Angelfish Info

1833 Views 18 Replies 10 Participants Last post by fishscale, Jun 10, 2007

fishscale

Discussion Starter · May 31, 2007

I'd like to stock a 55 gallon planted tank with 2 schools of tetras, some otos, and angelfish. I know angels are aggressive, so I chose larger tetras. What I'd like to know is how many angelfish to keep. I've heard that 1 angel will be unhappy, a mated pair will get territorial and kill other fish, and more angels will kill each other. What is your experience? Thanks.

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

LS6 Tommy

· #2 · May 31, 2007

It differs fish-to-fish. I have had a BIG herd of Angels w/no problems, and I have had just 5 or 6 that always seemed to end up having 1 or 2 dominant ones. Sometimes more is better as it diffuses the aggression & helps keep one fish from being picked on, sometimes less of a crowd allows for more "individual space" and there's less aggression. You kind of have to play it by ear.
Same thing w/Discus (they are closely related).

Tommy <9))>>{

Darth Sensei

· #3 · May 31, 2007

A lot of it depends on how well scaped the tank is. I have a 75 gallon planted tank in my office with 8 full sized angels in it. They breed regularly in it on plant leaves and on the glass. There are sometimes fights, but as long as the loser has somewhere to hide, nobody is really injured.

In fact, mine are breeding and having a stand off as I write this.

turbosaurus

· #4 · May 31, 2007

General rule for angels is about 1 angel fish per 10 gallons. I would go four or six. If you get five and end up with 2 pairs and an odd man out you may have trouble.

While angels will pair up and spawn, no stopping them, they're not that violent. They are territorial when spawning. I've seen them injure each other, but I've never had an angel kill another angel- and I've had plenty of fish to go by. I probably have 40-50 angels right now (in various tanks). Most of it is posturing at each other, and rarely is a fish hurt.

oblongshrimp

· #5 · May 31, 2007

i assume the 1 angel per 10gals though is assuming you have nothing else in the tank. I have three large ones in a 75gal tank and they get along fine...I think they are all females though since there hasn't been any pairing.

fishscale

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 5, 2007

How fast do angelfish grow? I'd like to start with some small ones (maybe the size of a quarter).

Mangala

· #7 · Jun 6, 2007

Angelfish grow FAST. You get 'em small and it seems like they're just tiny and will never ever grow and then suddenly you look in and they're HUGE! I just got some nickel sized babies in January and by March they were very nearly adult size. Well, three of them were, and there are two runty ones. They just keep filling out more and more each day. They like the high protein foods, but they also like veggie flake foods... I try to feed them a little of both each day so they get a variety.

fishscale

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 6, 2007

Sweet! Is there any way to sex juvenile angelfish?

Also, do you think it would be better to get a breeding pair or same sex to avoid territoriality (among both the angels and the other fish in the tank)?

Mangala

· #9 · Jun 6, 2007

as juveniles? Some breeders who've been working with the same strain for generations claim to know what gender their juveniles are, but characteristics common to some may not apply to others. I JUST noticed (like, five minutes ago) that two of my angels who I thought might possibly be a pair have their "I wanna mate now" bits hanging out and I can FINALLY tell what gender they are! But that's only for two of my five in my tank. I'd say that if you wanted to have just two, it would probably be easiest to buy a mated pair, but you could also probably get away with two babies, and grow them up together... they don't usually hurt each other TOO badly... and there's a 50% chance that you'd get a male and female. I guess it depends on how much you're willing to spend on your fish! two babies would be about 8 bucks. a mated pair... wow, you're looking at 150$!! (maybe) I would personally only get angelfish if I had the space for 6 or more. beautiful creatures, though. I'd say them and non-common plecos are my favorite fish.

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Darth Sensei

· #10 · Jun 6, 2007

I agree, the best way to determine sex is to wait and let them pair off. They know what sex they are.

fishscale

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 6, 2007

About how old are they when they start to pair off?

Also, do you think the LFS will take them back when they get older? I'm just asking in case I don't have enough room for them. I'm thinking of getting maybe 6 (?) juveniles (very small), and letting them pair off. I've got a 55 gal tank, but I'd also like to keep some schooling fish in it, so I'd like to have maybe just one pair.

Mangala

· #12 · Jun 7, 2007

It depends on your LFS.

And, lessee, I got my angels in January, it's June now... I JUST found out what gender they are yesterday, though they've been displaying "we're paired!" behaviour for about two months... so, probably at 4 months or so.

Lupin

· #13 · Jun 8, 2007

fishscale said:
About how old are they when they start to pair off?

It can happen at least 7 months. Most strains are sexually mature at this time. There are others that will take a year. I'd advise you to be patient with them.

As for distinguishing sexes, the only easiest way to distinguish them is via the appearance and position of their ovipositor(near their ventral fin). Males have it positioned forward and the tip is pointed. Females have rounder tip and positioned backwards.

Also, do you think the LFS will take them back when they get older? I'm just asking in case I don't have enough room for them. I'm thinking of getting maybe 6 (?) juveniles (very small), and letting them pair off. I've got a 55 gal tank, but I'd also like to keep some schooling fish in it, so I'd like to have maybe just one pair.

Your lfs will have different policies compared to the others. They may not give you credit for returning the angels. Some will give you 50% of how much they sell. Others will refuse your offer.

crazie.eddie

· #14 · Jun 9, 2007

fishscale said:
About how old are they when they start to pair off?

Also, do you think the LFS will take them back when they get older? I'm just asking in case I don't have enough room for them. I'm thinking of getting maybe 6 (?) juveniles (very small), and letting them pair off. I've got a 55 gal tank, but I'd also like to keep some schooling fish in it, so I'd like to have maybe just one pair.

The LFS may take them back, but if you post to a local aquarium club, someone may take them in for you for free or you maybe able to sell them.

rodney

· #15 · Jun 10, 2007

I don't mean to hijack' this thread or anything, but would a pair of angels be O.K in a 50 gallon community tank, or do they need the company of their own kind?

James From Cali

· #16 · Jun 10, 2007

rodney said:
I don't mean to hijack' this thread or anything, but would a pair of angels be O.K in a 50 gallon community tank, or do they need the company of their own kind?

They'll be fine but you'll experience aggression from the breeding pair to the other fish. And if you have lots of smaller fish they may disappear

. But like stated in this thread it differs from fish to fish.

fishscale

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jun 10, 2007

That's kind of what I was asking; what I've gathered from the various places I've researched is that 2 angels are fine, but may bother your other fish if they spawn because they get very territorial.

rodney

· #18 · Jun 10, 2007

Fishscale: It seams to me that we are in the same boat only you have a slightly larger tank:icon_smil I have also been doing alot of research, and it looks to me as if it varies from place to place. After about 3 days of research im still trying to figure out which types of angels I want...

Thanks guys, I'll be sure to get larger size tetras or maybe rainbow fish...

fishscale

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jun 10, 2007

meh, I figure if they start breeding I'll consider myself lucky. I'll put them in a separate 20 gal, sell some of the surviving fry, and then put some of them back in the community tank.

Rinse, repeat.

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