Friend For His Angel?
Hello Scott,
<Hi there!>
Thank you again for your helpful replies. Well the Poma and the clowns have not shown any sign of ich reinfestation since I started medicating.
<A good sign!>
However, I have dismantled my other tank (20 gallon )  and set it up as a permanent quarantine/hospital tank, and this meant transferring my unidentified (Chrysiptera?) damsel into the 6 foot tank.
<You know- it is not necessary to leave a quarantine tank up and running on a permanent basis- just keep a sponge filter or other media in the display tank, ready to go at all times, add some water from the display tank, and there you go...>
I did a big water change and gravel-wash before I introduced him and he was fine on the first day but the next day he had developed ich (the others were unaffected). I have started treating the tank again  (the hospital tank is not yet up to scratch) and all the spots have gone. I am not going to add anymore fish for at least three weeks so that hopefully the ich does not re-establish itself.
< A wise decision>
I do not think I would be able to get a cleaner goby as my dealer mostly sells Indo-Pacific and Red Sea varieties as Caribbean
stuff is VERY expensive.
<Just as well. Although cleaners can help, they are not a sure cure for parasitic infestations>
I will probably get a pair or banded coral shrimp, I've had them before and they look nice and they might do some occasional
fish cleaning. My  family thinks that I need a blue fish of some type in there as the rest blend into the rockwork from a distance. I like the regal tangs but they would get too large for my tank and I don't think I would take the risk when it comes to ich, I think a Bicolour Angel would be more suitable but is it different enough in colouration to not fight with the Poma?
<Well, you can usually keep a Centropyge with other genera of angels, but the Centropyge is usually added first. It will be an interesting dynamic-one that you will have to watch very carefully, so that you can intervene if required>
I have read nearly all the FAQ's on Bicolours and the major
problem seems to be getting them to feed.
<In most cases, this is the problem. Careful selection of your specimen, and knowledge of its area of collection can help assure greater success. Hopefully, you'll be able to support the "home team" and get an Australian specimen, which, in my opinion, are of the best quality and are almost always properly collected and handled!>
If I made sure to get one that was feeding and then isolate it for 4 or more weeks in quarantine would it make a suitable,  colourful addition to my tank? As always, your advice is greatly appreciated. Yours Sincerely
Adam Harbeck
<Well, Adam- as I mentioned before, it is certainly possible to mix this fish with the Poma in a sufficiently large tank. However, fish, like people, are individuals, and you never know how they are going to respond. It's just going to be one of those things where you'll have to roll the dice, so to speak. If your tank is large enough, and you have enough rockwork to break up territories, it may be workable. Id put the odds at about 60/40 in favor of it working...Just know what you may be getting into with this combination, and work out an "escape plan" should it become necessary to remove the Bicolor. Good luck! Regards, Scott F.>

Re: Chaetodontoplus septentrionalis in a captive reef?
Big Angels- Little Angels! 1/17/08
Thanks for the quick response, Scott.
<MY pleasure! Didn't want to be a "buzzkill", but I just felt that I needed to highlight a few things.>
Question in regards to P. annularis -- on the WWM site it's listed as a max-out of 8 inches or so in captivity and I must say that I've never seen one anywhere near the size you gave me (the 15-18 inches). The two older specimens I've seen (one around 6 or so years old in the LFS display tank of around 600 gallons and another in a 125 gallon tank belonging to a friend of mine) have both been roughly the 8 inches listed from what I've been able to tell.
<I must be honest with you- I have seen at least 3 specimens of this species well over 12 inches, and one that was darned close to a foot and a half. I'm gonna render advice based on what I have seen. Sure, they may not all reach that size, but the potential does exist...And you can't ignore that, IMO.>
But I've seen the fish listed anywhere from 8 inches to 12 inches and now you mention possibly a foot and a half as well. A bit confusing (and trust me, I'm not doubting you -- just confused by my own witness of the fish and by the multitude of length listings out there in both print and online).
I've also seen so many different tank size suggestions which really makes it a bit frustrating since I've had the possibility to attain a few nice specimens at a reasonable price but passed because I've been so confused!
<I totally agree! It is confusing. I can only speak from my experiences/observations. They can and do get quite large. Always take any advice you find-mine or anyone else's-with a grain of salt. In the end, you need to gather your information for yourself, from sources you know and from personal observations, and temper your decision with a healthy dose of skepticism. In the end, go with what your observations tell you. However, always think of the "end game" with large fishes. They need such large quarters to live healthy, happy lives.>
I'll probably pass on both large angels until I can make a move to a larger aquarium in the future and stick with the Centropyge angels that I've had success with in the past.
<I commend you on this decision. If you can house these fishes successfully (and I have no doubt that you can), you will enjoy much success, and the fishes will enjoy longer, happier lives!>
I do a lot of "trading" of fish with a few fellow aquarists I know and trust so I've had quite a few species of fish over the years and have kept my tanks pretty varied.
<Cool!>
Thanks for the response, again, though. I'll likely give the Centropyge potteri another go since I did have success in my first go-around until my tank crashed in a very rare power outage. Though I'd love to find the blue/black variant of it since it is a truly magnificent coloration in my opinion (not that the normal coloration isn't magnificent).
- Jon
<I hope you have every success, Jon! I have seen a blue morph of the C. potteri in a store in Chicago, and it was awesome! Probably a temporary aberration, but what a beauty! Take care! Regards, Scott F.>