POLL: Does your Flame Angel nip corals ?

[King Kamehameha]

I'm trying to decide which tank to put my
Flame Angel from my Q-tank in.

If you have a Flame please respond. Please
answer one the the following questions:

- Does your FA completely ignore your corals ?

- Does your FA harmlessly nip your corals ?
(if so which corals ?)

- Does your FA damage your corals ?
(if so which corals ?)

Thanks

 

[Mike&Pam]

My flame angel only nips at my open brain. But, if I move the open brain to the top of the tank, he doesn't seem to notice it. Therefore, as long as it's up there, he won't nip at it. Anywhere else, he does. When he does nip at it when it's other places, the brain remains closed. No damage has been caused so far. So far so good on other corals too.

 

[fish_who?]

From time to time. Not too often though. If I feed it regularly, and give it nori sheets daily it does not.

 

[Gatortailale1]

My Flame only nips at coral if there is a chunk of algae or other pod etc. that it wants to chomp on. I have never lost a coral to flame eating it. I also have a Potters and it acts the same way. Also, both don't even pick at my 2 small clams.

Hopefully yours has not acquired the taste for corals or clams

 

[Tanu]

I have two flame angels

, I've kept the first for about 4 years, it almost never nips, but WHEN it nips, it is harmlessly. I've added the second flame about 2 weeks ago, so it's difficult to tell, but I haven't seen it nipping yet.

It seems that since I added the second angel, the first decreases it's nipping. I think nipping is done when the flames are bored...

fwiw

Tanu

www.tanu.nl

 

[PDD]

Harmless nipping here. Seems to prefer veggie matter. I think my guy was born in the 60's - a vegitarian and very peaceful.

PDD

 

[chicane]

I just removed my open brain to a small acrylic container until it heals from my flame angel nipping at it. Now that it is on the brighter side of my tank it looks better than it ever has! I am going to put it back in the main tank on the brighter side of tank and up higher and off the sand. We will see what happens.
My flame angel hasn't nipped at anything else.

 

[stevescg]

My FA has been nipping at my open brain coral for 2 years now. He hasn't killed it or caused any obvious damage but I haven't seen any growth in the brain coral in the 2 years either

 

[LisaP]

Hi there,

I've had my Flame for 6.5+ years now and it does nip some corals but has never killed anything to date. It particularly likes my Cynarina and has harrassed it for 5 years now, I think that it must produce some really tasty mucus or something.

Regards

 

[Anonymous]

Heh...your hoping to get enough positive responses to give you enough confidence to put that little bugger in your tank aren't you?

Well you can poll all you want, but it really comes down to this. Flame angels are a 50/50 risk. Some damage corals and clams, some do not. Even if you have one that doesn't, he might decide to change his habits one day. If you don't mind the hassle of catching him out of your display tank should he be a problem, try it and see what happens. Otherwise, look elsewhere for a new addition. I can relate an equal amount of stores both ways.
Hasta
Jim

 

[yabby]

Well perhaps the risk is 50/50 , since I have experience with only one FA I can't judge.

But from this (ok small) thread it appears they have only caused real problems with open brains on average..

My FA has harmlessly nipped some corals when I first added them, no damage, and has igored them ever since.

I posted a thread recently about my Queen angel eating my Open Brain coral and it seems that Open Brains are attacked much more often than other species of coral.

So if you love your brain don't believe in good angels....

 

[King Kamehameha]

Thanks for all the replies.
Keep them coming. I do realize its a crap shoot
but the responses are enough to assure me that
he won't rapidly destroy my corals. I don't have
any clams but I do have a red open brain on the
sand. Maybe I will move it higher in the tank.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Good point, and I agree for the most part. However, sometimes you just get a bad seed...

Jim

 

[Terry B]

My flame has been in my reef for about 6 years now without a problem. I am very avid about feeding a wide variety of seafood and live food. I don't use much flake or dried food. I believe that diet has a huge influence in how fish behave. If they are not getting what they need they are much more likely to get into trouble byu eating something you don't want them to. My thought is feed them right and they will be better behaved. I can say the same thing about other species including a large green serpent starfish.
Terry B