Angel Fish Problems

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

Angel Fish Problems

by liam1995

I bought an angel fish yesterday and it was swimming around fine at the pet store. It is only a baby. I added it to the tank after adding a bit of aquarium water and floating the bag for at least half an hour. The larger angel fish that I have was chasing it and then the smaller one disappeared in the cave for the night. Found it this morning and it was on it's side and not swimming around. I put it in a guppy breeder to separate it from the rest of the fish.

What's wrong?
PH 7.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0


Okiimiru
 
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:19 pm

by Okiimiru

"The larger angel fish that I have was chasing it and then the smaller one disappeared in the cave for the night."

It was bullied. Usually angelfish breeders suggest starting out with 6 or 7 juvenile angelfish and letting them grow up together and naturally pair off. Introducing a young angelfish to a tank with a single old angelfish will usually result in violence. If you want them to be friends, they have to have been friends since they were little together.

You have two options now.
Option one is you remove the adult angelfish and buy 6 juvenile angelfish, wait for them to pair off naturally, and remove the oddball fish that didn't find a mate. Often you can only have one pair of angelfish per tank. They mate for life, you know.
Option two is to leave the adult angelfish in the tank, and to stop introducing new angelfish to it. On the sad side you can't possibly get any babies, but on the happy side you won't get any juveniles beaten to death.


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

by liam1995

I started out with 3 juvenile angelfish 9 months ago. Two of them died so I am left with one. I think I will euthanize the young one because it looks so distressed and hasn't swum properly for over 24 hours. I have a 20 gal tank with two dwarf male gouramis, one corydoras, one bristlenose, one large angelfish and a white skirt tetra. I am waiting for the white skirt tetra to die so I can start getting more gouramis. Any other suggestions on what fish would work well together in my tank? Thanks for all the advice Okiimiru.


Alasse
 
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 5:35 am
Location: QLD Australia

by Alasse

Angels definately do NOT mate for life.

The new little angel would have been bullied by the older one. To help out the smaller ones add 4-5 small ones so the larger ones spreads the aggression out over them all rather than just one individual. Like most cichlids, keep the alone or in a breeding pair or overstock them to, as i stated, spread out aggression. This only applies if you have a large enough tank.

A 20gal with 1 adult angel, 2 dwarf gouramis, 1 cory, 1 bristlenose, and 1 tetra is quite full enough and adding more would not be a good idea anyway.


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

by liam1995

Okay. Thanks.Got it.


Okiimiru
 
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:19 pm

by Okiimiru

"Angels definately do NOT mate for life."
Oh hey you're right. I guess that must be some sort of old wive's tail. I had heard multiple people say it, so I thought it was true. But it looks like there's some debate about whether or not it is. Neat. Learn something new every day.

I agree that a 20 gallon tank is too small. Angelfish are very tall fish, so they need larger (and taller) tank volumes than you'd think.


Alasse
 
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 5:35 am
Location: QLD Australia

by Alasse

There should be no debate on it. My male has had 3 female partners. His females in the past have also been put with other males and spawned. If they breed for life they certainly wouldnt do that *L* Never heard of that breed for life thing before


Okiimiru
 
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:19 pm

by Okiimiru

Saltwater angelfish do mate for life. That might be why people got confused and told me the wrong thing. I googled it to make sure it was true before I said it, and I found sources like this one:

http://www.aquariumslife.com/freshwater ... ven-steps/
Submitted by AquariumsLife.com on August 30, 2009
"Angelfish are monogamous and they mate for life. Once an angelfish has chosen his or her partner, separating the pair for any reason, including death, will lead to a refusal of the remaining fish to breed. They are also loyal partners, protecting their mate from any perceived threats or other suitors."

It's nice to hear from you, Alasse, a person who actually breeds angelfish and knows firsthand what's up. Like I said, I learned something from you. Now I know that angelfish don't mate for life.


Alasse
 
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 5:35 am
Location: QLD Australia

by Alasse

I still dont see how to be confused....must be just me. If this was in the saltwater section maybe, but this is the freshwater section.

Anyway now you can set the misinformers right

Angel Fish Problems

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