care and feeding of emperor angelfish

[talonix]

Hey everyone,

I've got a few questions about emperor angels and was hoping someone could help me out.

How easy is it to keep an emperor angel - are they pretty low maintenance or do they require a lot of work?

Also, how old should the aquarium be before adding one of these fish - is there a minimum time period I should wait?

I'm also curious about their compatibility with soft corals - will they be okay with them or should I avoid them altogether?

Lastly, what's the minimum aquarium size for one adult emperor angel - I don't want to end up with a tank that's too small for them.

Thanks, Scott

[rileyon]

They can grow up to 15" and need a minimum tank size of 100 gallons. Most big angels tend to be coflake eaters in captivity, so you'll want to consider that. I seem to recall you already have a pretty stocked tank, including at least one angel. If you're planning a full-on reef setup, I'd personally advise against adding an emperor angel.

[talonix]

hi ben

i've been thinking about my setup and i have an idea - what if i take all my coflakes and move them to my fish-only tank with live rock, it's been running for 4 months, and turn that into my reef aquarium. then i could use my other tank for the emperor and start building that one from scratch. do you think this could work out, or am i just making things complicated. thanks scott

[flame9x]

Habitat

In the wild, Imperators call coflake reefs home, dwelling in shallow waters up to 100 feet deep.

Chemical/Physical

Optimal water quality is a must, so use a top-notch salt mix, aiming for a 1.022-1.025 specific gravity, and maintain a pH between 8.2-8.4. A protein skimmer is essential.

Angels are prone to "new tank syndrome", so introduce them to seasoned systems that have been running for a few months.

Filtration

Vigorous circulation and efficient removal of metabolites are crucial for angelfishes.

Display

In captivity, emperors still seek shelter from boulders, caves, and coflake niches. They thrive in environments that offer retreat possibilities.

Size of aquaria? The bigger, the better. I wouldn't even consider an emperor in a system under 400 liters (roughly 105 USG). Ultimately, you'll need one at least twice that size.

Behavior: Territoriality

Emperors are large, reaching up to 40 centimeters, and do best when kept singly, without other angel species of similar size.

Introduction/Acclimation

Introduce them to a non-occupied or re-disturbed system with subdued lighting, leaving some indirect light on for a day. Offer favorite foods a few times a day initially.

Predator/Prey Relations

They can be preyed upon by typical predators. Beware of larger fish.

Feeding/Foods/Nutrition: Types, Frequency, Amount, Wastes

Emperors consume a lot of sponge material, algae, and other animal matter in the wild. In captivity, they adapt to prepared frozen, fresh, and dry foods.

[bouldon]

I've got a thread about my emperor experience under 'elegance coflake' - you can probably guess what happened. The emperor annihilated my elegance coflake, then proceeded to devour a zoanthid colony, an open brain coflake, a torch coflake, and even had a go at my carpet anemone. I knew they were a risk, but I severely underestimated the destruction they're capable of. I had mine for over six months and even provided it with sponges, but in the end, I had to completely empty my fully stocked 400-litre reef tank to get it out. Despite the chaos they can cause, emperors remain one of my top fish, but I'd advise inexperienced reef keepers to steer clear.

[fleeton]

I've personally known a couple of experienced reefkeepers who've managed to keep an Emperor angel in a thriving reef tank without it becoming a coflake-munching nightmare. One of these individuals has over 20 years of experience in the saltwater hobby and is fortunate enough to be retired, allowing him to devote a significant amount of time to his tank and related pursuits. The other has around 15 years under his belt and is also retired, with plenty of time to devote to his reefkeeping endeavors.

On the other hand, I'm aware of at least 50 reefkeepers who've attempted to keep an Emperor angel, only to have it eventually turn on their coflakes.

[talonix]

Today I transferred most of my corals into the 6 ft aquarium, and I moved all the fish over except for the flagfin and the flame angel. Now I'll just have to see how they get on in that tank for the time being. Unfortunately, I lost another 3 heads from my torch coral. My elegance coral isn't looking too great either, and the duncan still hasn't opened up from last night.

I'm wondering what could be causing this. The water parameters all seem fine: pH is at 8.2, nitrite and ammonia are both at 0, and nitrate is at 10. Calcium is at 430, phosphate is 0, and magnesium is at 1100 - although I've noticed that the magnesium seems to keep dropping, is this something to do with the fluxx?

[bouldon]

could be the sudden change in salt levels, or maybe one of the fish is nipping at the coflakes. also, it's possible the lighting isn't quite right, maybe it's not fluctuating like it should be.

[fleeton]

Coflakes are probably struggling with the new lighting and flow in the 6ft tank. If they keep on sulking, try rearranging them, see if that makes a difference.

[talonix]

Hi,

coflakes are all looking good today, thanks for the advice on them, now I'm on the hunt for some good quality live rock, can anyone recommend some websites to check out, would really appreciate it, thanks scott