Quick angel question

[hsherman1986]

Ok, so I bought my first Koi angel a couple months ago. I bought a trio, but two out of three died within the first two weeks. The one that survived is now about 1/2 dollar to dollar sized. Last night, I bought two more angels (both Koi). These two are doing good so far and are about quarter to 1/2 dollar sized. One of the new ones and my old koi are inseperable now. The third just hides back behind a peice of driftwood, coming out occasionally, but once he catches sight of the other two, goes back into hiding. The other two have not gotten violent and attacked him or anything, but they defintly appreciate each other's company. Have they already paired off? Is it even possible that they have paired off, or are they too young? They are in a 55g long btw.

The only physical difference between the two is one has kinda a knot on the top of his head, the other doesn't (their heads are shaped differently).

Sorry so long, this is the first time I have owned angels, and haven't done much reading on their pairing/breeding behaviors.

 

[BrianNY]

If they are half dollar size they might be pairing off. I would get some about the same size. Three is a BAD number for cichlids of the same species. Problems of aggression usually result.

 

[hsherman1986]

yea i noticed after posting this that angel #1 (the original angel) was picking on angel #3 (the one that hides all the time). So I moved #3 into a 20 i had some spare room until i figure this out.


Do you still think I should go get more angels, and put them all back together? I do not have intentions in keeping a lot of angels, i really only wanted a pair for now (at least until i get more room to upgrade, as right now, I am out of room for more larger tanks).

 

[BrianNY]

Then I wouldn't get anymore and hope that you have a pair.

 

[hsherman1986]

ok. what other signs do i need to look for to make sure that that actually is what they are doing?

 

[anna]

Paired angels are inseperable. They follow eachother, they eat togeather, they forage togeather....do you have some sort of taller structure, like..a flat up-and-down piece of slate or some tall plants? The female will lay her eggs on a tall, flat up-and-down surface.

Oooh, paired angels. Get pics if you can.

 

[Jchillin]

You will also notice them "cleaning" a surface or two...usually over the course of a day or two. At some point, the area they like the best will become the spawning site and they will chase away any fish coming into the area.

 

[hsherman1986]

well, where one is, chances are the other is close by. They are basically insperable right now. Every now and then, they are on opposite sides of the tank, but not very often.

They haven't started cleaning any surfaces yet, though i do have plenty of spots that they would like.

Here's to hoping I have a male and a female!