One angel attacking the other

[cplawrence]

About five months ago, I picked up 4 koi angels who have been living peacefully in my 75 gal. At the time, two were a bit larger than the others. Those two are now about 5 inches (guessing), one is probably about 4, and the other seems to be something of a runt and is considerably smaller still. In any case, this morning of the largest angels had the other large one in a corner and was attacking it. I had not noticed any other signs of disease before, but now the fins are a bit shredded (not much suprise seeing what it was going through). Is it possible that they are the same sex and one is trying to establish dominance? Or is it more likely that the other was sick to begin with and the other is taking advantage of that? I separated them now--the weak one is in my 29 with some tetras and cories. What else should I do? Will it be possible to move this angel back after it recovers?
Thanks in advance,
Chris

 

[Jchillin]

Good move in moving him out. You can try some melafix to treat the fin damage but without knowing what originally caused the problem (some other illness, aggression for tank dominance, etc.) moving him back may not be possible.

 

[Tolak]

Watch the remaining angels, you may have a pair forming. I had the same experience with some black angels some time ago, the aggressor ended up pairing with another black. Strange thing is, the aggressor singled out the third black angel in a tank thay contained 3 blacks, 3 zebras & 2 silvers.

I've noticed that males tend to grow a little bigger so chances are they are both males. This is supposed to happen because the female is busy producing eggs, the male doesn't have to do this. I'm sure this is a general thing, & there are pairs where the female is larger.

Keep up on water changes in the tank you moved the battered angel to, this & a little melafix is all that is usually necessary to heal up angels fins.

 

[cplawrence]

Thank you both for the help. He has been healing up nicely. Given that this is the case, it seems unlikely that an illness led to this--is it reasonable to attempt moving the angel back in when he has healed completely, or should I just resign myself to another resident in my 29?
Thanks again,
Chris

 

[rich311k]

I don't think putting him back in would be a good idea. It probably was a fight for dominance and he lost. This time he would be a new arrival in an established tank, he would not stand a chance.

 

[Jchillin]

I concur with Rich...this is not uncommon as I had to move my unmated angel back to my 30 gal when a similar issue occurred.

 

[cplawrence]

That's what I figured--thanks for the confirmation.

 

[QTOFFER]

I hope this isn't what I have to look forward to in my 58 gal! 8O
When angels form a pair, will they tolerate the presence of other species like BN plecos and tetras?

 

[Jchillin]

I hope this isn't what I have to look forward to in my 58 gal! 8O
When angels form a pair, will they tolerate the presence of other species like BN plecos and tetras?

Case study on your question. As you know, I have a mated pair in my 75 gal. They are very comfy with having 5 Bolivian Rams, 4 German Blue Rams, 5 BN's, 3 cory's, 6 serpae, 4 lamp eye tetras and of course, Cliff, the 6" Sailfin Pleco.

The only specie they cannot tolerate is one of their own. If it's a female or male, it's competition for something that they have already built and nothing can tear their bond asunder.

 

[QTOFFER]

That's good to hear, JC.
I really want my angels AND my BN plec AND lots of schooling tetras!

 

[rich311k]

I agree you just cant add any more angels.