a harem of dwarf angels in our 40?

[veen]

someone on reefcentral told me we could have a harem of dwarf angels in our 40 that is still cycling. does this sound possible? to me it didn't sound like a good idea, but i didn't want to shoot the guy down if it's actually something that could be done. i believe he suggested the argi dwarf as the species that would do well in a harem in our 40. what does everyone think?

[Rob]

not sure what a harem is, but personally i dont think any fish should go in during a cycle..
but thats JMO

[AdamJ]

well i would wait till its done cycling before i put any fish in to begin with...

knowign absolutly nothign about having a harem..
is that how you want your tank?
I like reef tanks with a variety, and having species that fit the different niches that exist in a tank over a tabk with predominatly 1 species

[veen]

well i would wait till its done cycling before i put any fish in to begin with...

knowign absolutly nothign about having a harem..
is that how you want your tank?
I like reef tanks with a variety, and having species that fit the different niches that exist in a tank over a tabk with predominatly 1 species

sorry i wasn't clearer, i meant that any fish would be put in AFTER the tank is cycled, which probably won't be for at least another 3 wks or so.

[veen]

a harem is 1 male & at least 2 females.

[Rob]

ok, so basically you want to know if you can keep more than one dwarf angel in there...
i have never kept an pygmy angel (Centropyge argi) if thats what your refering to..
i would think a pair would be ok, as my understanding is that they will "pair up" but i can't speak to having more than a pair in a 40 gallon tank, as i have never persoanlly kep angels, i dont trust them in a coral tank...lol

i know many of the dwarfs are called reef safe, but they are still too high risk for me..

[AdamJ]

well for most of the dwarf angels the minimum tank size is 30 gal

and they are agrresive to clams and corals.... (both of which i like)

[Amphibious]

veen

Dwarf angels are territorial by nature and to put a harem as you described, or even two into a 40 gal is asking for trouble. A 40 gal aquarium is not big enough for two or more to find enough room to call it their "territory". Consequently, you have an on going battle for space, food and breeding rights, if you have three or more. Sexing angels is not possible so getting one male and two females is a crap shoot.

Now, there will be somebody who will respond to this idea that they have done it and had no problem. Well, fine. They were extremely lucky or their not telling the whole truth.

And of course, this is simply my 2 cents worth. I wouldn't waste my money on a sure loser, would you?

[Amphibious]

An on going thought, veen, if your intent is to breed dwarf angels then that's a different matter. First your 40 is way too small, second buying three hoping for a mating is not realistic. But, I'm not at all trying to discourage you. My suggestion, and this is what I'd do if breeding them were my intent, is to set-up a large tank say a 180 or possibly a 300. Do a DSB, LR, sump and refugium, skimmer, UV, Ozone for better ORP. Let that tank perculate for about a year allowing the pods to populate it and really let the tank mature. Then find a source for about 12 dwarf angels more if possible, all the same species of course, and feed them the best diet possible and you might witness a spawning. You'd have better luck doing it this way because dwarf angels spawn in aggregations of many. Sort of like an orgy. They don't breed in pairs like freshwater angels.

That was just a thought I had after posting the above.

[veen]

no, i am not intending to breed any of my fish. this was just a stocking suggestion someone gave me on reefcentral. i'm really not sure if i'll get any angels in the 40, as it will eventually be home to at least 1 tridacna clam, probably a crocea. i'd hate to have an angel nipping on my clams.