Who killed my angel?

[swanandmokashi]

I got another angel fish on Wednesday -- this one was smaller than the one I already had. Yesterday I had to go to work (I usually work from home and hence keep an eye on my tank a few times during the day) -- When I came back, I founld the new angel dead . Some of the plants looked ruffled (like there was a fight). The angel did not have any signs of injury etc -- but he was heathy till the morning and eating.

Suspects (in order) are :
1. The bigger angel -- he is at least 1.5 times the dead angel. Plus part of his dorsal fin seems to missing -- could it be him? He is hiding in his own created cave of plants and comes out a few times a day.
2. The rainbows -- I had 3 rainbows before and had to return one 2 weeks back as he was nipping on the bigger angel. The current 2 don't bother anybody in the tank but are the fastest to get the food etc and could be the culprits
3. The Rams : I have 3 of them now , but they are very peaceful -- I don't think so
4. The bloodfins -- very peaceful and mind their own business -- I don't think so
5. The cories or the otto -- yeah right!

I am sad as I no longer feel I can have 2 angels . I may add another ram in the future.

Thoughts?

[severum mama]

I suspect the bigger angel. They can be surprisingly aggressive with other angels. I always thought that adding a new angel in a tank where a larger one has already established itself was a big gamble to say the least.

Or, the new angel could have been sick when you bought it. That happens. I've had small angels in the past that literally were fine one day and dead the next.

Sorry about your loss.

[Jchillin]

Sounds like you had a few issues that led to the angel's demise. As Sev mentioned, the new angel may have been a bit ill. The older angel did not appreciate having a new challenger in the tank and took advantage and subsequently, t'was the stress of being ill, being picked on by the older angel that did it.

Adding new angels to a tank with either an established pair or a loner will create issues 99% of the time.

Sorry for your loss.

[JustOneMore20]

Adding new angels to a tank with either an established pair or a loner will create issues 99% of the time.

I totally agree.....I tried adding 3 angels at different times (1 at one time and 2 at another) into a tank with another established angel and it didn't work out. When I added the 2, all 3 angels were fine for a couple months....then i was eventually left with one again (not the established one though...).

So, my advice....keep the one you have by itself, or if you are wanting a pair, take the one you have to the LFS and then buy an established pair or 4-6 smaller ones and keep the pair.

Oh, and I definitely think it was probably stress of the new angel paired with the established one defending its territory/home.

[Zagz]

Sorry for your loss, I agree the larger angel was most likely very unhappy about the new angel being added to the tank. I have one silver angel that has to be on it's own in a tank with other community fish, whenever I have tried added a new angel it becomes apparent very quickly the silver angel will not tolerate another angel.

[swanandmokashi]

Thanks for the responses. I think I will not be adding any more angels.

How about adding a couple more rams or is my tank full?

[JustOneMore20]

I think a couple more rams would be fine as long as the ones you have are getting along. You could add a few more tetras, cories, and rainbowfish as well. I think your tank is understocked like it is now.

[Jchillin]

I agree. I've introduced several rams after my initial stock of GBR's. Bolivians are a bit more aggressive than GBR's, so I'd do a small rescape and introduce them when the lights are out.