Why do my angelfish think it’s a new tank whenever I do a water change?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

YunoGasai212121

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
34
Everytime I do a water change they fight over territory and get super aggressive with each other. How can I stop this? And one of my angelfish back fins is injured how long until it’s fixed?

IMG_1336.jpg

Injured angelfish:
IMG_2509.jpg

Tank info:
Tank size: 29G
Filter: tetra whisper 30
Tank temp: 79F
Fish symptoms: fighting
Water changes: 50% per 2 weeks
Fish in tank: 3 angelfish
Plants: plastic
Chemicals added: a stress coat
 
Mine are never too bad on squabbling but have a lot of cover with plants to vanish out of sight (or launch sneak raids lol).
 
It's not unusual for fish to perk up after a WC. I assume the WC is like a breath of fresh air. Cichlids establish hierarchies, the strongest fish punks the weaker ones to establish dominance.
There are several remedies; Adding more fish as to dilute the aggression. Changing up the hardscape, making hiding places and breaking line of sight. Remove the bully, allowing the second in line to take over, then reintroduce the dethroned bully fish.
 
That fin should heal up as soon as you get the bullying under control. They heal back fast.
 
Super late reply, but there was an article published recently that showed angelfish, when they fight to establish their hierarchy, there’s a certain chemical balance in the water from their bile (?) secretions to indicate the hierarchy.

When you do a water change, it hits the reset button and they start fighting again until the hierarchy is established all over again. The publication indicated that smaller water changes did not result in more fighting. I think it was 50%+ caused fighting.
 
You have a 29G tank, that is one reason for the fish to squabble. Angel fish can get the size of a persons hand. They will need more room.

You may have 3 males, or just 2 possibly and they will fight as they are maturing. Hormones and their natural instincts are developing.

It is much easier to find the 2 who pair up and move the 3rd wheel to a new tank. (If you have a female that is)

They can be fighting in a 72G. For a long time I had 4 fish which basically grew up together, and happened to pair up two in each end of the large tank and it stayed pretty calm, each had their territory. One died and then the one from the pair that died changed partners and even though I tried all different other Angel fish for re-pairing, it never was peaceful ever again. They would fly across the 4 foot tank to attack the other fish like a lightning bolt.
 
Back
Top Bottom