Pygmy Angels and Clams

[mnat]

I will be picking up a new tank and for the first time I will have MH. Further down the line, when the tank has been cycled and then established I want to try my first clam. The problem though is that my centerpiece fish I want will be some sort of dwarf angel which I heard nip at clams.

Does anyone have any experience with this or is this outdated information? I am aware that all fish will react differently depending on how they are fed, but looking for a general consensus. Also the tank is 30g.

 

[calaxa]

mnat,

It'***** or miss with dwarf angels and clams. It's going to be luck, curiosity, phase of the moon, whatever. I never had a dwarf (I've had flame, CB, potter's)pick at my clams but I've had tangs/butterflies do it, not to eat them but to get food that has landed on them.

 

[mnat]

Calaxa,

I think I meant dwarf not pygmy angels, they get used interchangably in some books. We have a flame angel already so I would be looking at a CB, potters, or a multicolor if the economy improves.

 

[calaxa]

mnat,

Those are the more "safe" of the 3 dwarves. However, they are all very curious and can quickly learn bad habits and a lot of people report that they will peck at clams and corals (mine eats food off the corals sometimes but not the corals themselves). I kept 2 in a system for awhile (in a 90) but eventually agression took over and I needed to seperate them. I found the CBs are the nastiest of the 3 and Potters are the "least aggressive" of the 3. The only problem with potters is sometimes they don't feed well so look for a good specimen. Good luck with them and I hope you have a large system or multiple systems in case you need to move the clams or one of the angels.

Personally I like the Potter's the most if you have lights that bring out their color. There's also something that has the same markings so it looks almost the same (except for body shape) called Potter's wrasse but I don't know too much about them but might be an alternative to look into to avoid genus infighting.

Older texts will use pgymy but that's a politically incorrect term as it's considered derogatory. Glad you caught that.

 

[mnat]

Calaxa,

Thank you for the advice, I have not even set the tank up yet so I will be very very patient with this setup. I think I want the clam more than the angel so another fish might have to do.

 

[JRWOHLER]

I had a Centropyge argi(smaller angel) that never ate any corals. He ran around picking at everything and anything. Did it bother my corals or clam no not usually unless he got a hold of a hairy mushroom hair then it would ball up. Great little fish till he decided to jump. I do wonder if their habits are construed the wrong way. :-\ Do keep them fed..it will help out.

 

[calaxa]

I do wonder if their habits are construed the wrong way. :-\

I think JR is spot on with that comment. My observations lead me to believe that they are doing this more out of curiousity and natural grazing habits rather than an attempt to eat clams/corals. That's the case with these 3 species I have experience with. Some do straight out eat clams/corals (ie lemonpeel if I remember right). Don't let the slight risk that they might nip at the clam be the determining factor. There are ways to control this behavior (through good feeding, opportunity to graze on items like nori, etc., caging the clam to prevent unwanted nibbles). I think you'll find many buyers for any of these 3 fish if they do actually become a problem. Be warned that they are definitely more clever than some of the fish out there and can be quite frustrating to catch if you need to. Don't get me wrong....clams are nice in their own right but the habits of these dwarf angels are equally fascinating. All else fails, get a 2nd system

 

[mnat]

calaxa,

This will be our fifth tank, so I don't think we will have a problem adding more.

 

[RobbiesReef]

some angels will nip, others wont 50/50 chance.

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

i have a max and 2 dwarfs.. .eibli and potters... neither one ever bothered the clam... jme

 

[mnat]

We are going to move our flame angel into the 30 and then add a clam. We will just have to be carefull and vigilant. We have extra tanks just in case.

 

[calaxa]

mnat,

Good luck.....hopefully your flame is not TOO smart and realize the clam might make a tasty meal.

 

[mnat]

calaxa,

I think just like any other fish, keep them fat and happy with food. We are also going to wait to add the flame until the live rock has built up a good amount of growth to keep him distracted.

If he does nip, we can swap him out for our cherub angel and see if he is a more model citizen.