Bellus Angel Thread

[Kinetic]

There's a dwarf angel thread, so I decided to start a Bellus Angel only thread because I'm interested in buying one next year for my 82 gallon tank (110gallon total water volume, 2100gph total flow)

From wetwebmedia.com:
Genicanthus bellus Randall 1975, the Ornate Angelfish (3).
Lives in small groups, plankton-feeding up off the bottom.
To six inches in the wild.
Western Pacific and Cocos Keeling in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Awesome genicanthus article:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-02/hcs3/index.php

Here are some pictures of it that I found online
Female:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/images/oct2003/Bellus_Angel.jpg
http://www.marinecenter.com/media/photos/8E3DFA5AC2CA4276B06D8351FEBF85A6.jpg


Male:
http://www.coralfantasy.com/images/malebellusangelLThump.jpg


If you have one, please post the following:

Gender:
Size:
Food it eats:
Time you've had it:
Where you bought it:
Tankmates:
Kind of tank: (fish only, fowlr, reef)
Pictures:


I've always wondered who has females with the red stripe. I see a lot with blue but no red =(

[Psionicdragon]

They are easy to keep as long as they eat, but if their health goes down they react really bad.

The female is nicer than the male imho. I have the female :) I lost one on Xmas though.

[Kinetic]

sorry to hear about the loss. any pictures? does yours have the red edged fins?

[Outerbank]

They are gorgeous fish, but I don't know many more details about them. They seem to suffer from collection practices. Everytime I see one in the fish store, it seems to die.

[Kinetic]

I talked to a LFS and they agreed to hold the bellus if I ordered it for 3 weeks with a deposit. They said they'd get it to feed and then would see if it had decompression issues. This being said, the LFS is definately first class ;)

[Kahuna Tuna]

They are the one species of genicanthus in which the female is much nicer looking than the male, IMO. Those ladies are just beautiful fish.

I talked to a LFS and they agreed to hold the bellus if I ordered it for 3 weeks with a deposit. They said they'd get it to feed and then would see if it had decompression issues. This being said, the LFS is definately first class

It's always nice to hear about a good LFS, you always hear the horror stories, sounds like a great operation.

[Kinetic]

I agree the female definately looks amazingly better than the male, not saying the male doesn't look good. She just looks amazing!

[Psionicdragon]

The one that died had reddish edge fin while the other one has more of an orange coloration.

[Kinetic]

did you only see red fin under actinic or very blue spectrum lighting? I see a lot of pix with flash that totally destroy any hint of red.

[achillesheel]

i had a pair and the male was much more stunning in person than in photos. much harder to keep though never got him to eat frozen. his mate died later that week. ive kept a couple other females. one died very suddenly of no apparent cause. the other is doing very well in my 125 with a regal angel and pbt( a few smaller fish also). very lovely

[Psionicdragon]

I had nature sunlight. The QT tank is next to a window so I don't need any lights on.

[budjr8000]

where can you find more information on this fish????????? I cant find it any were please send me a site or informaton on this fish.
thanks Mike

[achillesheel]

there are a couple books( i havent found much detail online).

Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes by scott w. michael seems to be the best that ive found. you might try www.wetwebmedia.com also

[alrha]

i got one about a month ago - she has done well in the quarantine for 2 weeks and now in the display for 2 weeks.
she eats basically anything i feed (even flakes). She originally had a ripped tail-fin in the store, but i have noticed it growing back nicely already (i take that as a sign of good health that she is healing).
she was $80 at Country Critters in Riverhead, Long Island.

[janakaybravo]

I'm looking for one. They seem to be quite hard to find. Does anybody know any online resource for this fish since no LFS can find it for me?

Jana

[Kinetic]

atlantisaquarium.com
marinecenter.com

[tang_man_montreal]

Here's a bad picture of mine...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/tang_man_montreal/My%20Fish/IMG_2261Small.jpg


I've had her for ~ 1 year now. She's doing great, always out and about... I had a male on reserve for me at the LFS, but it developed a bacterial infection before I picked him up, and never came around.

[Kinetic]

that looks great! i'm going to speed up my 82 gallon setup process so I can get one sooner =P

[PITSTOP]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/49365mini-120_Downward_Bellus_1-29-06.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/49365mini-bellus_close-med.jpg

[janakaybravo]

Pitstop, gorgeous fish. I notice you have a blue tang. Do you know if the female bellus has any issues with ich? I'm fighting the battle right now with all my fish out of display in hyposalinity to get rid of ich. I found a female bellus hopefully to buy from a friend here in town. I've got to rid my blue tang of ich though and then put her in QT. Do you think a 40 gal QT is enough? Anything anyone can think of to help me in keeping her successfully?

She is eating and full grown, looks gorgeous in his tank. He needs to get rid of her because she's picking on his watanabei angels.

Thank you!!!

[Kinetic]

40gal qt for a short amount of time will be ok as long as you keep the water quality high. Some high powered powerheads that come on during parts of the day would be good too, since they like to swim. Give it a lot of flow to battle, and a lot of food. high water quality. you'll do fine =) goodluck with your ich!!

[PITSTOP]

Koden said it all.

Easy fish to keep as long as you do what koden recommends...

Personally, I would dump a Watanabei before getting rid of a Bellus...personal preference...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/49365mini-120_side_wallpaper.jpg

[Kinetic]

geeze, those pix of your tank / bellus are amazing! I can't wait to get my big tank setup for this =) more pix if you can! FTS!!!

[PITSTOP]

My Bellus feeds from my hand....trying to take pix now...

[mgillman]

Bought mine in Madison, Wisconsin last May, 2005 for $105. Very healthy, eats everything from mysis and brine shrimp to Spectrum pellets. Not aggressive but is the queen of the tank. Has the red/burgundy stripes. Must be a slow grower as is still close to its original size of 3 3/4 inches. Tankmates include 2 Bartlets Anthias, paired Oscellaris Clowns, Fairy Wrasse, Mandarin and Neon Goby. 75 gallon tank with lots of coral - mostly LPS but the large Sarcophyton seems to be the central hangout in the tank.

[janakaybravo]

Well, I got my female bellus and put her in 40 gal. qt for possible ich. She's in there with small blue tang and banner fish. I am using hyposalinity and am three weeks into it with this group of fish.

My question is the bellus stays in the pvc pipe a lot and the others swim around. Is this normal? There's no bullying going on. She seems shy but comes out to eat and is a hearty eater. When I bought her she was swiming around with all the other fish in the tank.

I can't wait to move them into my dispay and hope she gets over her shyness. Has anyone had a similar experience? The lighting is not that bright, and she came from a tank lit with metal halides.

Anyone got any ideas?

[Kinetic]

they are shy at first, as far as I know. Once she goes to the display and acclimates, she should be better. Again, they're deep water, so the strong lighting takes awhile for them to get used to, more so than other angels.

[Kinetic]

bump! we want more pix etc!

I'm still waiting for a LFS near me to stock one =/

[sethd12]

i have been looking for one for about 3 months now without any success. i can't even find anybody that has gotten one within the last year.anybody have any other places that get them other than marinecenter and atlantisaquarium because they both said they havent had them in a while?

[Kinetic]

no idea. talk to your LFS owners, and have them keep an eye out for you when they pickup shipments or collect shipments. say you'lll put down a deposit to show them how serious you are.

[janakaybravo]

I had a hard time finding one too. I ended up buying my friend's because she was picking on one of his other fish. I bought her for $100. What a deal. She's now in my display tank and what a beauty. She's my favorite fish. Sorry I have no camera, but when I can get my hands on one I'll post a pic.

Jana

[pecan2phat]

I've been looking for a pair for the last 6 months with no luck. Atlantis would have a lone female every now and then but the males seem extremely rare.

If anyone finds a pair, please LMK.

[janakaybravo]

Hi Pecan. I've heard from several sources that the males don't live very long and are a lot more delicate than the females. The guy I got the female from that I have had his male die. I don't know why this is, but I keep hearing it, plus they're almost impossible to find.

Jana

[janakaybravo]

I forgot to tell you, I've heard of watanebei pair where you buy two females and keep them together and one of them changes into a male. The logic is that would be for bellus too, but I don't know of it happening with bellus. But then you could have trouble with fighting if your tank is not big enough. My female bellus is very docile and gets along with all the fish in the tank. She seems quite content to be the star attraction of my tank.

Jana

[waterfaller1]

Hi Bellus lovers. Any more info you can give or pictures? I have one arriving next week.:cool:

[waterfaller1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7005730#post7005730 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pecan2phat
I've been looking for a pair for the last 6 months with no luck. Atlantis would have a lone female every now and then but the males seem extremely rare.

If anyone finds a pair, please LMK. I saw 2 places in my search that had both..but did'nt say they were paired.

[pecan2phat]

Hi waterfaller,

I've been talking to a LFS owner (Aquatic Creations) that participates on our local forum (manhattanreefs.com) and he had a pair of Genicanthus caudovittatus that I passed on so I also asked him if he had access to any pairs of Genicanthus bellus. He told me 2 weeks ago that his wholesaler had a pair and was on hold for him to see if they acclimated well. The pair was left at the wholesalers due to the fish not eating and the male didn't look very healthy after 4 days.
He told me that they are getting in another pair this week so we'll see how they fare.
In the mean time, I had the Genicanthus bug, so I picked up a pair of Genicanthus melanospilos for about a third of the price tag on the Genicanthus caudovittatus pair.

[pecan2phat]

Have you guys had any luck with obtaining this Genicantus species?

Genicanthus personatus male:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/pecan2phat/maskedangelmale.jpg

Genicanthus personatus female:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/pecan2phat/angelmaskedfemalekeoki.jpg

They look yummy!!!!

[waterfaller1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7137260#post7137260 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pecan2phat
Have you guys had any luck with obtaining this Genicantus species?

Genicanthus personatus male:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/pecan2phat/maskedangelmale.jpg

Genicanthus personatus female:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/pecan2phat/angelmaskedfemalekeoki.jpg

They look yummy!!!! I thought these were colder water species?
Good luck getting your pair. I am getting mine from Serdar..he says he has had her for 6 weeks and she's eating brine and mysis!

[LeftCoast]

Genicanthus personatus is endemic to the Hawaiian and Midway Islands. To me knowledge, they are not collected. I think it might be illegal, but I'm not sure.

[waterfaller1]

Here she is...first few pics!! I got her from Serdar/Phishybusiness..wow what an awesome job he did in shipping!
http://www.reefbucket.com//files/7/Picture%20598.jpg

http://www.reefbucket.com//files/7/Picture%20600.jpg

[Kinetic]

looks awesome! I'm jealous!

how's her health? did you put her in a QT? shipping was good? how much was she? is she in with your pipefish? or are they in the fuge?

[PITSTOP]

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

[bandedangel]

personnatus are not illegal per-say, They are illegal to collect from Midway. I might have a line on them, but we're talking huge $$$$. If any are collected, they are usually pre-sold to Japan.

[waterfaller1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7159296#post7159296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by koden
looks awesome! I'm jealous!

how's her health? did you put her in a QT? shipping was good? how much was she? is she in with your pipefish? or are they in the fuge? She is in a different tank than the one with the fuge/pipefish. This is my 65 gal. Serdar QT'd her for 6 weeks, and said she was eating mysis and brine. She already ate mysis today. Shipping was phenominal...I have'nt seen any better! Cost was $149... maybe a bit higher than some others I have seen..but he came well recommended to me, and to me it is worth the extra cost. She is gorgeous!:cool:

[PITSTOP]

$150 is now common for great specimens of G. bellus, lesser ones go for $120 IMHO. I paid $130 6 months ago for a great one...inflation and demand....

[janakaybravo]

I got mine from a friend for $100. She's beautiful, my favorite fish, gets along well with my community tank and does not bother corals. What an amazing fish!

[Kinetic]

$150 isn't a lot, considering that was also shipping.

Awesome that they QT'd for you! I'll look into buying from them too.

[pecaco34]

wow, i'm surprised at some of the prices bellus are going for. A LFS get pairs in about once a month and gets in female bellus' more regularly. The price on the male and female pair is around $130. Single females range from $45-69. Beautiful fish, I had one for about a year that eventually died from intestinal blockage (didn't realize it until after the fact). I'd love to get another one but I'm not sure the regal and multicolor would tolerate another angel.

[Kinetic]

wow that's a sweet price for that fish. where in orange county did you purchase her from? I may fly down there soon and wouldn't mind bringing one back if it clears the security checkpoint.

[pecaco34]

Tongs in fountain valley, but pretty much any store around here you will find a decent price. They just get them in more often then everybody else. I've never seen them retail for over $85 bucks. There are only a couple stores i've seen males sold at though, they. I think they are usually $79. I just picked up a rosy fin fairy wrasse from their for $49 bucks but they also have items that carry a hefty price tag.

[Kinetic]

Neat, I'll be near fountain valley in a little while. I'll go check it out when I'm there next.

[pecaco34]

I think there is a map of local fish stores somewhere in the socal forum. You may want to look it up if you come down because there are about 6 or 7 fish stores within a 5 mile radius of this store.

[achillesheel]

has anybody ever been able to keep a male for longer than a month?

[Kinetic]

the LFS near my work has had a male for about 4 months, and in a pretty tiny tank too. I'm guessing the water quality is great for genicanthus because that system has the bellus male, a couple of those swallowtail melanpus or whatevers, and some other genicanthus.

in such small tanks though... kinda sad.

[achillesheel]

anybody been able to keep one in their own tank long term?

[john37]

bump for a great fish.

i would love to hear people's experience w/them.

anyone have a pair?
does the female have better color if paired up? anyone notice loss of color when only keeping a female?

[Kinetic]

i'm still looking around for a female bellus =/ i'd like to see them in person, because of the swim bladder problems.

[SaraB]

I aquired a male first about 4 months ago. He lived in the refugium of my existing tank until the new tank was plumbed and went through a mini cycle.

The male was then added to the new tank and a female was added a day after. She was with another male at a LFS, but I only needed the female. After adding her to the tank, she followed him everywhere. They get along fine and they have been together for about 2 months now.

Keep your eye on the Divers Den on Live Aquaria as I personally saw some females there last week. Subscribe to Diver's Den updates so that you get the email. They all looked very healthy!

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/index.cfm?ref=3319&subref=AB

[john37]

SARA B, can you please post some pictures?
i would love to see them together. a video would be even better.

[SaraB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10311579#post10311579 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by john37
SARA B, can you please post some pictures?
i would love to see them together. a video would be even better.

I don't have the ability to do video, but I'll see what I can do about some photo's ... once I clean off the algae to view them clearly!

[waterfaller1]

Serdar at Phishy Business gets them in and gets them eating for a few weeks before he ships them to you. I have had my female for a couple years. I took her up to work recently though so she could have a nice huge tank to swim. She was all over my 90. Even though this is'nt the biggest fish, they need room to swim. I tried a male once, he never ate for me and did'nt last a week.:(

[SaraB]

The Divers Den email just came in and there's 2 female Bellus Angels on the list ... http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/CatDisplay.cfm?sku=0089698000000&siteid=20&start=31&page_num=3

[zemuron114]

The problem with Bellus, watanabe, and any other Genicanthus is they are normally found deep and are not properly decompressed whether they were pinned wrong or brought up to fast. Always make sure they are eating and are swimming properly, and definitely keep them in cooler water tanks (not above 80!)

G. personatus havn't been collected in years. Endemic to Hawaii and johnston atol. In Hawaii they are below 200 feet, but johnston i hear they are a little more shallow (but no one collects there). If and when they come to the US, expect to pay 8-10K for a pair. :)

[SaraB]

Sorry for the quick, blury and dirty photo's, but here's my pair:

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r63/SaraBertolino/Fish%20Photographs/BellusPair1.jpg


Here's the male ... he has to be one of the more colorful males I have seen yet, but I could be biased:

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r63/SaraBertolino/Fish%20Photographs/BellusMale3.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r63/SaraBertolino/Fish%20Photographs/BellusMale2.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r63/SaraBertolino/Fish%20Photographs/BellusMale1.jpg

Here's the female, she's a bit camera shy yet:

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r63/SaraBertolino/Fish%20Photographs/BellusFemale2.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r63/SaraBertolino/Fish%20Photographs/BellusFemale1.jpg

[john37]

beautiful, thank you.

[john37]

well, i ordered mine from Live aquaria today, should get her on sat. wish me luck.

[janakaybravo]

How's the fish, John? I've had my female for two years and the guy I bought her from had her a year. She is a very hardy fish. I believe if you get them healthy they can last for years. I don't know about the males though. I think the females are prettier anyway. My female has been a little territorial when adding new fish, as she knows she is the queen of the tank. She'll chase them a few days but generally will accept newcomers. She is my absolutely favorite fish!

Kay

[SaraB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10326463#post10326463 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by john37
well, i ordered mine from Live aquaria today, should get her on sat. wish me luck.

Excellent! Keep us posted on her arrival!

[john37]

well, my package arrived a couple hours ago and i took about 30 min. to acclimate her. She's smaller than i thought. about 3" head to end of rear fin. very beautiful though.

maybe cuz she's a lil stressed but she just stays in one part of my QT tank. *my QT section is not really a QT but a section in my sump dedicated to acclimating new fish*

i figured she'd be swimming a lot more. We'll see in the next day or so. i said a little prayer for her knowing that the success rate w/these arent the best.

well here's the picture of her in the acclimating container...http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b352/johnjung37/bellussmfile.jpg

[achillesheel]

ive had a pair for over a year now. they even made the move from my 180 to my 300.

in my experience, the hardest part is to get the male to eat. ive tried 3 males and the first two showed no interest in food.

[SaraB]

She looks nice john37! She will be eating and swimming like a trooper in no time after adjusting! Keep us posted on her progress.

[john37]

well, day 2...she's eating mysis. didnt try anything else...does your bellus eat pellet and flakes? i was gonna probably try them in a few days.

she's in the sump right now until i feel she's ready to play w/the big boys. Do you think my purple, powder blue, vlamingi tangs or my regal will give her problems?

[beez]

If anyone wants to try their hand with a male, liveaquaria has one available right now:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=23297&siteid=20

[john37]

YEAH, i saw that they had one...they posted it a few hours after i bought mine.

i asked if they had any males available and the lady on the phone said no. oh well, i'll probably try to just get a male later from a LFS. Shipping charges are a killer.

lil update...she ate a couple of small flakes not w/gusto but took a couple pieces here and there. Things are looking good so far...but it's only been 2 days.

[Kinetic]

at least she's eating!!! that's the best thing =) she looks beautiful. I think the hardest part now will be to see if your other fish are ok with her in the display.

goodluck

[SaraB]

Glad she's eating. My bellus will eat flakes, pellets and Rod's Food.

[Kinetic]

man these genicanthus are popping up on liveaquaria almost every day! I was about to buy a small 2" one, but it was gone right away =(

I just saw one in person at my LFS. It was amazing! beautiful one, no swim bladder problem, plenty of red on the fins. He wouldn't sell it to me yet, but I'm going to go almost every day to pry ;)

[john37]

yeah, i saw that small one too. they have the male as well...kinda expensive i think but liveaquaria takes great care of their fish and make sure they're eating.

[Kinetic]

yeah, liveaquaria prices are high, but for a reason. quality is top notch, customer service is very fair and reasonable. I would never hesitate to buy from them, they really care for the animals and customers.

If something goes wrong, they'll definitely help you through it.

I'd rather buy from a LFS though, just so I can see them in person first, especially with the swim bladder problems they may have.

[john37]

OMG, i am soooooooooooo upset.
i put my female bellus into my main tank yesterday and she was fine, eating flakes and swimming around. the powder blue was harrassing her here and there but didn't seem too bad.
Anyways, i'm looking for her all morning and cant find her, so i look on top of my tank...and there she is, dried up on my overflow box. this is sooo freaking frustrating i cant even say, i didnt even think they were capable of jumping. it feels like such a waste, she was doing sooo well. sorry to report bad news. :(

[SaraB]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss! I didn't really think they were jumpers either, unless they were startled. Maybe the Tang frightened her enough to jump.

When I was acclimating my male in a bucket floating in my 100 gallon Rubbermaid sump, I walked up on it and scared him and he shot straight out of the bucket into the sump. I let him stay there for a couple days to calm back down and then he was caught and moved to the display tank. I just thought it was an anomaly, not a norm for them to actually jump.

[b16drag]

Bellus Angelfish is by far one of the most gorgeous fish that I've ever seen... Here are a few pics of the "lady" that I got yesterday! ;) Sorry pics arent that great

http://www.cvreefers.org/gallery2/d/37825-1/bellus.jpg

http://www.cvreefers.org/gallery2/d/37827-1/bellus2.jpg

[john37]

BEAUTIFUL, I'm planning on giving a pair a try when i set up a different tank w/less aggressive fish.

i love her blue nostrils. haha

[achillesheel]

great! she is a beauty

[SaraB]

Very nice female Bellus b16drag!

[b16drag]

Thanks guys! She was definately a great purchase! ;)

[janakaybravo]

Mine was being picked on by my young powder blue. I thought she had died and was eaten because hadn't seen her for three days. Then I went to change my water and she had jumped into the overflow. I was able to rescue her and put her in qt. She has popeye and was suffering being picked on. Now I can help her get well. I have to make a choice between these two fish, the angel or the powder blue. They won't coexist peacefully. The bellus is three years old. The powder blue is a young one and absolutely beautiful. This is a tough choice.

[b16drag]

I took out my powder blue the other day because it was showing signs of ich and had left the sailfin tang in there... Sailfin is a lil buttmunch right now but I'll have to see what happens with then powder blue goes back in. The sailfin and powder keeps each other in check.

[Mac Inger]

Didnt read through all the thread...but here is mine. Just a perfect citizen,..eats out of my hand

Ill see if i can get a better pic of him. Been wanting to get a male for a while now

http://erginkuke.com/images/Fish/New/IMG_0421.jpg

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z8/redseapurpletang/Clip1.jpg

[b16drag]

Very nice! I like I like! ;) How does it do with the Purple Tang? I know they can be very dominant...

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

The Purple and Bellus don't bother each other.

[janakaybravo]

My powder blue has been pestering my bellus. Of course, my tank is a 120.

[twon8]

my lfs has a large male in, i told him if it starts eating i'll take him. here's hoping. It is a beautiful fish, about 5"

[b16drag]

Just make sure it doesnt have swim bladder disease...

[janakaybravo]

What are you sucessful bellus owners feeding your fish?

Mine had bacterial infection that I'm treating and she is much better but won't eat yet. I've had her two years. She always ate mysis, nori on clip, Forumula 2 flake, about anything I feed. I add vitamins and garlic to food. I can't think of anything else to do. Does anyone know what these fish eat in the ocean?

[SaraB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11276998#post11276998 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by janakaybravo
What are you sucessful bellus owners feeding your fish?



Mine eat almost anything I put in the tank (PE Mysis, Rod's Food, Prime Reef Flakes). Their favorite is Rod's Food and it's good for picky/hard to get to eat fish. Check to see if anyone carries this local to you as he is starting to expand beyond the Chicagoland area: www.rodsfood.com

For example, I added a small orange shoulder tang last night to my 225 and my female Bellus was the nasty one chasing it all over the tank biting at him. I fed the tank quick so that I could turn off the VHO's and the tang would stop between the chasing and grab bites of Rod's food and then get chased again. I was surprised that a newly added and stressed fish from getting picked on by my Bellus pair and a foxface would actually stop to eat while being chased!

[Canarygirl]

Very beautiful fish! I want one of these now! :D

[Canarygirl]

So as luck would have it, my LFS has a female Bellus Angel in stock now. The owner said it was eating flake and pellet, but when I asked if it was healthy he kept humming and hawing and finally said, "I dunno...it could be fatter."

Any helpful hints or tips for me as I go to look at this fish? It's being held for me for 24 hours.

I have a 120 gallon reef tank with the following fish:

lrg sailfin tang (rambunctious but a nice fish)
lrg foxface (buddies with the sailfin)
2 firefish
1 clarkii clown
2 juvie true percs
2 dragon pipefish
1 eyelash blenny

I'd say it's a peaceful community tank.

[janakaybravo]

Don't buy the fish unless you see it eat. Make sure also it doesn't have swim bladder disease which is common in angels of this family because of the deep water they are taken from.

Also that sailfin may be too much for it. My powder blue picks on my bellus and if you read up there earlier in the thread, the powder blue is going to find a new home.

[b16drag]

Yes make sure the bellus eats. The one I got was fighting the tangs for food in the LFS tanks. Also it may or may not be okay with the tangs.

If you still want to try, make sure the snot and mouth is clean and no damages. Also keep an eye on how it swims. They are very prone to get swim bladder disease.

[Canarygirl]

Thanks. So if it is perfectly upright and swims normally, it doesn't have swim bladder disease, right?

I do wonder about my tang. He likes to chase his foxface buddy a little bit, and of course foxface just puts his spines out and that's the end of that. It seems like friendly play as they follow eachother around all day.

[b16drag]

From what I've read, if it does have swim bladder disease it will kind of teetter todder and not be as active swimming back and forth like a regular fish does...

[rottbo]

My LFS has one in for $45 but I am worried that it will harass my other fish especially my Potters Angel am I correct in thinking this or should I suck it up and go buy it???????????

[b16drag]

$45! Thats quite a STEAL! ;) I got mine for $60 with the club discount.

You can always trade in the potters! ;) Hah... as with all fish, never certain what will happen, but from what I can see its a pretty mellow fish. Doesnt pick on tang, clowns or royal gramma. Only fish that mine picks on is the damsel... SCORE! ;)

[rottbo]

well I do have alot of peaceful fish in the tank and dont want this one to harass any of them.......

[DarthSimon]

Guys,
My Bellus stopped eating, and is swimming alot around the top of my tank, kinda like bobbing up and down... Looks like he is eating air?? Is this normal for them to swim at the top??

[Canarygirl]

Is it vertically oriented and bobbing up and down? If so, it's not normal. Do you have a QT tank? If so, try to get him in there and treat with an antibiotic as it may have a swim bladder infection. I hope it's okay....not all antibiotics would be effective. I recommend that you post on Lee Birch's forum on www.reeffrontiers.com

[DarthSimon]

No, He is swimming horizontal.... But then points up and sticks his head out of the water slightly... He is swimming good...... Just stopped eating... He was a new fish addition about 7 days ago. First 2-3 days, he was eating no problem... anything I fed the tank....

[janakaybravo]

I've never seen a bellus here for that price! I've seen them on line for $300. I'd grab that. They are peaceful fish and won't harrass anything but an anthias maybe.

Kay

[Canarygirl]

well that's good that it's swimming properly. If it doesn't eat by tomorrow I'd still put it in a QT and treat it with an antibiotic like maricyn two or something like that. Lee Birch is a marine biologist fish expert so give him a shout if you can.

[DarthSimon]

It's been 2 days since has last eaten anything... The food floats right by him.... I kept the lights off today to keep him calm... Let's see what happens... I do see some white spots on him, most likely ich.. I just checked... :( The ich must be stressing him out... Hopefully this will pass in a few days... I don't have a q tank setup..... I recently transfered my 55 G tank to my new 120..... I had ich in my 55 a few months back, but by soaking foods in garlic, selcon, and UV Sterilizer, it went away....

[Canarygirl]

DarthSimon,

Your treating the foods that way didn't make the ich go away so it's still in your system. I'm sorry to hear. Can you set one up? I'm afraid you're going to lose that fish....

[rottbo]

I just went and looked at it again I believe it is a male that has not changed colors yet... he is only 1.5-2.5" I dont know if I want to try it or not he will be going into a 76 half circle thats why I am worried since its not a huge tank I figured the two might clash and I love Potters Angels so I am still undecided

[janakaybravo]

rottbo, I wish you could get them to ship me that fish.

On the angel that's swimming funny, do you have access to a qt? If you lower the salinity that will help the fish. Study the threads on ich. If you act fast you may can save him.

When I found my angel in the overflow, she had bad bacterial infection. I lowered the salinity and treated with Furan 2 for 6 days straight and had to change the water every day. Now I'm slowly raising it back up, but in reading Terry B.'s stuff, hyposalinity really helps a sick fish even if it's not ich, but hypo salinity is the best treatment for ich in my opinion.

[rottbo]

Well my potters comes in on Tuesday so if they still have the bellus I will buy it if he picks on my potters then he will spend his days in the frag tank

[DarthSimon]

Well, she is doing much better last 24-36 hours... She is now swimming all parts of the tank, no more top.. She also ate some flake food this morning... I saw here eat one or two bites.... What are you guys feeding?? I feed all my fish a mixture of things... Flake, Mysid, Bloodworms, Brine, (All Meaty Foods soaked in Garlic Xtreme, Selcon VitC)...

I just tried Formula One Pellets, they seem a tad big for most of the fish.... The Bellus went up to a few of the pellets, but passed up on it....

Any suggestions?
here is a pic... http://www.hometheaterforum.com/darthsimon/IMGS/bellus.jpg

[janakaybravo]

Mine eats Forumula 2 flake, nori, mysis, and a homemade fish food I buy at my club that has a variety of meaty stuff. She even eats small pieces of krill. They do like some green in their diet. I also soak in garlic and vitamins.

[DarthSimon]

Well, She is eating one or 2 pieces of food every feeding, that I can see.... It almost has to be right in front of her... Almost like I have to target feed her...

She is no longer swimming at the top for air.... Also don't see any ich spots....

Another thing I notice is she swims the same swim pattern almost every time... Around the same rocks, around the same corners, and comes back around.. Is this normal??

[janakaybravo]

Well, at least she's eating. As long as she's eating she should improve. Mine has acted like that before. She didn't do that when she had a swimming buddy, but when she's alone she's real shy and hides a lot. Mine paired up with a blue tang and they were inseparable swimming around the tank, but I had to sell the blue tang 'cause it got too big. Now she's in a qt tank. She will not eat again. I put the food in and it floats right by her and she looks at it and acts interested but doesn't eat. I'm feeding her all her favorite food that she used to pig out on. I don't know if I can save her. I've done everything I can think of.

I wouldn't worry about the fish unless she quits eating.

[DarthSimon]

Mine looks like an ugly duckling... She is in between color changes... I'm hoping she gets here female colors soon...

[rottbo]

Ice storm here my potters didnt come in maybe tommorow but I forgot to ask if they still have the bellus hopefully tommorow I can get both

[DarthSimon]

So my latest feeding regimen.... My Bellus still passes on all Mysis and meaty foods. Today I tried some Red Pellet Granules, Tetra brand and she loved it... Ate prolly 15-20 Bites... Boy this Fish is picky...... :)

[Terryz_]

Hi, I just 2 female bellus yesterday, 1 is bigger than the other... Observed some minor bickering, but sometimes swimming together...
Is there any possibility that the more dominant one will change to male over time?

[janakaybravo]

I bet she does. Keep us posted.

[Terryz_]

I really hope so... They are feeding on pellets now... Will update if I observe any changes...

[RevHtree]

Anybody know where I can get a pair right now?

[flameangel88]

I only see petsolutions have females in stock for $90 each. Or you can check with bluezooaquatics and they usually can get them in a week. My suggestion is get only females and let one of them change to a male. The males are VERY difficult to get them to eat.

[Canarygirl]

I got a healthy male from LiveAquaria last week. He started eating immediately and now eats like a pig. I plan to put him in the display with the female tomorrow night...:)

[flameangel88]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12578231#post12578231 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Canarygirl
I got a healthy male from LiveAquaria last week. He started eating immediately and now eats like a pig. I plan to put him in the display with the female tomorrow night...:)

Congratulation! How big is your male?

[RevHtree]

Thanks...

The one from bluezoo is a male that has to be ordered and then kept for 2 weeks..

Anybody else?

[Canarygirl]

the male I got is ~3.5-4.0"

I hope he likes the female...she's a little smaller than he is

[RevHtree]

Ah found the females...

How long does it take for one to change, and what are the chances they will pair up?

Thanks.

[flameangel88]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12578366#post12578366 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RevHtree
Thanks...

The one from bluezoo is a male that has to be ordered and then kept for 2 weeks..

Anybody else?

The 2 week is really for the buyer's protection because that way they can clean it/treat it/QT.

[flameangel88]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12578396#post12578396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RevHtree
Ah found the females...

How long does it take for one to change, and what are the chances they will pair up?

Thanks.

Hard to say and it may be environment dependent. I purchased 2 female watanabes (about the same size) last Thanksgiving and added a sm female in February and I still have all females.

Accoding to the book (can't remember which one been reading too many instead of of enjoy them instead LOL) when the female change to a male this change occur very quickly.

[RevHtree]

Thanks..

BTW awesome tank video. :D

[flameangel88]

You're welcome...and thanks. You will love the bellus and honestly I think the females are more pretty.

[alrha]

Just ordered a Bellus from LiveAquaria's Diver's Den (WYSIWYG). Looks pretty with the red markings on the top and bottom.

[janakaybravo]

Oh lucky you. How much if you don't mind me asking?
I wish I had a bigger tank, I would get one again. Actually Dr. F&S are the best because of their guarantee.

[alrha]

89.99

[DamnPepShrimp]

I was looking at that bellus angel, how much is shipping and any extra fees you may have to pay? Just trying to get a final price on the fish if I order one in the future.

[alrha]

shipping i think was $35 for the entire order (got some corals and such as well)

[b16drag]

You should put up some pics! Definitely one of my favorite fishes still!

[SDguy]

I saw that pic when it was for sale. VERY nice! Hope those red areas are as red in person!! Please post pics when it arrives...

[moochi]

Just about 2 weeks ago i picked up a female Bellus myself. Really Stunning! But still trying to get the male Bellus. Had a hard time feeding her for the first 2 days since I only feed pellets most of the time... Now it's accepting everything i feed her.

[Kinetic]

Finally, after years of searching, I found a tiny one (2.5") on LiveAquaria. She's incredibly healthy, zero bobbing when swimming, and zips around like no other genicanthus I've seen. So no signs of swim bladder problems. She eats like a pig, and I feel like 4x feeds aren't enough...

I took a few pictures the day I got her:


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/2871445037_140f491645.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/2871445037_ae3a9fbd8a_o.jpg)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2872277616_6588ccc91b.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2872277616_a00d196c0b_o.jpg)

[janakaybravo]

That is a pretty fish. Mine faded as she got older. Has anyone else had that experience? I still loved that fish. She lived about 5 years total.

[alprazo]

My larger female (2.5") just faded over a two day period. The body turned from white to gray and the blue is much less vivid. The red outlining the fins is now orange-yellow. She has been this way for 2 weeks and I am wondering if she is becoming a he.

3 days ago also I added a 5" male that became available and I couldn't resist. I wonder if her color will return.
This male has been report to be local aquarists in tanks for > 14 months and has retained its sexuality.

There has been no bickering between the Bellus - the old female pair (Purchased about 6 months ago around 1.5 inches) and the new male seem to ignore each other.

[b16drag]

Anyone know what to feed them to make them have better colors?

[Canarygirl]

wide variety and good quantity of frozen foods/algaes, supplemented with VitaChem or Selcon. I use a home made fish blend and add mysis, chopped muscles, angelfood cubes (contain sponge), different kind of algaes, feed twice a day and add vitamins daily.

[LargeAngels]

Picked up a pair yesterday from a guy taking his tank down. They are nice and fat eating pellets. I'll try and get better pic later.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/117322.jpg

[alprazo]

The trio at 1.5 inches. Notice how the fish to the right is missing it's lip markings. This fish also had bright red on it's fins. Unfortunately it didn't survive through the QT process.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46949bellus.jpg

[alprazo]

Update on the fish from above. They arrived in June of 08 and as mentioned before, the largest did not survive the QT process.

In October, I purchased a large male and added him to the tank. About a week before adding the male, I noticed that the larger of the two had faded in color. The male was added 10/3/08.

Photo of new male 10/3


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46949_MG_4000.JPG

Photo of fading female 10/3/08


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46949IMG_3795.JPG

Seven days later I took another photo of the faded female. She started to color up and the golden colored dorsal fin returned to black. Unfortunately no other photos until today, she gained a little more color but never became as brilliant blue and white as her smaller tankmate.

Photo taken 10/10/08 - faded female one week after male was added to tank.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46949_MG_4026_1.JPG

[alprazo]

Continued..

Christmas eve morning I woke to find the male dead on the tank floor. HE was a pig and ate very well, including the night before.

I have been in and out of the house over the past week and have noticed the fish darkening again with the white bands becoming gray. I left my camera at work and couldn't take photos.

I remembered the camera this week and wow - what a change this fish has undergone since the death of the male only 9 days ago. I think it has even grown in size.

These fish arrived around 1.5 inches 6 months ago. At most, the transitioning male is 2 1/4 inches and the smaller fish 2 inches. I've read that the sex change can be rapid but I am surprised at the dramatic color change in just over a week.

What a cute pair they will make for 2009.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46949Bellus_012.jpg

and the smaller female also 1/2/9

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46949Bellus_017.jpg

[janakaybravo]

Wow! First time I've seen documented color change. I heard it would happen but never read somebody seeing it or photo it.

Thanks!

[flameangel88]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14065930#post14065930 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by janakaybravo
Wow! First time I've seen documented color change. I heard it would happen but never read somebody seeing it or photo it.

Thanks!

This thread have pictures of female changing to male and male to female:
For the love of Genicanthus (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1284946&perpage=25&pagenumber=5)

[viodea]

is it ok to keep them in 78-82 degree water?

[alprazo]

I keep my tank at 71 degrees. Not sure if the elevated temp will shorten the lifespan as it does with the cold water California Pacific fishes.

I checked the Genicanthus thread plus others to see how fast the change was and have not found another documented change of the bellus with photos. That said, these fish were together only 6 months, so I'm sure it happens all the time. I just wish I had my camera this past week.

Today the horizontal stripe is better defined.

It is an ugly looking fish at this point. (The missing scales and torn fins are from a nasty mystery wrasse.)

1/3/9

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/469491-3-8_003.jpg

[janakaybravo]

I kept my tank at 80-82 and my female bellus lived 4 years. As she aged her colors weren't as good. I don't know what causes that.

[kdblove_99]

Man great looking fish i have been noticing them pop up on DD lately and i will definitely have to grab one

[viodea]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14069668#post14069668 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by janakaybravo
I kept my tank at 80-82 and my female bellus lived 4 years. As she aged her colors weren't as good. I don't know what causes that.

do you have a picture to show the difference?
What do you feed them with? I wonder if that makes a different.

[alprazo]

Update on the sex change.

It has been about 3.5 months since the conversion and the new male has become very aggressive toward the smaller female. I was wrong in thinking that the the sex change would have created a pair. The female spends nearly all her time hiding deep within the rock. If he sees her, it is a full out attack. Before the change they would avoid each other with minor nipping and chasing from the from the larger of the two.

I do hope that they will pair. I only see the female for seconds at a time.

[janakaybravo]

Keep us posted as to this behavior. I would have thought they would accept each other as a pair. I wonder if it's hard to reproduce this fish's natural habitat since they live so deep. I would like to get another one, but I think I'll just keep females.

If I were you, I'd separate the fishes from each other before the beat up one dies. I had to watch my beautiful angel get treated this way by a power blue tang that was new to the tank. and she eventually died. I was very sad.

[alprazo]

UPDATE - FINALLY A PAIR

Another month has past. I decided to leave the female in the tank to deal with the changing male. I am so glad I did. Last weekend I noticed her out more with some minor aggression from the male. Now they are swimming together ~ 25% of the time. He has finally accepted her and I am so happy to see them together. This is the first time I have been able to photograph the two together since the first days in the QT tank.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46949IMG_6847b-med.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46949IMG_6833b-med.jpg

[janakaybravo]

They are awesome looking! What size tank do you have them in and what temp?

[alprazo]

They are in a 125. Male is a little larger than the female and ~ 2.5 inches. In the winter the heaters keep the temp at 71 and this past summer, my chiller was set to 74. This may be cold for some of my other fish, but I believe perfect for the bellus. I've seen very few reports of sex changing in the bellus - maybe it is because most tank temps are > 75 and this stresses them. Just a guess since it happened so quickly for me. This is also under suboptimal conditions - they are constantly beaten up by my mystery wrasse.

[flfireman1]

Wanted to revive this thread from the past.
My bellus started out looking like this, picture was taken on 2/26/10
<a href="http://s1041.photobucket.com/albums/b420/flfireman/?action=view&current=2262010010.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b420/flfireman/2262010010.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Now he looks like this:
<a href="http://s1041.photobucket.com/albums/b420/flfireman/?action=view&current=IMG_2862.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b420/flfireman/IMG_2862.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s1041.photobucket.com/albums/b420/flfireman/?action=view&current=IMG_2864.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b420/flfireman/IMG_2864.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
I hate to think my beautiful female is now turned male. Is this whats happening here? This fish eats like a pig, and is a very aggressive eater at that.
Sorry about the crappy pics.....
Eric

[b16drag]

Wow crazy cool! Are you sure someone didn't swap out your female? ;)

[janakaybravo]

It looks like for some reason she's changing to a male. Mine never did that, although her colors faded a little. I'm thinking maybe we don't provide them with their environment that they're taken from, i.e. deep water that might be cooler and darker.

Does anyone have a bellus that remains the same over a period of years?

[danielp]

Mine is still going strong, sharp colors, I have kept her for a little bit over a year so it is still short period of time. And I hope she will stay that way, I mean not changing to a male :)

[pookstreet]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/pookstreet/300G/IMG_8328.jpg

[janakaybravo]

Wow, they look like a harem. Makes me want to get a couple or three females.

[b16drag]

pookstreet, do they hang out like that or are they aggressive to each other?

[pookstreet]

They don't always swim together but not aggressive towards each other at all. I think my other angels, which are all larger, keep them honest :)

[RagTopMan]

I recently picked up a male to pair with my 3-4 inch female.

Mike at NYAquatic sold him to me as a 3-4 inch male which arrived in the 6-7 inch range. I guess some people's rulers are different than others.

Anyway, he's a stunning fish, much more attractive in person than in any photo I had ever seen. Eats like a pig and is so far a model citizen in my 220g reef. So far, my female doesn't really pay much attention to him.

Just wondering, will I see much more growth from him or is he about maxed out?

[knockout]

I recently picked up a male to pair with my 3-4 inch female.

Mike at NYAquatic sold him to me as a 3-4 inch male which arrived in the 6-7 inch range. I guess some people's rulers are different than others.

Anyway, he's a stunning fish, much more attractive in person than in any photo I had ever seen. Eats like a pig and is so far a model citizen in my 220g reef. So far, my female doesn't really pay much attention to him.

Just wondering, will I see much more growth from him or is he about maxed out?

Mike is a cool guy, I get most my fish from him!

[RagTopMan]

Mike is a cool guy, I get most my fish from him!

Agreed! I didn't really mean my comment as negative. Mike is a good guy who stands by his fish. That 2 week stay alive guarantee of his is impressive.

[knockout]

Agreed! I didn't really mean my comment as negative

I didn't think so!
back to topic I guess!!! keep them pictures coming!

[ryshark]

Does the red in the dorsal fin come with age (like the orange tear drop on achilles) or do some have it and some don't?

[karsco]

My Bellus...

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo89/karsco/IMAG0038.jpg

http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo89/karsco/IMAG0037.jpg

[flfireman1]

Wow karsco,
Now that is a nice pair! Im thinking about getting rid of my bellus, ever since it changed sex. At this point its just an ugly fish. Now if it looked like your male it would be a different story. If I find someone that has a large enough tank with a female I may decide to part with him.

[alprazo]

Did your Bellus convert male without a female in sight? How long is he/she?
Mine are still a pair and doing well. It took over a year after conversion, but they are now exhibiting mating behavior. I wish you luck, I personally think the males are beautiful too. Maybe I am biased because I was hoping for the transformation. Through your photos, it appears that your male was well on his way when you purchased him. In my experience, he will behave as a female with male coloration for a nearly a year. Mine did go back for a little while but never regained the vivid female colors. Now back to male once the female was placed back into his tank after an illness.

Bet wishes with her/him. They are a great fish for the aquarium.

[karsco]

Alprazo,

I have had the female for over a year and the male has been in my tank for about 6 weeks. The male is about 5" and the female is about 3", they have gotten along since day one. The male will show his dominance once and a while but he is a fish that gets along with everyone in my tank. The male just started eating last week, he had been just picking at the rocks for a month and was getting skinny. I thought he may starve to death but last week the light bulb came on and now he eats everything I put in the tank. His color has only gotten better since I have had him and I hope it stays that way, but I guess we will see...

[flfireman1]

alprazo,
When I purchased the bellus it looked like a typical female and was a stunning fish. This just happened over a period of two weeks. There are no other females in the aquarium. At first I thought it was the fish that had gotten stressed and was not showing its normal colors....it just looked washed out. But when I closely examined it and started seeing the orange along the top thats when I realized what was happening.

[alprazo]

ryshark - At first I thought that the red was indicative of collection location. In my initial trio one fish was missing blue on the lips and had red highlights on the fins. Unfortunately I lost her in the QT process. It took about two years, but red has appeared in my remaining female. She is still about the same size ~ 2.5 inches so I now think that it comes with maturity. Just speculation.

Karsco - Great job. The larger males can be a problem with eating. I have had great success by culturing amphipods and feeding them live to the fish. It is a great way to transition to frozen and flake foods in the stubborn fish that usually eat from the water column.

Flfireman1 - Do you have another Genicanthus angel in the tank? You may be disappointed that she lost her color, but realize that the conditions in the tank for him/her must be good enough for the fish to enter into and complete the transition. You see it going the other direction all the time, but female to male is a rare occurrence, at least on this board. Be proud. What is you tank's temp, size, lighting, and occupants?

[flfireman1]

alprazo,
I have a 92 gallon corner, inhabitants are a coral beauty, male african leopard wrasse, coris wrasse, hippo tang, mystery wrasse, a trio of anthias and a swiss guard,
Temp is pretty stable at 78-79 degrees. I have a 40 gallon sump and a 20 gallon fuge. Ph is constant on the low side 7.8-7.9. Even though I dose kalkwasser thru all my top off water and add two part. Its a mixed reef with mainly sps and a few lps. All corals are thriving and doing well.

[alprazo]

Funny, mine are now in a 92 corner and it is this tank where they are finally exhibiting mating behavior. As the two of six small fish in my 350 for months they ignored each other until being placed in the 92. I wish I had an answer to why yours changed. I keep my temp between 68 and 72 for them and thought that this may have helped the conversion thinking that it is cooler 40+ meters down . I was obviously wrong. Enjoy him and now is time to pick up a female.

Is the pH low because you need to re-calibrate? What time of the day are you taking a reading. I have really acidic tap water and don't even think that I could push it that low. Anyway, I would not worry about it as long as everything is thriving as it seems to be.

Continue to post picks. Even though the greatest change takes only two weeks. The gold in the male will continue to brighten and he will continue to lengthen for the next 6+ months.

BTW - they are my favorite fish. Especially after nearly losing my female (she was laying sideways on the bottom not moving).
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1630746

[JRFowler]

Hey guys,

Just thought id add my share from over the pond.
I picked these 2 guys up at my well known local shop a little while ago and they both are doing well, I am wondering if one is considering a change to male as adulthood approaches, what do you think?

The Pair:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b196/FowlersRs/IMG_0432.jpg

The Female:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b196/FowlersRs/IMG_0433.jpg

Female Changing?:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b196/FowlersRs/IMG_0434.jpg

:cool:

[rachenbrazil]

Looks like changing to male ... following to see how long it takes ...

[ninjarob]

I'm excited! Just bought my Bellus from Blue Zoo Aquatic's "Weekly Top 50 WYSIWYG" I will have her on Thursday!!
Here's the link to her pic: http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetailcc.asp?did=11&cid=360&pid=7219

It states she is only 1.5" so I guess she is small enough that she could actually turn into a he in the future? Anyone have any thoughts?

[ninjarob]

I will post pics once I get her/him in my tank and out of QT.

[ryshark]

Looks nice, I got mine from bluezoo as well at about the same size. I really hope that neat red stripe on the dorsal fin develops on the females with age.

[ninjarob]

Looks nice, I got mine from bluezoo as well at about the same size. I really hope that neat red stripe on the dorsal fin develops on the females with age.

Bluezoo has been great with everything I've gotten so far, so I'm very anxious to see this Angel!!

[rackman]

couple of pics of my female bellus angel.
i've had her a little over a month now.

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab9/rackman80/IMG_4412.jpg

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab9/rackman80/IMG_4417.jpg

[sabodish]

heres my pair i got a few weeks ago..so far, so good, just awesome fish!

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a381/sabodish/170%20gallon%20cube/bellus%20angels/IMG_0982.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a381/sabodish/170%20gallon%20cube/bellus%20angels/IMG_0981.jpg

[Kinetic]

Oh wow, a trio right now for sale on LiveAquaria!!

http://www.liveaquaria.com/images/diversden/approved/lg-1207111-236t.jpg

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/itemdisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=139417&ref=4282&subref=AI&cmpid=E-_-TR-_-DDN-_-PRDCT

[btkrausen]

Yeah, I saw that and was jealous. I just got a female last week from Divers Den and she's crusing the tank all day and eating very well.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o152/btkrausen/200%20DD%20Build/DSC_3275.jpg

[aleonn]

I got a 3" female last summer, and she's been eating everything. Very active, but sometimes the much larger blue tang chases her. I haven't seen any males in stock at the LFS, so I may consider getting another female and hoping one of them change.

[btkrausen]

I got a 3" female last summer, and she's been eating everything. Very active, but sometimes the much larger blue tang chases her. I haven't seen any males in stock at the LFS, so I may consider getting another female and hoping one of them change.

Exactly what I plan on doing, getting another female.

[reefjunkie42]

my female killed the other female. and that trio is gone, and way to expensive t 600..better off dropping 2 more for g. semifactus!

[borcu]

bump

[BigOldReef]

Hey Fellow Bellus Fans,

I thought I would add to this thread. I've had a pair of Bellus Angels for about 5 months now. The male is a little over 4" and the female is 3". Unfortunately they are independent fish and there is no 'pairing' between them.

Then on Tuesday I came across a tiny female Bellus. It's only about 1.5". They had 2 of them, but I had no idea what my much larger Bellus were going to do with such a tiny female, so I only picked up one to test.

She's not too shy, she hangs to the bottom left side of the tank. Last night she ate some pellets and tonight she was actively going after some frozen brine.

The big Bellus swim past her and pay her no attention at all.... Wishing I had gotten the second tiny one.


Here she is acclimating in the bucket.
http://www.danimation-inc.com/photo/fish/BabyBellus/Bellus_1.jpg

And here she is in the tank.
http://www.danimation-inc.com/photo/fish/BabyBellus/Baby_Bellus_A.jpg


http://www.danimation-inc.com/photo/fish/BabyBellus/Baby_Bellus_B.jpg

[grallster]

Nice Bigolreef!
I was lucky enough to find a pair at my LFS in February and picked them up. They have been doing great so far (the female did come down with lymphocytosis after the first week but it resolved in about a month--she's fine now). The male chases the female around occasionally but not a lot. The male is about 5" with nice long streamers and the female is about 3 1/2". My favorite fish of all time!

[christ_pro]

Hi guys.

I just got a pair of bellus (male and female) she is doing great but the male doesn't eat much I'm trying everything including live brine but he's not as good as the female eating. Hopefully he improves over time., they are in my tank 4 days now... Should I be concern or just wait for him to start eating more once it's well acclimated?

Thank you

[Dr Colliebreath]

Give it time to settle in and it should start eating. It can take 10-14 days or more for some fish. Keep offering a wide variety of foods.

[christ_pro]

Thank you for your reply dr. Colliebreath.... I fed him live brine with garlic and brightwell amino acids yesterday and today 3 times a day.... He started to eat a little the first day. Today I fed him again with live brine, he ate more and before lights went off I fed him with some frozen mysis and blood worms he devoured the mysis..... :spin2:

Fingers cross he keeps eating like today.....

Thank you

[Reel North]

These fish are AWESOME. I'm ordering 3 for my upgrade. Expensive but so worth it.