Coral Pickers

[PapFinn]

Im interested in trying a flame angel in my mainly sps reef. I was just wondering what kinds of corals flames are most prone to pick at. I also have some xenias, a trachyphyllia geoffroyi, and a small maxima clam in adition to sps corals. Some xenia control from the flame would be nice and I've kept flames with the trachyphyllia before, but would the clam be at a great risk too? What would be some ways to minimize damage to these animals if i decide to give the flame a try?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi PapFinn. I have a Potter's Angel and it has not picked at my sps, green star polyp, bubble or frogspawn (although I have had the two lps less than a week). I won't risk a clam or open brain with it.

The problem is that the dwarf angels are very individualistic as far as how reef-safe they are. If you do a search here you will see reports of angels that are well behaved, and you will also read of people who tore their reefs apart to remove one that was doing damage to the inverts. You can minimize the risk by keeping the angel well-fed (mine's fave is nori sheets) but the consensus seems to be that they are a gamble. They are so beautiful, though, that a fair number of us take the risk.