Emperor Angel

[Bomber]

I really really want to get a Emperor Angel juvenile, but i have aot of nice corals in my tank! here is a list: XL torch coral, large open brain, different kinds or mushrooms, 2 hammer corals, a frog spawn, xenia, different zooz/polpys, and XL murshroom leather, a large spagettie leather, and a bubble tip nem (not a coral but..) so i was wondering if a Emperor Angel, will pick at my corals im almost 100 % shour thats it will but i just wondering if there are any of my corals that it will not pick at? Or if i could get a very small/young Emperor, could it get used to the corals and not eat them??

thanks!

 

[SkiFletch]

Emperors are some of the more reef-safe of the fullsize angels but just like dwarves, if they get an apetite for a coral, it'll be a nice meal. How big's your tank? In really big tanks (150g and up) I hear a lot of success stories when the emperor is fed via an autofeeder say 4 times a day. More failures are on smaller tanks (100-150g) from what I've read.

 

[shibby]

most will nip at stony corals and they also get quite boisterous to other fish unless you have a nice big system i believe.

 

[Lynden]

If you buy a very small one and feed it large amounts it may resist, though admittedly you have some very tempting targets in your tank. Large polypoids (nems included) are the most often picked, plus daintier colony polyps (xenia, green spot corals). Noxious soft corals (leathers) are rarely picked at.

 

[snowclown]

Hi bomber,
I was given a juvenile Emperor Angel by a freind. He was keeping the fish in a large reef system, and even at such a young age, the Angel was starting destroy the reef inhabitants!
So going by my mates experience alone, i would say you would be inviting trouble keeping one of these magnificent creatures in your system. I realise you have your heart set on a Emperor, so no substitutes will do! So if resources permit, why not set up a FOWLR, like i have.

 

[SkiFletch]

Hehe, to add to my previous post. I only know of three successes in keeping an emperor in a reef tank (all 3 are people in my local club). 2 out of 3 of them were purchased as juvies and grew up in their tanks, 1/3 was purchased in-transition between juvie and adult. All 3 are autofed heavily 4 times per day in addition to an evening tank feeding. Tank sizes are: 500g (custom), 200g (custom), and 180g for display tank only... BIG tanks.

 

[Lynden]

These fish get BIG and have territories that are measured in acres in the wild. I would call 180 gallons the minimum for an adult.

 

[STD]

I really really want to get a Emperor Angel juvenile, but i have aot of nice corals in my tank! here is a list: XL torch coral, large open brain, different kinds or mushrooms, 2 hammer corals, a frog spawn, xenia, different zooz/polpys, and XL murshroom leather, a large spagettie leather, and a bubble tip nem (not a coral but..) so i was wondering if a Emperor Angel, will pick at my corals im almost 100 % shour thats it will but i just wondering if there are any of my corals that it will not pick at? Or if i could get a very small/young Emperor, could it get used to the corals and not eat them??

thanks!

Emperors are certainly more Reefsafe than some of the Angels but still very risky

They tend to be fine as juveniles but once they change to adults they get more destructive in my experience