Angelfish ?

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Angellove78

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I have Angel fish! 1 male (pretty sure male) that's been nipping every fish he can. Mostly my females top fin. Should I remove him, or should I try to see if they will mate by dividing a part of the tank. I have done everything I can think of. But I have not tried to pair them up together in their own area. I'm thinking if they are to them selves that might work. But I don't know what else to do, other than removing him. I've moved the tank around, a few times. I added a white sailfin Molly, and 2 sword fish thinking maybe it would take the focus off the other 3 angels and my pleco. All I did was add color, and beautiful fish to my tank, cause that didn't work. Now this is a 75g. With 4 angels. Any advice from anyone who knows alittle more about angels than I already know would be great. Thank you!
 
I had 2 who were about 5 inches tall each in a 36gallon. Very different bodies could definitely I had a male and female. They had been raised with zebra danios and weren't aggressive but once the danios were out, they started attacking everything, ended up killing 1 and injuring another Cory cat. I attributed this towards mating behavior because of how different they were, found some spots that looked like that might have had eggs but I'm not sure and I ended up selling the angels because I couldn't house them with anything else and they would outgrow the 36. I would say you might need to remove him a bit, if he's trying to mate putting him 1on1 with another female might end up being worse then anything with him hurting her. You could try if you want them to spawn but other then that I would remove him for a bit
 
I had 2 who were about 5 inches tall each in a 36gallon. Very different bodies could definitely I had a male and female. They had been raised with zebra danios and weren't aggressive but once the danios were out, they started attacking everything, ended up killing 1 and injuring another Cory cat. I attributed this towards mating behavior because of how different they were, found some spots that looked like that might have had eggs but I'm not sure and I ended up selling the angels because I couldn't house them with anything else and they would outgrow the 36. I would say you might need to remove him a bit, if he's trying to mate putting him 1on1 with another female might end up being worse then anything with him hurting her. You could try if you want them to spawn but other then that I would remove him for a bit
I have tried that a few times. He had ich a while back and my female was the only angel in the tank for about 3 wks when I put him back in he started doing it. He was one of the first ones I got. He's driving me nuts. Chasing everything and they don't even have to be by him. He can be at one end of the tank and he will charge to the other end just to chase another angel. It's ridiculous!
 
Angelfish generally live in a hierarchal society so when there are more than a known pair present, there will always be a more dominant fish.
That said, due to all the new color strains that have been created, the genetic makeup of these fish may have been altered to create some fish that don't understand the difference between being the leader and being overly aggressive. Then again, some fish are just "buttheads" :whistle: I would suggest putting a clear divider in the tank and seeing if that helps calm the aggressor down and gives the other fish a chance to recover from the attacks.

Hope this helps (y)
 
Angelfish generally live in a hierarchal society so when there are more than a known pair present, there will always be a more dominant fish.
That said, due to all the new color strains that have been created, the genetic makeup of these fish may have been altered to create some fish that don't understand the difference between being the leader and being overly aggressive. Then again, some fish are just "buttheads" :whistle: I would suggest putting a clear divider in the tank and seeing if that helps calm the aggressor down and gives the other fish a chance to recover from the attacks.

Hope this helps (y)
That's what I was thinking. Just Separate him in the tank from the others. Yes, thank you! I'll be trying that shortly. I was thinking of just parting them to pair. But he's already doing damage to her, so might be a good idea for him to be alone at the opposite end of the tank they all hang out at. I also wounder if it might help changing the intake and outtake, switch them around. They seem to like the intake side. By switching that around they might have no choice but to relocate. Then would have to start over on an new area. It's something alittle more major to them. Just something else I was thinking of trying.
 
This is one of the ways the domesticated Angelfish differs from their wild ancestors. Domesticated Angels act more like other Cichlids and being alone suits them just fine. This is why recommendations of changing sight lines and rearranging decor are common suggestions. Their ancestors are schooling fish so they are better off in mass than alone. Within the school you will see the dominant fish ( usually a male) followed by the subordinates then their subordinates and so on.
So you need to think more about protection of the "oppressed" more than the happiness of the oppressor. One of 2 things will happen with separating the fish while still being able to see the other fish: It will either learn to accept that they are there or it will continue to bully. If it continues to bully, you will have no choice but to remove the fish for "sanity" in the tank or you just take your chances that another Angel in the tank will step up and challenge it's superiority. ( This is assuming that the aggression is not pre breeding behavior. If that, it will never be safe( IMO) for the other Angels and part of a whole other conversations.)
 
This is one of the ways the domesticated Angelfish differs from their wild ancestors. Domesticated Angels act more like other Cichlids and being alone suits them just fine. This is why recommendations of changing sight lines and rearranging decor are common suggestions. Their ancestors are schooling fish so they are better off in mass than alone. Within the school you will see the dominant fish ( usually a male) followed by the subordinates then their subordinates and so on.
So you need to think more about protection of the "oppressed" more than the happiness of the oppressor. One of 2 things will happen with separating the fish while still being able to see the other fish: It will either learn to accept that they are there or it will continue to bully. If it continues to bully, you will have no choice but to remove the fish for "sanity" in the tank or you just take your chances that another Angel in the tank will step up and challenge it's superiority. ( This is assuming that the aggression is not pre breeding behavior. If that, it will never be safe( IMO) for the other Angels and part of a whole other conversations.)
I understand, I've done my research on angels. I have the feeling like you said that it will never be safe. I noticed my pleco's tail had a chunk taken out of it today. So made the decision to separate while seeing the others for now. I just don't want all my fish looking the way they do, just because 1 wants to be a "Butt head" so if this don't work then I'll have no choice. I've done everything I can think of. So on at a dead end. It's why I asked, thinking maybe someone else would know. Alot of research on this and everything I come across narrows done to getting rid of the bully. I'm not overstocked, they have cover, other types of fish, and so on. He's just a bad fish...
 
I’ve rehomed a few butthead fish. Totally worth it to get the stress out of the tank.
 
I’ve rehomed a few butthead fish. Totally worth it to get the stress out of the tank.
Diffently! I removed him last night and 5 mins later it was so calm in my tank. Last time I moved him was a wk after I added my new fish. Been watching him alot after I put him back in that time. I just don't see it working out for him. He's just a jerk...
 
+1 Stress causes more problems in a tank so reducing it always helps. (y)
Yup! I'm already seeing it. Got up this morning and got new growth on my black angel girl, and seen my little brown angel's bottom fin is not black anymore. Not as much anyway. And his/her top fin is healing up too. Just goes to show its not always dirty water huh... [emoji2] I cleaned my tank so much, tested, and cleaned, so on... Surprised I haven't had a fall out on my cycle. Lol! Thank you so much to all. You guys are the greats support system. It's so hard to give up on a beautiful angelfish. Just needed you guys tell me what I was already releasing. I knew it's what I needed to do. But love my Angels. Maybe see if I can give him away. Thanks again... Best wishes to you.
 
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