potters angel for a 55g reef

[djcool563]

Hello i was wondering if a Potters angle would be an ok fish for a 55g reef tank that will be mostly SPS dominated. I set the tank up about 3 weeks ago and the cycle is coming to an end so i was wondering if i could get a potters angel in a few weeks. thanks
dj

[RichConley]

I'd wait. For a long time. These fish are grazers, and need a ton of algae/pods in the tank. Theyre tough to get to eat prepared food. Definitely not a begginers fish.

[zemuron114]

^^ agreed on rich's statement. I ship them all the time, and they do pretty well adapting to mysis while i hold them, but im not holding them long. I would wait atleast 6 months for it to establish. The guy i ship to keeps them with LPS and SPS, so im assuming they are "reef safe" but it is still an angel...

by the way, my name is DJ!!!! :)

[djcool563]

will they eat like nori sheets and other feeding algea and such? and would they eat live brine instead of pods?

[zemuron114]

if they take to frozen, or prepared food they should eat everything. But with all fish, it takes time (usually). So if you do get one, get it small. small ones have a better way adjusting to prepated. Good luck

oh, and the potters that come from Kona, HAwaii (big island) are alot less attractive then the ones from Oahu. The ones from Oahu will have a lot of DEEP red and DEEP blues as juveniles, this coloration will ensure they dont fade with age, and came from a good area. For some reason the ones in Kona are bland, and i've seen them almost whitish...

good luck

[donski]

I had a potters for over 5 years. 55 gal reef, never bothered any corals, and ate anything put in the tank including flake food. But ya never know. individual results may vary (where have you heard that before)

[eleodes]

my roommate has one and it is a very active fish with a great personality. he has it in a 75g. 55 seems smallish.

[RGBMatt]

I've never had trouble keeping Potter's. In my experience they're very hardy, easy to feed, and adapt quickly to the tank. They do well on prepared foods so while the tank ought to be fully cycled the whole "established reef" thing isn't neccessary IMO.

However, I am speaking from experience with fish I've caught myself. I think a lot of Potter's aren't well treated when caught, which contributes to their poor success rate. They don't decompress well and can be injured if they're brought up too fast. They also invariable need to be pinned so if the collector isn't very experienced this can also be a source of problems. If it's happy and eating at the shop you should be OK.

BTW, my tank is a 29g and pygmy angels are quite happy in it. A 55 should be fine.

[donski]

I would keep a pygmy in a 29 or a 55. Potters, Flame ,Elibi (sp?). Only one though. i made the mistake of listening to someone who said 2 different types would be OK in my 55. Didn't work out. But I'm sure in some cases it has. Look for one that is curious enough to check you out while you are checking him out. You'll know what I mean when you see one that does this rather than completely hide

[m1a1fan]

I added a Potters to my 55 when the tank was about 6 months old. The fish did great, took any food that I placed in the tank as well as grazed on the rock all day.

RC