Some help with angelfish

[Adamtron2000]

I'm going to buy a pair of angelfish and I'm looking for some advice.

-Is it better to buy a pair as juveniles or can I buy them as large adults?

-Can I buy two different variations? (For example: a blue angel and a gold angel)

-What do you feed your angels?

A side question on PH -- they are replacing a cichlid tank that I have had for a year and manually buffered PH. I was wondering if the cichlid sands will affect the PH too much or if I could just leave it. I'll probably come up with more questions. Thanks friends ??

 

[MissGurnus]

1: you can go either way really it depends. Each method has its risks, for example you could buy two juvi's and have them pair as easily as not. If you want young fish it's better to buy a group of 6-8 in hopes of obtaining a pair. If you buy a proven pair depending on water quality differences might not spawn again or un pair though those circumstances are rarer.

2: yes you can mix any kind of scalare

3: a mixture of flakes and frozen food. We feed ours twice a day, once with flakes once with frozen


Sini's my personal bucket lugger..er, I mean husband

 

[sinibotia]

Make sure that whether you get juveniles or adults, get good fish from a breeder. Check websites like angelsplus or aquabid. You'll pay more but you'll get way better fish.

Also, I would remove the cichlid sand. Angels prefer softer water and lower pH. In our breeding tanks we use play sand which is extremely cheap- a $5 bag should be enough for your tank (a 37 gallon, right?)

 

[Adamtron2000]

1: you can go either way really it depends. Each method has its risks, for example you could buy two juvi's and have them pair as easily as not. If you want young fish it's better to buy a group of 6-8 in hopes of obtaining a pair. If you buy a proven pair depending on water quality differences might not spawn again or un pair though those circumstances are rarer.

2: yes you can mix any kind of scalare

3: a mixture of flakes and frozen food. We feed ours twice a day, once with flakes once with frozen


Sini's my personal bucket lugger..er, I mean husband

Is getting a proven pair a better option? I wouldn't know what to do with extras if I tried five or so juvies.

 

[Andy Sager]

Is getting a proven pair a better option? I wouldn't know what to do with extras if I tried five or so juvies.

Getting proven pairs is always risky. Risky because just because they bred for the previous owner does not guarantee they will breed for you. Also, many proven pairs are sold because they are bred out, meaning their spawns now will be few and far between IF they even breed for you. This is not always the case but unless you know the fish's history, you may be getting very old fish that will not do much for you. So the better option for obtaining a pair is to have a group of smaller fish and have them grow and pair off naturally in your tank(s). What you do with the others is either set up another tank to move the pair or trade them in for other things.
I will say this tho, if you cannot have multiple tanks for your Angels and their fry, I strongly suggest you not breed them. Just get some to admire and enjoy in your tank. You can discourage breeding by setting up single gender only tanks ( these will need to be larger fish for sexing) or separating any pair that start to show breeding behavior. Breeding Angels in a community tank setup often leads to disaster for either the pair, the fry or the other inhabitants of the tank.

Hope this helps

 

[Adamtron2000]

Getting proven pairs is always risky. Risky because just because they bred for the previous owner does not guarantee they will breed for you. Also, many proven pairs are sold because they are bred out, meaning their spawns now will be few and far between IF they even breed for you. This is not always the case but unless you know the fish's history, you may be getting very old fish that will not do much for you. So the better option for obtaining a pair is to have a group of smaller fish and have them grow and pair off naturally in your tank(s). What you do with the others is either set up another tank to move the pair or trade them in for other things.

I will say this tho, if you cannot have multiple tanks for your Angels and their fry, I strongly suggest you not breed them. Just get some to admire and enjoy in your tank. You can discourage breeding by setting up single gender only tanks ( these will need to be larger fish for sexing) or separating any pair that start to show breeding behavior. Breeding Angels in a community tank setup often leads to disaster for either the pair, the fry or the other inhabitants of the tank.



Hope this helps

I like the idea of a gender specific tank sounds great. How will that work? Two would be great just to admire.

 

[Andy Sager]

I like the idea of a gender specific tank sounds great. How will that work? Two would be great just to admire.

I always suggest male only tanks because, since females can and do sometimes pair off and lay eggs, this doesn't stop the drama in the tank. So male only is a better choice.
You would need to look at medium to large Angels for better sexing. Search for males that show "typical" male traits such as a thinner belly area combined with a nuchal hump ( Head growth) or more dominant in the tank to the other Angels. This increases your chances of them being males. I suggest, since you are dealing with a smaller tank ( 37 gal? ) look at getting 2 - 3 at the same time and make sure you have enough sight breaks in the tank for the fish to get away from each other. Angels live in a hierarchy society so you will always have 1 that is the most dominant and will let the others know it. This is why 2 is not always the best number as the second would be the only fish #1 has to pick on. By having 3, it spreads out the attention. If this is not possible, then more decorations and hiding areas are required.

Hope this helps

 

[Adamtron2000]

I always suggest male only tanks because, since females can and do sometimes pair off and lay eggs, this doesn't stop the drama in the tank. So male only is a better choice.

You would need to look at medium to large Angels for better sexing. Search for males that show "typical" male traits such as a thinner belly area combined with a nuchal hump ( Head growth) or more dominant in the tank to the other Angels. This increases your chances of them being males. I suggest, since you are dealing with a smaller tank ( 37 gal? ) look at getting 2 - 3 at the same time and make sure you have enough sight breaks in the tank for the fish to get away from each other. Angels live in a hierarchy society so you will always have 1 that is the most dominant and will let the others know it. This is why 2 is not always the best number as the second would be the only fish #1 has to pick on. By having 3, it spreads out the attention. If this is not possible, then more decorations and hiding areas are required.



Hope this helps

Sorry for all of the questions! You're a huge help though. Okay, so could I possibly go with four male angels to significantly reduce any possible aggression, or would that be unnecessary? I won't have any other inhabitants except for one bottom feeder. And yes, it's a 37 tall.

 

[Andy Sager]

Sorry for all of the questions! You're a huge help though. Okay, so could I possibly go with four male angels to significantly reduce any possible aggression, or would that be unnecessary? I won't have any other inhabitants except for one bottom feeder. And yes, it's a 37 tall.

If you can get smaller adults then yes. If not, I wouldn't get more than 3. That tank is not that large to support more than that. The key is to get them all at the same time or just start with the 1 then add 2 more. You always want to add more than 1 at a time to avoid the aggression.

 

[Adamtron2000]

What are some good websites to get gender specific adult males?

 

[Andy Sager]

What are some good websites to get gender specific adult males?

You don't do this from websites. You do this from stores. You want to see the fish not trust some unknown person to pick them out only hoping that they know what they are doing.