emperors eat aptasia...

[daisy]

Hi - masterswimmer pointed out a thread on another site wherein someone touted their emperor angel eating aptasia. another member agreed that his does the same...

I never considered getting this fish before, and i'd love to hear about what any of you emperor-owners care to share about your fish. how big do they get, what's their temperment like, and what kind of eaters are they (if and when they're not chomping on gardens of aptasia...)

how do their eating habits change when they transition from juvenile to adult?

What corals do they tend to munch on?

I'll keep doing my research, too, but i want to hear from you all as well!

Thanks!

-daisy

 

[crox99]

Mine just start picking on my zoos so I guess he will eat aipistia as well.

 

[masterswimmer]

Tahl, fyi, the thread on RC that references this behaviour was started by Gary Majchrzak. He's pretty well known and respected on the boards.

I would hope that in your system, with limited coral and an abundance of aptasia that the emperor would focus it's attention on the pest. However, all LPS and clam mantles are fair game for this fish.

All bets are off as to what it would eat. I just found the thread to be an eye opener because I had never heard of an emperor eating aptasia in the first place.

hth,
swimmer

 

[daisy]

Well, I've got no LPS and no clams... have zoas, but we'll see what we'll see... more troublesome about this possible solution is the fact that this fish gets VERY large, and i do not intend to get a bigger tank than the 75 (that is still sitting empty...)

So I'd have to buy this fish as a juvi, see what he eats, if he eats aptasia, and plan to trade him or sell him down the road regardless...

I'm still putting a lot of hope into the peppermints I have yet to get....

 

[daisy]

Crox, how big is your system, how long have you had your emperor, and did you get him as a juvenile? what else do you have in your tank?

 

[crox99]

My tank is a 120g. I bought him 7 months ago and he was a little peanut. Now he's close to 4". On your 2nd question do you mean fishes or corals?

 

[daisy]

Both fishes and corals...

 

[crox99]

I have a CB, a Lemonpeel, 2 lyretail antias, 2 ocellaris, 2 lubbock's wrasse, 1 pj cardinal, 2 hippo tang, 1 cleaner wrasse. Corals I have tons of different zoos, various SPS ( acros, monti), a frogspawn, a hammer, variuos candycanes, a GBTA, silver pulsing Xenias.

 

[daisy]

And how would you characterize the emperor?

 

[crox99]

He was good 'till I found out that he's eating my zoos and my brain. Also I lost 2 clams and I don't know if it was me or the emperor.

 

[daisy]

hmmmm... so what are you going to do?

I was thinking that I might consider getting a juvi as well as peppermints - in the hopes that the pepps get the smaller ones and the emperor might take out the larger aptasia.

on the other hand, it seems to me that the emperor might just be too much of a risk for me on a few fronts - first, my tank is going to be only 75 - big for me, but small for emperor. second, i will have zoos, and i KNOW they tend to munch on zoas...

still doing research!

 

[crox99]

I am still debating if I should keep it or not. Like I said I have plenty of zoos but if he nips on the SPS he better find a new home.

 

[daisy]

got it.

did you ever have aptasia? did you ever notice him eating it?

 

[crox99]

I never had one in my system.

 

[masterswimmer]

I never had one in my system.

Unbeknownst to you, maybe he's the reason why
Maybe not

swimmer

 

[daisy]

that's what i was thinking.... :wink:

 

[crox99]

I don't think I have had an aipistia in my tank. The tank was running for 1.5 years before I introduced the emperor.

 

[daisy]

(I was just ribbin 'ya - as probably was swimmer.... )

 

[crox99]

But I have couple of majanos in the tank!!

 

[Bob 1000]

180 gal main tank..My emperor destroyed a polyp rock(zoos)... In one day.. That's lunch... Won't touch my maximas,or my acros,brains. Will pick at leathers if not feed good... (overfed)..Juvinile 6.5 in... Wish he would change already.. My juvi bluface changed at 4 in. when I put my adult bluface in...