For Greg....Majestic Angelfish.

[Anonymous]

Great article as always Greg. I think we share a common interest in some of the same fish so it's always nice to read a well written article by you.

Just me being the scientific-name-geek I am...I noticed you referred to the blue faced angel twice as Pomacanthus euxiphipops. I always thought this species was P. xanometopon, and that Euxiphipops was the subgenus of the navarchus, sexstriatus, and said angel. Did the names change recently or was this a typo?

 

[Anonymous]

Yah, didn't realize the fish was rather small for a large angel, now while it does say it'll fit in my existing 135g tank, it is a tad on the crowded side now, but in the future might be a nice addition to my "dream tank"

 

[Anonymous]

A good article. I would add though for the benefit of anyone thinking of adding this fish, that they are easily one of the most shy, most skittish, and therefore sometimes one of the most difficult Pomocanthids to acclimate to captivity. They get over these things, but initially these qualities can cause the aquarist some headaches. While Greg seems to have had a positive and relatively trouble free experience adding this fish to an existing community, this is not always the case. Often it can be a disaster. Many times they will stash in a cave or hole, and and due to the attentions of a more aggressive tank-mate coupled with their shy nature, refuse to come out and feed. This stressful situation then degenerates into a malnourishment problem, as well as a compromised immune response - then death.

For the reasons mentioned above, I normally recommend that if the aquarist is intent on keeping this species, it should be added before any fish that is even remotely aggressive in nature, and after any dither fish such as chromis or anthias. Once this fish is established and well acclimated, other larger and possibly more aggressive fish can be added.

Just my 2 cents.
Nice article Greg!
Cheers
Jim

 

[Anonymous]

My 2 cents with this fish...

Added one (involuntarily) to a 300 gallon tank about 3.5 years ago. Owner of the tank goes "Hey I bought a fish, how do I put it in." Sigh. So it ends up being an adult Majestic. There was already a clown trigger in the tank about the same size, 6-7" or so. Not good.

The trigger was very aggressive to the angel right off the bat. Fortunately after rearranging the rockwork and leaving the lights off for a day it settled down a lot. The angel was very bold right from the start, and accepted Formula food and flake from my fingers pretty much immediately. I was amazed at how easily it acclimated especially considering the reputation of this fish.

Anyway, after 3 years it died Overheated the tank (in the middle of December!) because of a broken heater. Lineatus tang, puffer, and zebra moray made it. Majestic Angel didn't. It sucked because he seemed so healthy before the crash. Fat and colorful.

 

[Anonymous]

I was amazed at how easily it acclimated especially considering the reputation of this fish.

Yeah, lucked out there for sure considering the other species involved. Although...full on adults are easier to deal with in the skittish department, I mean being less so. Seems that when they hit about the size you describe, something snaps and they're much more bold. Get a 5" one and you might not see it for 2 months except from across the room.
On the other hand, I don't like obtaining angels that are already that size.

 

[GSchiemer]

Great article as always Greg. I think we share a common interest in some of the same fish so it's always nice to read a well written article by you.

Just me being the scientific-name-geek I am...I noticed you referred to the blue faced angel twice as Pomacanthus euxiphipops. I always thought this species was P. xanometopon, and that Euxiphipops was the subgenus of the navarchus, sexstriatus, and said angel. Did the names change recently or was this a typo?

I had to go back to my original document because I couldn't believe I did that. There's no question that the blue-face anglefish is Pomacanthus xanthometopon. "Euxiphipops" is a subgenera that includes P. xanometopon, P. navarchus and P. sextriatus. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll ask Terry to change it. That's the beauty of an internet publication!

Thanks for the nice words as well.

Greg

 

[Anonymous]

Great article as always Greg. I think we share a common interest in some of the same fish so it's always nice to read a well written article by you.

Just me being the scientific-name-geek I am...I noticed you referred to the blue faced angel twice as Pomacanthus euxiphipops. I always thought this species was P. xanometopon, and that Euxiphipops was the subgenus of the navarchus, sexstriatus, and said angel. Did the names change recently or was this a typo?

I had to go back to my original document because I couldn't believe I did that. There's no question that the blue-face anglefish is Pomacanthus xanthometopon. "Euxiphipops" is a subgenera that includes P. xanometopon, P. navarchus and P. sextriatus. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll ask Terry to change it. That's the beauty of an internet publication!

Thanks for the nice words as well.

Greg

Well as long as I'm being nitpicky...

Just tell Terry the first spelling.... :twisted: :lol: :lol:

 

[GSchiemer]

A good article. I would add though for the benefit of anyone thinking of adding this fish, that they are easily one of the most shy, most skittish, and therefore sometimes one of the most difficult Pomocanthids to acclimate to captivity. They get over these things, but initially these qualities can cause the aquarist some headaches. While Greg seems to have had a positive and relatively trouble free experience adding this fish to an existing community, this is not always the case. Often it can be a disaster. Many times they will stash in a cave or hole, and and due to the attentions of a more aggressive tank-mate coupled with their shy nature, refuse to come out and feed. This stressful situation then degenerates into a malnourishment problem, as well as a compromised immune response - then death.

For the reasons mentioned above, I normally recommend that if the aquarist is intent on keeping this species, it should be added before any fish that is even remotely aggressive in nature, and after any dither fish such as chromis or anthias. Once this fish is established and well acclimated, other larger and possibly more aggressive fish can be added.

Just my 2 cents.
Nice article Greg!
Cheers
Jim

Thanks Jim! You are correct. I should have added something about their shy nature. All specimens of P. navarchus are somewhat shy and some can be VERY shy and skittish. My previous specimen was that way. I couldn't come within 5 feet of the aquarium or it would bolt for the rocks. I hated that fish and gave it away when I tore that small reef tank apart.

I purposely chose this current specimen because it was somewhat bold in the wholesaler's tank. I fed all the specimens they had at the time and stood in front of the individual aquariums. Two of the six fish eagerly ate the pelleted food. The one I chose came right up to the top of the aquarium. This is not typical for this species. It remains bold in my aquarium at feeding time but spends the majority of its time inside the rock structure. The blue-face is similar in nature.

Greg

 

[GSchiemer]

Great article as always Greg. I think we share a common interest in some of the same fish so it's always nice to read a well written article by you.

Just me being the scientific-name-geek I am...I noticed you referred to the blue faced angel twice as Pomacanthus euxiphipops. I always thought this species was P. xanometopon, and that Euxiphipops was the subgenus of the navarchus, sexstriatus, and said angel. Did the names change recently or was this a typo?

I had to go back to my original document because I couldn't believe I did that. There's no question that the blue-face anglefish is Pomacanthus xanthometopon. "Euxiphipops" is a subgenera that includes P. xanometopon, P. navarchus and P. sextriatus. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll ask Terry to change it. That's the beauty of an internet publication!

Thanks for the nice words as well.

Greg

Well as long as I'm being nitpicky...

Just tell Terry the first spelling.... :twisted: :lol: :lol:

"Xanthometopon" it is! I already sent Terry an e-mail with the correct spelling.

I was going to go back and edit my post but I figured that would just confuse everyone.

Thanks for pointing out the mistake.

Greg

 

[liquid]

GSchiemer:

I'll ask Terry to change it.

It is now fixed.

Shane

 

[GSchiemer]

Thank you Shane!

Greg

 

[liquid]

No problem. That's one of the advantages of having gone to a CMS to manage AAOLM. I can fix errors and other stuff without access to my home PC.

Shane