4 years? Are they hardy? Prone to disease and feeding issues at all?

 

[Detour]

Wow didn’t know these angels could be so aggressive. By the way, how are they doing? Have they grown much in 4 years? Are they hardy? Prone to disease and feeding issues at all?

They shouldn't be this aggressive... I really think they took the size and coloring of the powder brown to be another male Bellus. I had introduced an anthias, cardinal, and blemmy in the past year without any reaction from the Bellus pair.

I actually really enjoy this pair. Up until this experience, they have been very peaceful and interactive. They aren't mated, per se, but they are definitely a pair. The male will show off for the female - fully extending his fins and fluttering sideways by her. She appears interested, and will let him pursue her a bit before she turns and faces him. As far as eating, they are roundest fish in the tank and readily take nori, pellets and frozen food. They were brought into the tank at the same time, after I had the LFS house them to confirm they were getting along.

 

[Zionas]

Awesome! Any issues with disease? I’m personally looking at the Spotbreast and Watanabei as Bellus are a bit harder to come by where I am, but glad they’re doing well for you! Are they slow growers?

 

[Detour]

Awesome! Any issues with disease? I’m personally looking at the Spotbreast and Watanabei as Bellus are a bit harder to come by where I am, but glad they’re doing well for you! Are they slow growers?

I have not had any issues with disease - and yes, they are slow growers. It's hard to judge - as when you see them every day, and most of my stock is 4 years old, I don't have a then versus now comparison to go by.