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angel fish hating on other angel fish

13K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Joe1985 
#1 ·
ive just recently purchased 2 angelfish from the pet shop and introduced them into my 75Liter tank which contains another 2 angel fish which then have started to attack them, ive been told this doesnt usually happen, the 2 i purchased today are substantially smaller then the 2 i already had but was informed id have no issues, can someone give me some advice as to what i should do?
 
#2 ·
I'm afraid you were told wrong, Angelfish should always be purchased together to reduce the chance of what you're seeing, this is included in the profile here for Scalare Angelfish. Usually I believe it is the other way around though, the originals bullying the new arrivals.

That said, a 75L tank is only about 20g .... which is too small even for a single Angelfish. To keep four Angelfish, which is the minimum recommended number, you would need a 4 foot tank which is 55 gallons here in the US. That is roughly 208 liters.

They are likely stressed (new environment, plus too small) and stress is known to cause fish to be aggressive.
 
#3 ·
I'm afraid you were told wrong, Angelfish should always be purchased together to reduce the chance of what you're seeing, this is included in the profile here for Scalare Angelfish. Usually I believe it is the other way around though, the originals bullying the new arrivals.

That said, a 75L tank is only about 20g .... which is too small even for a single Angelfish. To keep four Angelfish, which is the minimum recommended number, you would need a 4 foot tank which is 55 gallons here in the US. That is roughly 208 liters.

They are likely stressed (new environment, plus too small) and stress is known to cause fish to be aggressive.
+ one ,these fish need much larger tank than 20 gallon.
Are small now ,but can and do grow to the size of a man's hand in a year or less.
I kept one black marbled Angelfish in 29 gallon tank for nearly two years but it was only cause he/she would not tolerate ANY tankmates.(cept snails).
5 to 7 of the Angelfish in 55 gal would work well, but if a male /female pair forms and attempt breeding,,then other's may need to be moved due to aggressive nature of nearly all cichlids at this time.
 
#4 ·
thanks people, damn pet store lady giving me bogus advice! i guess it was my fault as well as hers, ill do some more research next time, ive just purchased a 75L tank off a mate and it came with 2 angel fish 2 barbs and a zebra danio he said hes had them all for 2 years so figured another 2 angekl fish wouldnt hurt but the best i can do is put the 2 new ones in my 50L tank for now
 
#5 ·
Attacking Angels

Geomancer is absolutely correct. I have bread and raised angel fish. They can become very nasty with each other. Also, in a larger tank they get pretty good size, about the size of a mans hand with the palm being the body and the fingers being the fins. If there are four or more fish you are sure to end up with a breeding pair, who will establish themselves in one corner of the tank and defend their area. They will find a rock, piece of slate, and the female will put the eggs on that and the male will fertilize them. The eggs will often not develop fully and will be overtaken by fungus if not put into a relatively well controlled environment. But the now dominant pair of angels will start over again, and the rest of the tank inhabitants will have hell to pay, especially if the tank is not very large. You might want to sell the new angels back to the pet store or another pet store and stick to the original two, or sell all of them and start over with fish that are more suitable for a smaller tank. Good luck.
 
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