Hey everyone I was wondering if anyone has had experience with a singapore angel. Are these a fairly easy/hardy fish? Do they have the sponge requirements of some angels? Will they be fine with eating nori? Tanks in advance.
Well I haven't been able to find a whole lot of info on these guys. I have decided I am going to go down and get one form the lfs this week. I have a 60 gallon tank with 75 lbs. of live rock. THe only other fish in the aquarium is a bicolor blenny. I was hopiong to feed the angel nori and some macro's from time to time. If anyone has any opinions that would be great.
I have kept this fish; with good success. Best left to a FO system; a recent attempt to keep one in a reef tank with SPS resulted in munched corals. Everything I had read indicated that they were primarily sponge/algae eaters, but probably not true given my recent problem keeping one.
In terms of a 'dwarf' sized angel (although not part of the centrypyge family) it is one of the most beautiful small angelfish available. They are VERY timid; and will dart/hide when you put your hand in the tank or come near too quickly. They will become acclimated to living in an aquarium over time (and become a beggar); but it takes a long time for them to settle down. I have a feeling that this is the biggest reason they are not seen very often in the aquarium trade; it's likely they are difficult to catch in the wild and is also difficult to get one to start feeding on prepared foods. The fish I mentioned in my reef tank would not accept any prepared food; and only picked at the rocks/corals. A good way to get this fish to eat prepared food is to smash the food onto rocks for it to pick at. I would not suggest buying one of these fish unless it is very healthy and shows signs of picking at rocks and eating prepared food at the store. Definitely not recommended for a reef display tank.
I would just add that this is one of the more delicate angels. Not impossible but many do not seem to adapt to captivity. Some other members of the Chaetodontiplus genus are suprisingly very hardy and readily adapt. Based on my experiece with the Singapore angel RustySnail has given good advice. I would only add that you should absolutely make sure the fish is eating at the LFS before taking it home. If the fish is eating well, you have a very good chance for success. If it's not, the odds are against successful acclimation. Good luck.
