[cjp999]

Please comment on my angelfish. I'm considering getting selling him. First a couple of picts. The first is from a year ago when I first got him. His body (mouth to base of tail fin) was about 1".

Next is a current picture. He's now about 2.25" head to base of tail fin.

Notice his dorsal fin is a bit shredded. I'm not sure when that happened. I've always remembered it being that way, but obviously it was not when he was younger. The tail fin also has a tear. Is any of this normal? If not, can it heal over time and what should I do to help?

I like this angel a lot. I love it's all black color and long fins (even shredded). I think it's called a double black lace angel. He's a good tank mate except...

The problem I'm having it he eats small shrimp (ghosts, RCS, amanos). The only ones left are 3 larger amanos that know better than to venture out during the day. Also, I just added 4 kuhli loaches, which were not shy at all at first, but the angel has tried to catch them, and now they also mostly just come out at night. The kuhlis are quite smart. They have no problem mixing it up with the mollies and 4" bnp when I toss some sinking pellets in the tank, but swim for cover as soon as the angel gets near by.

There are a number of other smaller fish in the tank that he initially tried to eat, but quickly learned he has no chance of catching them, so he doesn't bother them and they don't bother him.

In any case, I'm considering selling him to a lfs. They offered $9 without seeing him just based on his size (I compared him to an angel they had) and my description. Seems like a good deal, but now I'm thinking I'd like to find a way to keep him. I haven't seen another angel that capture my eye like this one, especially with the long flowing fins. Is it just me, or is this angel better looking than your average angel?

Chris

 

[DrinkTheYeastMix]

hey if you like him, you like him. I would LOVE to get some shrimp but figure my angel will demolish them sooner or later and I like the thing to much to get rid of him. You should just decide what you'd rather keep. Compatibility is always a major issue when considering fish selection, so decide what you'd really like to keep and plan around that.

 

[wkndracer]

Asked for (IMO)

He's a double dark veil and I agree he has a good shape to him. Probably F1 or F2. The splitting fins can be traffic damage running through the weeds or missing a little something in his diet. But a good looking veil with no head dent,straight fins and ventrals. If you like angels you won't do much better for shape.

 

[DavidZ]

Yes, it is a double black vail, as whndracer stated, I wouldn't sell him, specially for $9. LFS don't pay much, they have to make a profit. If you do decide to sell him, try any of the forums, it would be nice if the fish ends up in nice hands.
In respect to the fins, they would get better with pristine water and environment. What are you feeding?
Vail Angels get very big and they need tall tanks and a lot of room.
What is your tank size and tank mates?
Also, Angels in general are pigs, will eat anything small, or anything that they can fix in their mouth.
They are a great display fish.

 

[Ariel301]

'Better looking than the average angel'? He's a decent one. DD blacks are some of my favorites. Pretty good body shape to him. As far as looking at him from a standard of perfection...his finnage is pretty lacking, aside from the shredding. An ideal angelfish's dorsal and anal fins will be as vertical as possible. In veil/superveil angels (yours appears to be a superveil) a gentle curve is acceptable as the weight of their fins prevents them from being perfectly straight, but yours does show quite a bit more curve than I would like to see. It could be either genetic or the quality of tank he was raised in when young, but I lean towards genetic. With water quality/overcrowding issues you generally see fins bent at a 90 degree angle in the middle. So he's not a show fish, and I wouldn't breed him, but he's a pretty boy anyway. I've kept worse looking ones, definitely.

Yes, they will eat shrimp. But I think angelfish are better than shrimp anyway. You just have to decide which one you want more. =)

 

[cjp999]

Thanks for the comments. Here's a bit more info:

Picture of tank before setup (1 year ago)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11133&stc=1&d=1230050818
​

Picture of tank before a few weeks ago:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=15590&stc=1&d=1254953314
​

Tank:

• 46g bow
• Planted
• 2x39w T5s
• 60% water change every 2 weeks (just don't have time for weekly changes)
• Nitrates are 40-50ppm out of the tap. Drop to about 15ppm after 2 weeks due to plant growth.
• EI dosing, but no KNO3.
• DIY CO2.
• Aquasoil.
• pH around 8.1 w/o CO2 (aquasoil is a year old and no longer is lowering the pH).
• There's a large piece of driftwood in the tank which might be giving the angel's fins problems, but it's not something I can't part with.

Tank Mates:

• 4" BNP.
• 1 cardinal tetra. The other 8 died a year ago when I got them due to the ick they brought with them.
• 1 silvertip tetra. 3-4 years old from when we go our first tank, a 5g. Can't believe the rough times he's lived through.
• About 15 female mollies, small to large. I'll be getting rid of most of these soon. Want to retry cardinals.
• 3 amanos. Managed to survive about a year now.
• 4 kuhli loaches. Just added about a week ago.

Food:

• Tetramin Tropical Crisps
• dried blood worms
• dried tubifix worms
• frozen brine shrimp
• algae wafers
• shrimp pellets
• spirulina

The Tetramin is pretty much daily. The rest are sporadic, but usually at least one goes in the tank each day.

Ariel301, thanks for the detailed analysis. When I bought him, there were about 20-25 in the tank, and I had a hard time finding one that looked ok. Most of them had bent or very small fins. This was the only showy one that didn't have any defects. I didn't know what I was buying. Just thought he was pretty.

As for selling him for $9 to the lfs, I'm not so much concerned about the price. It's more a question of whether or not I should get rid of him. If anyone in the San Jose area is interested, let me know.

 

[Ariel301]

Your stocking and feeding sounds good. Nice food variety, that's very important.

The price is good for an angel that size, and it's great that you found an LFS that would even buy him. Many will not even take fish for store credit anymore. It's just up to you whether you like him enough to keep him.

 

[cjp999]

2 days later and the fin shredding is almost healed. Can't believe it is clearing up so fast. If you look at the dorsal fin in the 2nd picture above, the only shredding left is the last 1/2" or so in the top 4 strands. I'm now wondering if I just happened to take pictures right after the fins were damaged, and they normally aren't like this.

 

[cjp999]

Just a quick update. We've decided to keep him for the time being. He no longer chases the kuhli loaches. They are now frequently quite active during the day, and no longer run when the angel is near.

I think the angel is just too big and slow to catch anything. He used to look at the cardinal and some smaller mollies as meals, but after a few futile attempts to catch them, he completely gave up. They swim right by him now with no fear.

His fins are also looking a lot better. Only the very tip of the dorsal fin has any shredding. The tail fin is close to looking like it did in the year old picture, but the point that sticks out in the middle isn't quite as pronounced.