Potters angel: reef safe?

[scubakid3]

The LFS has a REALLY nice potters angel and i want to put it in my 125 gallon reef. I heard they sometimes nip at corals if they are not well fed. Will this thing destroy my tank? Should i take a risk?

[whitepickle]

50/50 chance. I had one for a year without issue. Then I caught him nipping at acans. I fed heavy for a few weeks, but it didn't stop him. Had to take him out. My friend has kept one for years without issue.

[aandfsoccr04]

It's such a beautiful fish I would probably take the chance. It also depends on what kind of corals you keep. If you primarily keep SPS it probably won't be much of a problem. If you keep meaty LPS like open brains, trachs, and acans you might run into some problems.

[lucky_snapper]

I have owned several potters and have found them to be great additions to a reef system. I have had them with LPS, Torches, Hammers, Acans exc and they never showed any interest. They are a dwarf angel and have the potential to nip but I have not had that experience and even if they did nip they would not cause any damage.

[bnumair]

to me all dwarf angels are kinda reef safe. kinda meaning they dont go attacking corals and eating them but they have a tendency to nip at everything which in turn for sensitive corals is a problem and they dont tolerate the constant nipping and fade away.

[ca1ore]

Potters is my favorite dwarf angel! Lousy luck with them in a reef (either died or terrorized) so I haven't had one for a while.

[scubakid3]

If they nip, will they completley destroy things?

[nikon187]

If they nip, will they completley destroy things?

Sometimes, it depends on the individual. They are 50 50

[Donkeykong]

I have seen several in larger tanks, the idea is that if the tank is big enough even if they nip here and there it will be spread out enough that nothing is critically injured. But the guys I have know that tried to keep them in a 90g or under always ended up pulling them because they would eventually just cause to much damage, for some guys it wasn't for over a year and a half after they put them in that they started to even nip.

[gofor100]

I've had one in my 187 gallon mixed reef tank (have both SPS, zoas, and LPS- like acans, torch, frogspawn, hammer, etc.) for over a year now.

When I first introduced him, he would sometimes nip some of my brancing montipora, but just in passing and not excessively. Once he became acclimated to the tank and my feeding regimen (which is around 3-5 feedings per day since I also have a Moorish Idol), all is well and I never see him nip at anything.

I've had similar experiences with other dwarf angels and feel if you feed them frequently enough with high quality foods, then you should have a better chance of them not nipping.

Hope this helps,

Chad

[scubakid3]

Not gonna risk it. Thanks for the advice, but I love my corals too much to risk them getting eaten :)

[Spartanman22]

Potters angels are by far my favorite fish! Absolutely gorgeous! I have had two at two different points in a 75 gallon mixed reef (mostly SPS and softies with a few LPS) for over a year each and I never witnessed either nipping or any excessive damage to my coral.

[aandfsoccr04]

bump for more thoughts/experiences. Probably going to be my last fish added.