My angelfish jumped out

[Nico B]

Unfortunately, an angelfish died recently, a male, who jumped out of the aquarium. I called him 8 because he had an 8-shaped mark on his fins. I knew about the betta that jumps out of the aquarium, but not about the angelfish . I think it had a complicated relationship with Little Eye, the other platinum angelfish in the aquarium, I have no other explanation. For me, the fish are pets with names and personality, I believe in this very much. Should I put a lid over my tanks?...

 

[Aiken Drum]

Fish usually jump for a reason. They don't know there isn't water on the other side of the glass and that jumping is a death sentence.

You may have identified the reason for your angelfish jumping, trying to escape the fractious relationship with its tank mate but I would get the water tested to ensure there isn't a water quality issue as that's a common cause for fish jumping from their aquariums hoping for better water quality on the other side.

What other fish are in the aquarium? Is the other angel male or female? Are you sure they werent aggressive towards each other because they were mating? How big is the aquarium? How long has the aquarium been set up? How long have you had the fish in question? What is a normal water change routine? Does the aquarium have plenty of aquascape to break up sightings and allow fish to get away from each other and find their own space?

Fish don't usually jump without reason. A lid will prevent fish jumping out of the tank, but not solve the cause of why your fish jumped in the first place. I'd get a lid if its an easy fix. Lowering the waterline a few inches would be an alternative to make it harder for fish to clear the top.

 

[Nico B]

Thank you so much! I ll test the water. I have just another angel fish in the tank, I guess a female, but she is still growing. She is in 50 liters tank, a lot of plants in it and I hope to have a much larger tank in the future. I have the tank just for about 7 months, I am still learning about carring for fish. I usualy change 20% of water weekly. I ll be more careful...

 

[Aiken Drum]

Let us know what the water parameters are. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are the most important ones. Use a liquid test kit rather than test strips, as strips are notoriously unreliable. If you don't have a test kit most aquatic stores do testing. Make sure they write down the numbers for you if someone does the testing for you. Dont just accept "everything is good" or whatever. Preferably do your test before your water changem

In 7 months your aquarium should have cycled, so ammonia and nitrite shouldn't be an issue. But a 20% weekly water change isn't very much for 2 quite large fish in a small aquarium.

50 litres is tiny for angelfish. This could be contributing to the poor water quality and cramped conditions. If they didn't get along, jumping would be the only option to get away from each other.

 

[Andy Sager]

As Aiken said, 50L is too small for adult Angels that are not a breeding pair. I bred the majority of my Angels ( hundreds of pairs) in 38 liter tanks but they started out in much larger tanks to pair off before I moved them to the 38l tanks. Unfortunately, the pre-nuptial ritual for Angels can be a bit brutal which is why the fish may have jumped. It's not unusual for the fish to suffer fin tears or loss, broken lips, missing eyes, etc. which is why you want them to have plenty of space to hide from a potential mate in case they get too overly aggressive.
These are just some of the pics of my pairs in 38L tanks.

But they became pairs in this 150 L tank
You can see that it works in my albums: Media added by Andy Sager

 

[Nico B]

Yes, I know is me, not the fish to blame . At the beginig I was impulsive, I really, really wanted angelfish. I am thinking to order a custom aquarium, I have the place for it.
I have only strips for testing, but I know where to buy it.
I know they can be agressive to eachother, I observed them evryday and separate them into pairs in diferent tanks, but for sure a better option is a big one. Next month is my birhday and I know wat I want
Thank you all for the advices.

 

[Andy Sager]

Yes, I know is me, not the fish to blame . At the beginig I was impulsive, I really, really wanted angelfish. I am thinking to order a custom aquarium, I have the place for it.
I have only strips for testing, but I know where to buy it.
I know they can be agressive to eachother, I observed them evryday and separate them into pairs in diferent tanks, but for sure a better option is a big one. Next month is my birhday and I know wat I want
Thank you all for the advices.

Even if they are not a pair, Angelfish live in a hierarchy society so there will always be a #1 fish at the top keeping the rest of the school in line. #1 picks on #2. #2 picks on #3. #3 picks on #4 and so on. This is why keeping more in a school is better than just 2 or 3. With domestic strains, they have become less dependent on the school and can live alone but with wild caught ones, they rarely do well alone. This is why.
If you are upgrading your tank for Angels, I suggest you go with a longer tank vs a taller tank. Gallons/liters are not as important as length and floor plan.
With that, Happy Birthday a little bit early.

 

[Nico B]

I had no idea about the hierarchy... I was so afraid they will kill eachother so I put them in pairs.

In a bigger tank, long not tall , can I place all my angelfish? I have 7.

2 if them are a pair and today they lay eggs on a leaf (is this the right expression for fish?!) I am not expecting frys, but is a good news vs the bad news about the jumping.

Little Eye (she has a blurry eye, that's the explanation for her name) is alone now. I ll keep an eye on her.
Thank you for the advices, I am learning every day about them, but I really, really love them all. Such tiny creatures and so interesting and inteligent compared with their size. I am amazed!

 

[Andy Sager]

I had no idea about the hierarchy... I was so afraid they will kill eachother so I put them in pairs.

In a bigger tank, long not tall , can I place all my angelfish? I have 7.

2 if them are a pair and today they lay eggs on a leaf (is this the right expression for fish?!) I am not expecting frys, but is a good news vs the bad news about the jumping.

Little Eye (she has a blurry eye, that's the explanation for her name) is alone now. I ll keep an eye on her.
Thank you for the advices, I am learning every day about them, but I really, really love them all. Such tiny creatures and so interesting and inteligent compared with their size. I am amazed!

Pairs are fine if they are a male and female but sometimes, 2 females will spawn together ( The fish term for laying eggs is Spawning) and if they are 2 males and can see females through the glass, they may fight to be the one the females choose to spawn with. For such a pretty fish, they really can be a pain in the arss. LOL ( MY very first breeding pair was 2 females. I was amazed at how many eggs were laid until my mentor was at my house ( he was a friend of my Mother) and looked at them and told me they were 2 females.
Most often, first spawns are not successful but all you really want out of a first spawn ( or any first few spawns) is 1 egg to hatch. That proves you have a guaranteed male and female pair. It may take them a few times to get high numbers of hatching eggs but that's okay as long as you know you have a guaranteed pair. After that, be prepared for them to spawn ever 10 -14 days. ( I've had pairs that spawned every 7 days. )
As for placing all your Angels together in a LONG tank, Yes, that's usually how we let them choose their own partners. But you need to watch them carefully to make sure nobody gets too rough. First sign of pairing will be one fish chasing all the other fish except one away from an area. ( usually a potential spawning site. ) Once you see this, put a divider in the tank and et the pair have their first spawn in there. This way you'll know you have a pair and not just one trying to be head boss of everybody. Once the pair is confirmed, move them to
another tank and remove the divider so the remaining fish have more room.

If you really want to learn about Angelfish, this is a thread which turned into a conversation between professional and hobbyist Angelfish keepers and breeders. Wigglers At Last!!!!!
Pretty much everything you need to know about keeping Angelfish was discussed in this thread which is why it's so long. There's a lot to know. LOL

Hope this helps.