Using rock structure to protect corals from angelfish and nippers

[Raphael Dalmeida]

Hey guys,

Not sure if anyone has seen anything of the kind and i'm wondering what would be your thoughts.

If you have a large tank 180+ gallon, and would like to keep some Fish that are not reef safe like a large Angelfish.

What if you made some sort of "rock cage" or structure around certain corals where the non-reef safe fish would not be able to access the coral you want to protect.
You could weave a few arch rocks together with large enough holes to let light and flow go through but not large enough for a large angelfish.

Has anyone seen anything like this and what are your thoughts?

I know it sounds stupid, though im wondering if theres such a thing.

 

[fishywishy]

Im sure if there’s space for enough light to get through, there’s enough space for a fish to nip at.

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

Im sure if there’s space for enough light to get through, there’s enough space for a fish to nip at.

Well, an angelfish would be pretty large, so I'm sure you can have plenty of space for light and flow while not fitting an angelfish through it.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has ever tried in this forum.

 

[Miami Reef]

I doubt it will work. Fish can nudge their mouths into very small spaces. The corals won’t get enough light and flow, and frankly, they will barely be visible to you.

 

[Miami Reef]

Maybe consider SPS with angelfish? Quite a few people have angelfish with them. Torches seem resistant to them as well.

I should have asked: what corals are intending to keep with the large angels?

 

[exnisstech]

I can't imagine how it could be done without blocking light and flow and being ugly but I'm not very creative. There are some coral they can be kept with but zoas, shrooms and LPS are on the menu from what I've read. I've not kept large angels because they eat coral lol.

 

[dooner248]

Hey guys,

Not sure if anyone has seen anything of the kind and i'm wondering what would be your thoughts.

If you have a large tank 180+ gallon, and would like to keep some Fish that are not reef safe like a large Angelfish.

What if you made some sort of "rock cage" or structure around certain corals where the non-reef safe fish would not be able to access the coral you want to protect.
You could weave a few arch rocks together with large enough holes to let light and flow go through but not large enough for a large angelfish.

Has anyone seen anything like this and what are your thoughts?

I know it sounds stupid, though im wondering if theres such a thing.

I am a newbie so don’t know much but I was wandering through the Dollar Tree store today looking for something to use to do the same thing. I am thinking of trying a wiffle ball cut in half that can be placed over the coral like a dome. Sounds nuts. It would be a temporary solution. Ha.

 

[BryanM]

I suppose if I had a 1000 gallon tank I could build some medieval rockwork fortress in the middle, but even then, unless you build it to the top of the waterline, I'm really not seeing a good way to keep even larger fish out.

I've seen a tank or two that really just had a divider in the middle to keep things apart. I'd lean more towards that if it were me.