Anyone keeping C. potteri?

[wombat1]

Does anyone have good success with Potter's angels? Been considering one for my tank. Everything I've read says they won't adapt to dried seaweed and will quickly consume all green algae then starve to death. However the LFS has had one for over a year (NFS) that they claim eats dried algae and grazes the rock.

 

[elpescado]

It is true that the potter's angel can be a bit of a challenge. They are beautiful animals, and can make a nice addition to a display. I highly recomend that before you buy one that you ask the worker ar your LPS to feed it (preferably the foods that you are considering feeding it, or at least some frozen algae foods (Ocean Nutrition's Formula 2). If the angel eats it ravenously then it is a good buy, and if it doesn't seem interested then either pass it by or give it another week and have them feed it again (if a fish is brand new in the store it may be to stressed out or frightened to eat). A good pet store will be more than happy to show you that a fish is eating, and if they say that they can't then I would suggest finding a different store, because they are most likely hiding something (let the pet store manager know that you won't buy anything there, and why. Maybe they will get the hint and change.).
Also check the fish over very carefully. Angels are prone to tremetode infestations, Oodinium, and Uronema infestations. Make sure the body is full and the colors are crisp. An angel with Oodinium, or Uronema will have a hazey, paled look. Check the eyes, they should be crystal clear. Flukes (tremetodes) can appear as cloudiness on the eye, and an off colored, ruffed up splotch on the flanks just behind the pectoral fins.
Most important... quarentine your new fish for a couple of weeks. Treat them with a 17% formaldahyde solution (Formalin brand), and with copper (.15 to .20 ppm concentration). If you give the new fish a freshwater bath for 5 minutes before introducing it to the display tank you will kill off any external flukes they may have. Another medication that I have found to work on the dreaded Monogenetic trematode is "Fluke Tab".
Since I started working in a petstore as the Saltwater manager I have seen well close to a hundred potter's angels and I have been able to get about 85% of them to eat frozen and dried foods. The rest of them were just to darn picky.
Give them a try, but be choosey.

 

[Anonymous]

Potter's angels main diet consists of algaes and seaweeds. Unfortunately, they like to forage all day. This is a problem in a captive environment because we cannot be around all day to constantly add food. Also many potter's angels do not accept Nori or other dried seaweeds. They are also picky about the frozen algae/seaweed. I think these angels should only be kept by those who are truely dedicated to their health and finding new ways to keep them that way.

 

[XXX]

I have had my Potter's for almost two years. He was healthy and eating frozen foods when I got him. He picks at the rock and eats Seaweed Selects every day. I still have not been able to get him to eat other foods other than an assortment of frozen. I spike my fish food with Selcon a couple of times weekly. From the threads I have read about the Potter's they have a pretty dismal survival rate. Often they seem to die after a few months for no apparant reason. But there are a few folks out there they have had them for a good while. If your LFS has had one for a year I would snatch it up! :!:

 

[jwtrojan44]

I've kept two potters over the years. Had no trouble and found them to be no more difficult than other centropyges. They graze constantly, but mine would accept whatever was on the menu for the day. I think one of the keys with any angel is to introduce them to a well established tank with a decent amount of live rock. I cringe when folks who have brand new tanks place angels, tangs or butterflies in them and then wonder why they die in a few weeks. Potters are stunning fish and the fact that they they grow a bit larger than some centropyges makes them more appealing. I agree that if you can get one that has lived in captivity for any length of time and is eating well, grab it.

 

[Anonymous]

I have had a Potters for about 8 months and it seems to be thriving. Picks at the rocks and substrate all day (I do have a refugium to replenish the pods) and eats nori sheets with gusto. He will also take OSI spirulina flakes and sometimes will eat formula II frozen if in the mood.

Since no one has mentioned it yet, I will add that centropyge's have a rep for being risky, in that some individuals pick at some corals. Mine hasn't bothered anything so far, but I have avoided adding a brain or other "non-wavy" LPS because from what I have read and been told they are most at risk. I have sps, gsp, frogspawn and bubble coral. Other threads on this topic I have read have posts about demon d angels that had to be removed, as well as posts about model citizens like mine. Even with my (so far) good experience I probably won't take the risk again.