Blue Face Angel Hiding since I got him

[twiddledog]

I picked up a Blue Faced Angel this past Tuesday and it has been hiding behind rock since I put him into the tank. He is still alive because I can see flashes of him thru crevasses. I have been putting food back there so hopefully he is eating. A couple times he has shown himself but when he sees me he darts back behind the rock.
Is this normal?? Do you think eventually he will come out front?
Anyone else experience this? In ten years this is the first time a fish has remained hidden for so long.

 

[wdebenedettojr]

Blue face angels sometimes are very skiddish like this. However there could be some other fish in the tank intimidating it. What other livestock do you have?

 

[twiddledog]

I have 3 larger tangs,,Yellow, Clown and Powder Blue and a Flame Angel that bullies my Anthias. I would guess it is the Flame if there is any intimidation since I did not think a Tang would intimidate an Angel. The Blue face is 2-3 times the size of the Flame but since I can't see behind the rock I have no idea what is going on back there.
He is still alive though so that is good. I forget what he looks like since I just see glimpses of him with a flashlight thru the rock work.

 

[Marshall O]

You have four aggressors you just named. Tangs can bully/intimidate any new fish. My Powder Brown Tang goes after any new fish regardless of size or genus. I use an acclimation box to help avoid these issues, plus put up a mirror on the side of my tank to keep the bullies distracted.

However my best piece of advice is to QT new fish. Get them eating well in your tanks before adding them to a very active DT. Obviously the other good part of QT'ing is you can monitor for illness during this time and hopefully prevent adding a diseased fish to your DT.

Finally, I am a bit concerned with the number of large fish you are adding. Clown Tangs are very very active, territorial Tangs. Once established, they can prevent the addition of any new fish. I would keep an eye on it. The Blueface also gets quite large. Although a 180 is a good size tank, I am not sure it is large enough for the 3 Tangs & Blueface Angel longterm. You also list a Sweetlips in your sig. I am sure you know, but they get huge and require a much, much larger tank to grow into adulthood.

 

[dannyp02908]

I was going to post similar to Marshall. Clown tangs are known to be very territorial. Even yellow tangs are bullies IME. My yellow tang has actually killed newly introduced fish. Needless to say, I rarely try to add a fish anymore.

 

[twiddledog]

Thanks for you input..The sweetlips is no longer in the tank. I have never seen the tangs bully any new fish so far.
The Tangs are about 4 1/2 inches in length..not very large but not small either. I will definitely keep an eye out for any aggression. I also have read that others have had similar experiences with Blue Face Angels and they eventually come out and play but may take a couple of weeks....I hope!

 

[delta]

take a mirror and put it up against the tank so the other fish can see themselves. This sometime will make them think their is another like fish and drawn the aggression away from the blue face/new guy on the block

You might not see the aggression but it is there and the message is loud and clear in the fish world

 

[wdebenedettojr]

@twiddledog, I would agree with Marshall and Danny. Tangs are bullies unfortunately since they are so beautiful. My guess is they are scaring the blue face behind the rocks as soon as he tries to make his way out. That being said the blue face should eventually build up enough confidence to come out. I have seen a blue face and majestic angels take a few months to come out before so I wouldn't say your situation is unusual. Like delta and Marshall suggested, the mirror idea may help keep the tangs preoccupied. Can you get a picture of him anyway and post to see if we can see if he is getting beat up or stressed??

 

[twiddledog]

I can't see him at all except thru small holes in the rock using a flashlight...I know his is there and from what I can see he looks ok but to be honest I am not really sure. I will try and get a mirror tonight.
None of my research indicated they were so skittish and docile but maybe the tangs are just scaring the heck out of him. Everything I read said that tangs would not bother it..I guess I read the wrong info!
Thanks!!!

 

[saltwaterB]

I typed an entire response...until I re read it.....and it was almost exactly what Marshall said....lol I could not agree more with his comments.


Also, not sure where you read your information....but it seems very wrong...as all Tangs are territorial once in the tank for a bit...it is the nature of the beast...lol

And out of all of the larger Angels, blue Face are a bit less boisterous than many of the other species IME...

 

[twiddledog]

I am happy to say that the Angel is now swimming all over the tank and not hiding as much. Everyone SEEMS to be getting along as I have seen no aggression towards him. I know that means nothing but just an observation.
What a beautiful fish.

 

[Marshall O]

Glad to hear that! I hope it stays out and everyone does get along!

 

[charged45]

Glad to hear. Is he eating?

 

[twiddledog]

I have not seen him eat because when I feed because when he sees me he hides..but if I stay away from directly in front of the tank he comes out and he is grazing. He looks good from what I can see so he must be eating..have had him over a week and looks healthy.

 

[frank180reef]

Glad he doesn't have ick (be careful), with more corals I have gotten away from the large angels. When I use to add them years and years ago (large angel) they would be very shy at first and not compete well with Tangs.

cross your fingers