Problems with aggressive Angelfish

[butterfly_koi]

Alright here's the skinny, I recently added two Angels to my community tank. Both were bought out of the same tank and were doing fine for the first couple of days. Well yesterday I noticed that one Angel is more aggressive towards the other. There is no problems with the other fish just between the two.
What should I do?
Should I,
1. Rehome the aggressive Angel?
2. Change the decor around to beak the line of aggression?
3. Add another one in hopes it will lose it's focus with the one?
4. Or just throw it to pot and rehome them both.
It is a planted tank with plenty of hiding spots


And this is my trouble maker

 

[Convict2161]

Awesome tank number one. I don't think adding another one will solve the issue. By doing so you may end up with 2 fish being picked on IMO.

If just re home the aggressor and try a different one. It can't hurt to try right?

I thought of the moving things around also, in my experience it will work for a little while. It if that angel is truly an aggressive fish eventually it will seek the other out.

Just my 2 cents country

 

[absolutangel04]

This is a bit difficult to answer, because angels often need to figure out a pecking order, and interference is only necessary if the other angel gets physical damage, or seems to be excessively stressed. That is hard for me to say when I can't see them. I am guessing though that you will need to rehome one of them.
First, I would re re-arranging things in the tank and see if it makes a difference. In this case, I have doubts, but you never know.
You could try switching angels at the store and maybe a different individual would be a better mix. Don't add a 3rd, that is likely to end with 2 angels beating up on 1. If you want, you could try adding an additional 2 and growing them out together until they get older, and then you could rehome the ones who stir the pot.
If it was me, I would just see if I could trade the aggressive one for a different one.

 

[Andy Sager]

As stated above, Angelfish have a "pecking" order that needs to be established. Your fish appears to be a smaller fish so I would assume that this is what's going on. Once the order is established the severity of the aggression should decrease.
You can try rearranging the tank but in my experience with smaller fish, it's not really going to matter because when they do intereact, it will be to determine dominance. What I would do is make sure you feed the fish at both ends of the tank at the same time so that all your fish have a chance to feed. If the other Angels don't come up for the food, your best bet is to either put in a glass divider until the other fish get a bit bigger and can defend themselves better or rehome the aggressor. Using a glass divider gives the weaker fish a chance to interact with the "bully" safely and gives the "bully" a chance to get used to the other fish being there without being a threat to him/her. Adding more fish will only increase the desire and need to show dominance (IME: in my experience ) so it's not a good idea to remedy this situation.

Hope this helps...

 

[butterfly_koi]

Thanks so much for the advice guys!
I rearranged the tank and so far it is leaving the other alone. I've noticed that it seems to be a bit more aggressive around feeding time. I had bumped the schedule to only once a day and my fish act like they are starving.
I guess if this doesn't work out rehoming is my next best option.

 

[mikem691]

When I introduced my 4 angels it took about a week for the dominate one to stop picking on the other three. Now 7mo later there is an order on who is the boss and down to the 4th who knows when to leave the group and hide and when to hang with them. for the most part they all 4 stay together and they are still to young to breed. I just keep an eye on them so that if 2 do pair up then I may need to move them to a different tank.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thanks so much for the advice guys!
I rearranged the tank and so far it is leaving the other alone. I've noticed that it seems to be a bit more aggressive around feeding time. I had bumped the schedule to only once a day and my fish act like they are starving.
I guess if this doesn't work out rehoming is my next best option.

You see, it's not being aggressive, it's being dominent. There is a difference .
If he/she were being aggressive, the other fish would be in jeopardy all the time. Since you say it's more at feeding and feeding only, it's just trying to convey it's dominance in the group. Feeding the fish from both sides of the tank should make sure the subordinents get enough food and keep the tank happy. You just gotta think like a fish


Good luck

 

[butterfly_koi]

Thanks everyone again! Sadly I rehomed him yesterday it was all fine and dandy after I rearranged the tank but the next morning when I woke up I noticed that the aggressor had taken part of the victims tail fin off. I was hoping to wait it out but that was a step too far. It was sad to see him go but for the sake of my other one I couldn't take the risk.
Thanks again for all of the helpful advice everyone
I will apply my new found knowledge for future use when it comes to angels.

 

[Convict2161]

Thanks everyone again! Sadly I rehomed him yesterday it was all fine and dandy after I rearranged the tank but the next morning when I woke up I noticed that the aggressor had taken part of the victims tail fin off. I was hoping to wait it out but that was a step too far. It was sad to see him go but for the sake of my other one I couldn't take the risk.
Thanks again for all of the helpful advice everyone
I will apply my new found knowledge for future use when it comes to angels.

Sorry you had to re home him country but it was for the best...

I think deep down you knew you would have to.