Angelfish breeding pair or fighting??

[lonksenopa]

I have 2 angelfish that I bought from my LFS. I bought them both from the same tank when they were quite young. The owner said they were too young to sex but as they got bigger it seemed like a male and female. The whole time I've had them in the tank they always swim together and they're never apart. Recently I've noticed at night when I turn the lights off they tend to lock lips and bump each other. In the morning they're right back to being inseparable and floating side by side all day. Is this a breeding pair? Or 2 males fighting over territory. The tank is a heavily planted 55 gallon.(Sorry for poor video quality it was dark and I didn't want to spook them) I also included a picture of them together

New video by Nikki Tubangui

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Aiken Drum]

It looks and sounds like mating behaviour to me. Keep an eye on things though.

 

[lonksenopa]

It looks and sounds like mating behaviour to me. Keep an eye on things though.

This has happened every night for the last few days. No fin tearing or injuries so far. It's just strange that they only act like this at night and during the day they're very docile and typically just float around with each other. No aggression towards any of the other fish in the tank either.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Mine go through similar behaviour for a couple of days before spawning, they then guard their eggs for a day, 2 at most, before eating them all and a couple of weeks later we go through it again.

They arent very aggressive to any other fish, but the other fish also know to keep out of the way. In fact the first sign of them beginning to spawn is all the cardinals in the tank being evicted from their usual territory.

 

[lonksenopa]

Mine go through similar behaviour for a couple of days before spawning, they then guard their eggs for a day, 2 at most, before eating them all and a couple of weeks later we go through it again.

They arent very aggressive to any other fish, but the other fish also know to keep out of the way. In fact the first sign of them beginning to spawn is all the cardinals in the tank being evicted from their usual territory.

Interesting I was worried they were two males fighting as I didn't have another tank ready to separate them if needed set up yet. I guess that explains why my honey gouramis have been hanging out in a different part of the tank lately

 

[Andy Sager]

Keep in mind that Angels live in a hierarchy society so there is always going to a be #1 fish and the way they show their dominance is through lip locking and twitching which is what your fish are doing. The mating " dance includes lip locking to ensure vitality of the potential mate as well as twitching. So the only way you are going to know if this is indeed a pair is by seeing their breeding tubes. Males will have a tube that looks like a pencil point. Females will have a tube that looks like the eraser end of the pencil. The good news is that usually pairs that are kept together will not go through this all the time. It's usually one and done. ( Aiken's fish haven't read the book. LOL ) The bad news is that the fish can get damaged during this pre spawning "tussle". ( This does not usually happen when the fish are fighting for their rank in the school. ) I had one female that took out one eye of 3 different males she mated with. Others have lost lips and got dents in their body. So you need to be aware that if you want to breed these fish, they may get damaged.

 

[lonksenopa]

Keep in mind that Angels live in a hierarchy society so there is always going to a be #1 fish and the way they show their dominance is through lip locking and twitching which is what your fish are doing. The mating " dance includes lip locking to ensure vitality of the potential mate as well as twitching. So the only way you are going to know if this is indeed a pair is by seeing their breeding tubes. Males will have a tube that looks like a pencil point. Females will have a tube that looks like the eraser end of the pencil. The good news is that usually pairs that are kept together will not go through this all the time. It's usually one and done. ( Aiken's fish haven't read the book. LOL ) The bad news is that the fish can get damaged during this pre spawning "tussle". ( This does not usually happen when the fish are fighting for their rank in the school. ) I had one female that took out one eye of 3 different males she mated with. Others have lost lips and got dents in their body. So you need to be aware that if you want to breed these fish, they may get damaged.

They've been together since I've purchased them and I've never seen them do this before. I assume it could be because they've grown quite a bit from when I've gotten them but they've been doing this for a few days and so far no injuries. Then in the mornings they carry on like usual and stick together. Should I try to separate them or will they be alright staying together?

 

[Andy Sager]

They do this when they become sexually mature so at about 8-10 months old. As long as they are not injuring each other, I'd leave them alone.

 

[lonksenopa]

They do this when they become sexually mature so at about 8-10 months old. As long as they are not injuring each other, I'd leave them alone.

That makes sense. I've had them for about 5-6 months now. They're usually pretty docile with each other, even at feeding time which surprised me

 

[Andy Sager]

That makes sense. I've had them for about 5-6 months now. They're usually pretty docile with each other, even at feeding time which surprised me

I've dealt with literally hundreds of breeding pairs of Angels over the years and the one thing in common in all of them is that they are 100% unpredictable. Just when you think you have them figured out, they do something new that screws up the averages. Just keep an eye on them as Aiken previously said.

 

[Autumnsky]

Andy is the master of Angelfish!!!

 

[Andy Sager]

Andy is the master of Angelfish!!!

You're gonna make me blush ( And I prefer the " Angelfish whisperer" over " Master" . )

 

[lonksenopa]

Thanks for the advice everyone! So far tonight no lip locking or bumping. They have been swimming around a bit erratically together and pecking at plants and driftwood since I've turned the lights off. I'm not sure if this is normal but at least it doesn't seem like aggression anymore

 

[Autumnsky]

Ok, Angellfish Whisperer. Facts are the same. The one to listen to!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Thanks for the advice everyone! So far tonight no lip locking or bumping. They have been swimming around a bit erratically together and pecking at plants and driftwood since I've turned the lights off. I'm not sure if this is normal but at least it doesn't seem like aggression anymore

Mine pick at a plants leaf, or whatever they plan to lay their eggs on this time, cleaning and preparing it to deposit their eggs.

 

[Andy Sager]

That's just called " preparing the spawning site." When they find a spot they like, they will aggressively clean it in preparation for spawning. They are cleaning the site of any dirt or biofilm so that the eggs can stick to the surface.

 

[Figuringitout]

Andy is the master of Angelfish!!!

So true!!!

 

[Andy Sager]

So true!!!

LOL The fact of the matter is that I have bred over 400 pairs of the fish and worked with them specifically for over 30 years. You learn A LOT about a fish specie when you work with a number of them for a long period of time. Every once in a while they throw you a curveball which you need to add to the list of " Habits and Actions" that can occur. It's kind of like when you run a pharmaceutical study. ( My ex worked in a medical practice that did numerous studies.) You have to track every action and reaction that occurs during the study ( whether the study med caused it or not) and it gets listed on the "possible side effects" portion of the label. So for me with Angels, if they do something totally out of the ordinary, I've probably seen it before. There's not much this fish can do that I haven't seen.