Angelfish

[JC_Bus]

Hello,

I've been wanting angelfish for a long time and this weekend I had enough money to get a few angels. A new pet shop Pets Supplies Plus opened last weekend, on Valentine's Day, so I went to go check it out. They had beautiful fish!! They all looked healthy. I saw that they had angelfish but there was only one. I ask the lady helping us if I could keep just one until they got new ones and she said no he would get lonely but they have new ones coming in. I was very confused because he was the last one.

Can I have one and then add another angelfish in when they get a new shipment? Can I just have two? I was also hoping in breeding them and I heard in getting like 6 and letting them pair off what if I get 2 females and 4 males? Will the 2 other males fight when I put the two pairs in a breeding tank?


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[Fishobsessed7]

That should be fine.


Fishobsessed7

 

[JC_Bus]

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[Fishobsessed7]

When they are small it's pretty much impossible to sex them. If you get six and when they mature, when two air off you need to rehome the unpaired fish, unless you have a very large tank.


Fishobsessed7

 

[JC_Bus]

Sorry my message messed up I think lol I meant to say thanks!! ?


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[JC_Bus]

I have a 60 gallon tank


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[Fishobsessed7]

I think it would probably be best to only have one m/f pair.


Fishobsessed7

 

[Andy Sager]

Angelfish today, more than in years past, don't seem to follow any "usual" rules. The store clerk was right in that Angelfish by nature are a schooling fish and don;t usually do well by themselves. The fact that the one you saw was the last one in the tank isn't a fair comparison as that fish may have new tankmates faster than yours would. However, Angelfish can also get territorial so having just the one and then adding more does not guarantee that that will be a successful addition. If you are looking to breed, you would be best to get a small school at the same time ( or very close to the same time) and let them grow up together and pair off.
To answer your question about gender amounts, yes, if you have 4 males and 2 females, there will be fighting. However, you would also have some conflicts if you had 2 males and 2 females. Unless you are getting a proven breeding pair to be kept by themselves, there will be some fighting.
If you are serious about breeding Angels, I suggest you read through an older thread in the breeding forum titled "Wigglers at last!!!" This thread was an ongoing conversation by both professional and hobbyist Angelfish breeders and contains just about everything you need to know about breeding and raising the fish & the fry. It's a long read with a lot of information ( I can't think of much that wasn't discussed actually) and well worth the time.

Hope this helps

 

[JC_Bus]

Thank you for the help!

If I don't plan on breeding them and still get a schooling angelfish as they mature will the fighting still occur?


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[Andy Sager]

Thank you for the help!

If I don't plan on breeding them and still get a schooling angelfish as they mature will the fighting still occur?


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Yes. Angels don;t really care what your intentions are, it's about what they want to do. lol Angelfish also live in a hierarchy society so there will be some picking on each other while the school establishes their pecking order. This will remain until the fish are old enough to spawn, then the fighting for breeding rights will occur.
The best way I know to have a more peaceful school of angels is to have a single gender only school. I prefer to have all males as it is possible to have 2 females pair off to spawn and they will act the same as if they were a m/f pair. Male only schools will just have pecking order issues and those are not usually too bad. In order to have all males, you either have to buy larger fish with more proven male tendencies or remove females once they start to pair off with the males.

Hope this helps

 

[JC_Bus]

Yes this really helped! Thanks!

But how big do you think they should be to identify if they are male or female?


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[Andy Sager]

Yes this really helped! Thanks!

But how big do you think they should be to identify if they are male or female?


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It's not as much size as it is age. Angelfish become sexually mature and can start breeding at 8-10 months of age. I prefer to let them "age" a bit more
because larger fish make larger eggs thereby making larger fry. So you should be looking at fish about half dollar body size which, under normal circumstances, should make them about the right age to start breeding and sexing with a bit more accuracy.

 

[JC_Bus]

Thank you! I'm going to the pet store today and ask them how old they are and see the biggest size they have too. Thank you!


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[Coursair]

In most home Aquaria they are only social as babies, once they hit breeding age, watch out.

A single Angel is fine as an adult, as a baby, they'd feel more secure in a group. IMHO


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[JC_Bus]

Can I get a group and as they get older put them in their own tanks?


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[Coursair]

Can I get a group and as they get older put them in their own tanks?


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They pick their own mates. So yes, you can separate them out. Be aware Angels will kill other Angels that they don't like. So watch for bullying behavior.


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[JC_Bus]

Will do thank you! I went to the pet store and this one also only had one left so I'll wait till Thursday to see them and maybe get a school of like 6 and if I notice any bullying I have four 20 gallons and two 10 gallons that I have for raising fry or hospital tanks. I'll use them when I need them.


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