Poll: do YOU consider angelfish to be a "large cichlid?"

[Andy Sager]

I think it comes down to "compared to which other cichlids." Are they bigger then say, a Jewel? Yes, Are they bigger than an Oscar? No. So I would have to keep them right in the middle (where I believe they belong ) lol
Granted the fish in these pics are wilds (I think) but a full grown aquarium raised common Oscar can attain the length of 24". Does that make it a large cichlid compared to the fish in the above pictures? New poll maybe ???

 

[garfy]

I think it comes down to "compared to which other cichlids." Are they bigger then say, a Jewel? Yes, Are they bigger than an Oscar? No. So I would have to keep them right in the middle (where I believe they belong ) lol
Granted the fish in these pics are wilds (I think) but a full grown aquarium raised common Oscar can attain the length of 24". Does that make it a large cichlid compared to the fish in the above pictures? New poll maybe ???

24" ????? Where did you read that????

 

[Andy Sager]

24" ????? Where did you read that????

On my tape measure. lol

Back in the late 1960s, I was breeding 13 pairs of Oscars in New Jersey, USA. My biggest pair was a pair of commons 24" & 22". (My mentor had had them for over 10 years before turning them over to me.) My Reds, and Red Tiger pairs all were in the 16"-18" range when I stopped breeding them. They may have gotten bigger if I had kept going with them.
With all the hybridization since then, the fish don't get that large anymore I'm afraid.
Where I lived in S. Florida, Oscars are wild in the canals and still get much bigger than the tank raised ones. People used to bring them straight from the canals to the Pet Shop I worked in so I've seen them for myself.

 

[bud29]

This is just my view on the whole thing:

Angels do get bigger than some cichlids such as multies, rams, apistos, etc.. However, they are smaller than soooo many more. Take Oscars for example, one of the more commonly kept "large cichlids." Obviously, there are larger cichlids than Oscars out there, but, not nearly as few are bigger than them.

Some consider them to be large cichlids because they have kept tetras all their life and this is a big step up. However, if you go on to the monster fishkeepers forum, and say your monster is an angelfish, I think you would be laughed off the site!

One last thing I just want to point out is that many angels are measured in height. The vast majority of this height is fins, not fish! I would be willing to bet that if someone showed you a picture of an angel without its fins, you would not say that it's a large cichlid.

Just my two cents.....like I stated in the OP, I was just surprised that not everyone agreed on this, so I decided to get your input.

Feel free to discuss or argue my point of view, this has been a great discussion so far

 

[absolutangel04]

I am going to join the bandwagon for "no." They are the largest cichlid I have ever kept, but still.

 

[bud29]

I think it comes down to "compared to which other cichlids."

stated in the OP:

And not compared to say, dwarf cichlids, basically compared to all cichlids, do angels fall in the "small" category or the "large?"

 

[garfy]

On my tape measure. lol

Back in the late 1960s, I was breeding 13 pairs of Oscars in New Jersey, USA. My biggest pair was a pair of commons 24" & 22". (My mentor had had them for over 10 years before turning them over to me.) My Reds, and Red Tiger pairs all were in the 16"-18" range when I stopped breeding them. They may have gotten bigger if I had kept going with them.
With all the hybridization since then, the fish don't get that large anymore I'm afraid.
Where I lived in S. Florida, Oscars are wild in the canals and still get much bigger than the tank raised ones. People used to bring them straight from the canals to the Pet Shop I worked in so I've seen them for myself.

Very interesting thanks for the info

 

[chew valley]

No. They get to 6 inches only. I would say anything other 10 inches is large.

 

[PolyptRus]

Yes if given the space i have seen angelfish as large as or larger than dinner plates. Although its not common to see them being kept when they are that large mostly because they aren't being kept with the adequate space/food/tank mates other things can contribute too like genetics some don't get quite that large, also most aquarists prefer them at mid size because this is the standard we are used to seeing. but if given the space and environment an angelfissh can really beef itself up.