[Ohangelfishumakemecrazee]

I've had two Angels since they were tiny, last summer in a 29 gallon tank, slow water flow, tall plants, & just a few well-tolerated tank mates. About a month or so ago they became aggressive with each other. Not always. They would fool me. Sometimes they would glide along peacefully, then bam! So, I researched and learned due to their maturity & large size, transfer to 55 gallon. Which I did. I also added a few more fish. All happy for a week or so then aggressive behavior began again, only much worse. I gave them a few days to sort it out to no avail. Now, I have one in the 29 gallon & one in the 55 gallon (each. w other tank mates). Question: I am reading that Angels do well on their own, but is this the case after they've been raised as a pair?

 

[Savetheplants]

I had to put my Angelfish in Angelfish jail. He was small enough and it was only for short periods of time. It seemed to help a little. They grew up fighting. Then they fought some more as adults. They turned out to be a mated pair. Then a house sitter introduced some new fish to the tank and we lost them. They were about five years old. Try putting them back together to see if they've learned a lesson. I'm guessing they would rather be together than apart. Just keep timing them out. That's my opinion.

 

[Ohangelfishumakemecrazee]

Ok. Thank you. I also just researched to put very tall plants in center of tank so they can't see each other all the time. I'm telling ya, raising kids was easier! Haha! 😀

 

[jake21]

Are they sexually mature? Angels at a young age will frequently 'bicker' to see who is alpha - angels at a sexual age may bicker (more precisely the female) might pick on a potential mate to see if he is suitable.
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With only 2 angels I personally see little benefit of putting them in sep tanks temp if you intend to move it back to the 29 as they will go back to bickering.
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The only real danger is if they are sexually mature male and female and the female decides the male is not suitable - in that case she might chase him out of the tank (i.e, kill him).

 

[Ohangelfishumakemecrazee]

I don't know if they're sexually mature. I bought them last summer, young. Now, about 6-8 mos later, they are not playing nice. I don't know their sexes. No bump on either head, but I'm told that's not a tried and true..

I don't know if they're sexually mature. I bought them last summer, young. Now, about 6-8 mos later, they are not playing nice. I don't know their sexes. No bump on either head, but I'm told that's not a tried and true..

 

[jake21]

If i had to take a wild guess the gold might be female and the silver might be male but it isn't definitive. I'd give them a week to work out their differences. As long as one isn't backed into a corner they should be ok bickering a little. The only alternative would be to remove one but if you put it back in later they will just go at it again.

 

[Ohangelfishumakemecrazee]

The silver was cornering the stripe pretty bad. I will place very tall plants more in center of 55 gallon & put stripe back in to see how they do. I just don't want all the moving to overstress it. Ideally, I'd like to wait until post-adolescent age, but I'm rather clueless on that. Thank you for your help.

Also, can you tell me how you came up with sexes?

 

[ChrisX]

I'm going through something similar with mine. Just this week, the gold started attacking the silver. They have been together 9 months since they were tiny. The gold was always dominant, but now he/she is getting aggressive. The silver is hidden most of the time.

I am sure the silver is male (hump on head), not sure about the gold. I had always assumed that the male would be the aggressor, but I guess that is a misconception, just like with humans!

 

[jake21]

I want to stress it is just a guess based on the shape of the bodies. There is a slight lump in the middle of the gold and the shape of the head - but it is not definitive. If my guess on the sexes is correct one concern is the gold (in your pictures) does not look smaller than the silver.
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As for male/female aggressor - the males tend to be aggressive with regards to pecking order but stop once the pecking order is established - the female seems for more intent on doing damage when she wants to drive away an unsuitable mate or competitor.

Also, can you tell me how you came up with sexes?

 

[Ohangelfishumakemecrazee]

Well, my how my Friday nights have charged! I spent all night watching YouTube videos about Angelfish! From what I learned, they were indeed mating. I don't want babies so I will reduce water temp in 55 gal.slowly to about 75 degrees & add more, taller plants before transferring my striped one back. I will leave the 29 gal. up & running just in case, but I am going to hope for best.

 

[jake21]

I doubt temp is going to stop them from mating unless it is so low it is harmful to them. If you don't want them to male dump the female and get another male.

 

[dornblaser]

While Angelfish are not schooling nor shoaling fish they are social fish and do well in groups until there is a pair with eggs and then all H*ll can break loose. I have Angels in three tanks because of that behavior. I think that 75 is too low of a temperature to keep Angels healthy, I have settled on 80.

 

[Ohangelfishumakemecrazee]

So all yours are forever separate now?
I was on my way to go by very tall plants to put in the center of the tank to cut down on eye contact and aggression & then reunite.

 

[jake21]

Won't work. This is my tank - which is a 120. Believe me when an angel is pissed at another angel she will find it in this tank - there are two ways they can escape - in the back left corner they can circle around the jungle val next to the glass and on the right side there is a spot below the java fern they can hide but your tank isn't going to be a jungle like this and when the female is really pissed she will still seek out her target to vent her anger.

So all yours are forever separate now?
I was on my way to go by very tall plants to put in the center of the tank to cut down on eye contact and aggression & then reunite.

 

[ChrisX]

So all yours are forever separate now?
I was on my way to go by very tall plants to put in the center of the tank to cut down on eye contact and aggression & then reunite.

Amazon swords pushed up against the back/side glass are the most effective hiding plants. If an angel swims into that, the other angel will forget its there and can't see it.

 

[jake21]

Hard to see in my picture above but i have 3 such plants which are all around 22 inch tall and next to the glass. Doesn't seem to help much

The jungle val is the real escape point because they can sneak around it and it covers nearly the full lenght of the side.

Amazon swords pushed up against the back/side glass are the most effective hiding plants. If an angel swims into that, the other angel will forget its there and can't see it.

 

[Ohangelfishumakemecrazee]

I did get two Amazon Jungles today. Holy moly you do have a rain forest going on there 😳lol! Shouldn't there be free room for them to swim fast for quick get away? This was supposed to be a relaxing hobby & it's making me crazy.

 

[jake21]

The can swim - the leaves are vertical and they - being nice and slim - fit nicely between them. There is some open gaps in the middle and back.

I did get two Amazon Jungles today. Holy moly you do have a rain forest going on there 😳lol! Shouldn't there be free room for them to swim fast for quick get away? This was supposed to be a relaxing hobby & it's making me crazy.

 

[Ohangelfishumakemecrazee]

I'm going to grab a few more, but truthfully, my striped friend won't come out of hiding at all now, & if moves even a little bit sly silver fox goes right for him/her. I see absolutely no breeding tunes on either. And it looks like dark line around stripe similar to body stiping is forming since in hiding. Maybe from stress?

 

[Plinkploop]

Won't work. This is my tank - which is a 120. Believe me when an angel is pissed at another angel she will find it in this tank - there are two ways they can escape - in the back left corner they can circle around the jungle val next to the glass and on the right side there is a spot below the java fern they can hide but your tank isn't going to be a jungle like this and when the female is really pissed she will still seek out her target to vent her anger.

View attachment 1028334

That us one beautiful angel tank!!