Angels=Aggression as they mature?

[Dreamroper]

Hi Everyone,

I have just added two more juvenile angels to my community tank. I currently have a couple of rasboras, cory, platys, tetras & mollies so it's a very peaceful tank. After a nasty PH spike all of my water values are great & stable. I've read that as the angels mature that they will become aggressive and start harassing and possibly killing the other fish. Right now they are tiny. Providing they survive , what is your opinion about above concern?

Thanks so much,
D

 

[Wiggles24]

If you end up with a mated pair there is a podsibility for aggression as they will try to protect their babies. I personally haven't seen anything all that bad other than chasing but some angels are more aggressive than others. If you are truly worried I would recommend returning 1 of them.

 

[Jantaris]

I have an adult angel and a juvenile in with gourami, danio, and kribs. All is fine but the adult angel definitely is boss. She hasn't killed or even hurt anybody, she just flexes her muscles with them. She does it most with the juvenile angel.

It was good you added them after the other fish, and also together. They can get territorial/aggressive, especially to other angels. Question will be do you have enough room so that everybody can live happily
and set their own territories. We will have to upgrade eventually. If you have the room, it should be okay. But again, there will be some that are more aggressive and some that are less. How many do you have in your tank? I have heard that a solitary angel, or a proven pair is best. The best way to get a pair is to have six angels in the tank, let them pair off, and then either have a big enough tank for the three pairs, or keep the pair you want and return the others. Why do you need six to begin with? Because they are hard to sex and also because they choose their mates and will reject potential mates so getting six you would have a pretty good chance to at least get one compatible pair. You may not get them all to pair off but at least you'd likely get a pair. If you do end up with a pair, expect some aggression when they spawn.

That's been our experience so far and what I have learned. I have a friend who has an angel with danio and platies and she has had about the same experience.
Hope that helps.

 

[93MSB]

Im my experience they certainly can get aggressive! I have two angels(~3in) in a 55gal, one is passive for the most part but the other can be a terror. The aggressive one will attack the other angel and my red tail black shark. I also had to re home my rasboras because they were either being eaten or chased out of the tank. I think it really depends on the individual fish. Just be ready because there certainly is a possibility for aggression

 

[Rivercats]

Angels aggression levels do indeed increase as they mature BUT in over 30 years that I've kept them most do not go after fish to kill them especially if they were raised in a community tank with smaller fish. Some adult males are the ones that can become mean and will often chase other fish and even try killing small fish. I started out with 14 dime sized angels in my 220g and after everyone matured I had to sell two nasty tempered males. Since then the other 12 do fine even when spawning. It helps to have alot of plants but especially some tall ones like Amazon Swords that help break the line of sight in a tank. Personally I'd just leave all the angels in the tank and monitor them over time and as they mature.

 

[Dreamroper]

Angels aggression levels do indeed increase as they mature BUT in over 30 years that I've kept them most do not go after fish to kill them especially if they were raised in a community tank with smaller fish. Some adult males are the ones that can become mean and will often chase other fish and even try killing small fish. I started out with 14 dime sized angels in my 220g and after everyone matured I had to sell two nasty tempered males. Since then the other 12 do fine even when spawning. It helps to have alot of plants but especially some tall ones like Amazon Swords that help break the line of sight in a tank. Personally I'd just leave all the angels in the tank and monitor them over time and as they mature.

I have a 36 gal planted tank. Right now, the Angels are the same size as most of the other fish in the tank. I was hoping if they were raised in the tank with the other fish as youngsters that they will not be aggressive toward them as they mature. I have no idea of the sex of the two that I have. There are plenty of places in my tank to break the line of sight. I also have a piece of manzanita wood in the tank so it would come in handy if someone smaller is trying to get away. I guess I'll just wait and watch. I probably have a bit of time before they start getting big; they're only dime sized now.

 

[Dreamroper]

I have an adult angel and a juvenile in with gourami, danio, and kribs. All is fine but the adult angel definitely is boss. She hasn't killed or even hurt anybody, she just flexes her muscles with them. She does it most with the juvenile angel.

It was good you added them after the other fish, and also together. They can get territorial/aggressive, especially to other angels. Question will be do you have enough room so that everybody can live happily
and set their own territories. We will have to upgrade eventually. If you have the room, it should be okay. But again, there will be some that are more aggressive and some that are less. How many do you have in your tank? I have heard that a solitary angel, or a proven pair is best. The best way to get a pair is to have six angels in the tank, let them pair off, and then either have a big enough tank for the three pairs, or keep the pair you want and return the others. Why do you need six to begin with? Because they are hard to sex and also because they choose their mates and will reject potential mates so getting six you would have a pretty good chance to at least get one compatible pair. You may not get them all to pair off but at least you'd likely get a pair. If you do end up with a pair, expect some aggression when they spawn.

That's been our experience so far and what I have learned. I have a friend who has an angel with danio and platies and she has had about the same experience.
Hope that helps.

That does help, thanks. I have a 36 gal. tank with all small community fish and currently am not overstocked by any means. I only have the two angels. They are as small as most of the other fish in the tank. Have no clue of the sex of them...

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Angels, more than most fish, can change a lot as they grow. I had ones that lived with other all there lives, then tried to pick fights as they got bigger. So you never know. You did the right thing by getting small ones, and introduced them to an established tank...now it's just a wait and see type deal.