Angelfish advice?

[Hholly]

Ok, so I am getting some dime size angels. 10 to be exact. I know I can't keep them all in my 55. I plan on picking some to keep, and rehoming some. So do I pick 2 pairs? Or do I try to keep some who aren't paired, to keep the peace? I don't care about breeding. I just want some pretty angels that get along with my cories and pleco. This will be a heavily planted tank. TIA!

 

[Zimmanski]

Ok, so I am getting some dime size angels. 10 to be exact. I know I can't keep them all in my 55. I plan on picking some to keep, and rehoming some. So do I pick 2 pairs? Or do I try to keep some who aren't paired, to keep the peace? I don't care about breeding. I just want some pretty angels that get along with my cories and pleco. This will be a heavily planted tank. TIA!

If you dont care about breeding why would you care about them pairing off? I have 4 angels that are about 3 inches and they havent paired yet. I cant imagine any angels having problems with corys or plecos especially if they mature with them. I suggest just picking the ammount of fish you want to keep in the end rather than have 10 fish that you wont have room for when theyre grown.

 

[Rivercats]

You won't be able to sex angels that young. They mature around 8 months of age and are able to breed from then on. As they mature some people take educated guesses as to sexes from certain features. But the usual way to get pairs is to let them all mature and pair off naturally. Then you can keep pairs BUT once this happens the dynamics of the tank changes. With two breeding pairs the tank needs to be heavily planted including plants that are tall enough to break the line of sight from one end of the tank to the other to keep aggression between pairs down. And they will breed. Chances of any fry surviving will be slim in a community tank.

 

[Hholly]

No, you all missed the point. I'm asking... Would it be more peaceful to have two pairs??? Or some unpaired individuals?? I'm willing to keep them till they show their tendencies. Please don't jump me for my ignorance. This is why I'm asking.
Thanks!

 

[Zimmanski]

I wasn't and I know river cats wasn't jumping on you, sorry if it came out that way. I wouldn't recommend getting that many, if it were me I would do what I did haha obviously. I had two angels, then I upgraded to my 55 and got another. Then not that they're showing signs to make an educated guess at sex I've got another golden angel that I will trade out if it turns out to be the wrong sex

 

[Hholly]

Sorry, i was being too sensitive.
Well, I bid on an auction. So there it is. But I figure as small as they are, I'll have some time to make arrangements. Everything i had read said to start with several and see which ones pair off. But I didnt get if same sex groupswould be peaceful compared to breeding pairs. Thanks for the info y'all!

 

[Zimmanski]

Sorry, i was being too sensitive.
Well, I bid on an auction. So there it is. But I figure as small as they are, I'll have some time to make arrangements. Everything i had read said to start with several and see which ones pair off. But I didnt get if same sex groupswould be peaceful compared to breeding pairs. Thanks for the info y'all!

Ahh okay gotcha, well that's no big deal, it's not life or death or anything, maybe when you get them you can pick out your least favorites pretty quick and rehome maybe 3-4 of them or something. Who knows, you'll probably end up loving every one of them and buying a gigantic tank! Haha

 

[Hholly]

Haha! I really am tempted to get a bigger tank. I worry about my floors tho. Wish I lived on a slab.
Thanks again, good advice.

 

[Rivercats]

I'm willing to keep them till they show their tendencies.
Thanks!

That's what I was trying to explain not jumping on you. Trying to explain that you can't sex any if you want pairs until they are older and then how to actually tell what sex they are when they spawn. Personally I would keep all 10, let them mature, then pick. As for keeping pairs vs unpaired singles IMO your going to get some aggression no matter which way you go. Angels are cichlids and are prone to a certain amount of aggression, that's just the nature of the beast. I would keep pairs but what I was trying to tell you is two pairs will have issues especially during spawning. Was also trying to explain how the tank needed to be scaped to also help keep aggression low. If the tank is scaped right two pairs will actually usually pick a side of the tank as their territory but what helps is each side having a Sword if possible as they like to not only spawn in them but also hang out in and around them. They also grow tall enough to give privacy and break the line of sight up in a tank. Angels do better in a tank with alot of plants. Now just to put this out there, if you were to pick 4 that were not paired at the time, they will still do their typical bickering but usually won't have territories. Another thing is if not in pairs angels once mature and wanting to spawn will often find a same sex partner and try to spawn.

So with all this information you can decide which is a better choice for you. Overall pairs might be a better choice because you pretty much know what to expect from them. But bear in mind down the road if you would happen to get a pair that is super aggressive you might have to go down to one pair in the tank. This isn't a given, but it happens on occassion. So basically it's a toss up, pick the ones you like the look of best of wait them out and pick pairs. I got 14 for my 220g, let them mature and pair, then I had to rehome 2 extra males that happened to be really aggressive. My tank with 6 pairs isn't bad, they have their normal bickering, when pairs spawn they keep all fish out of their space, then once over it's back to normal.

 

[Hholly]

Thanks Rivercats! That really helps. I will do as you suggested. I'm now thinking that by the time they are grown up I will buy yet another tank (maybe a 75) and keep them all. Lol. I sure appreciate all the helpful advice. I guess for now I can relax a little and cross one bridge at a time.

 

[Rivercats]

Thanks Rivercats! That really helps. I will do as you suggested. I'm now thinking that by the time they are grown up I will buy yet another tank (maybe a 75) and keep them all. Lol. I sure appreciate all the helpful advice. I guess for now I can relax a little and cross one bridge at a time.

Yep don't rush things. In fact even when they mature sometimes your favorite has to go... one of the male I had to rehome was the most beautiful of all the males but he was mean and kept the tank in constant chaos. Once I took him out things settled down by 80%. And these issues often don't show until the fish are mature and often not until they are over a year old. That is the one issue with any of the cichlids, you just don't know what their personalities are going to be. That is why I like to let them get older before making any choices.