Angel Fish ?

[tamara]

I went to petcetera [horrible fish store in my city] to buy 2 angel fish for 8$CAD..very cheap where as the other places it's 20+ CAD for ONE i got both for only 8$. Anyways it didn't say on the tank the type of angel fish they are but on the recipe it says "Angel mixed fancy fish" They're both about an inch big at the moment in a 20gallon tank it is tall.. i forget the mesurements but it's around 18-20" tall, And if they do seem to get very large in a few years i could probably get a larger tank, but hopefully i don't have to. Anyways in the tank i've got some guppies [i don't mind if they get eaten... actually i'd be happy they would] There's only a few in there maybe 5? And then i've got 5 cories 3albino & 2 peppered. So my questions are, anyone know what my angelfish is called exactly? or are they all just called angel fish, also how big are they supposed to grow..i've heard 6" sometimes 12" ? I have no clue, and how fast do they grow? And do you have a good website link? I've tried google, not much when just researching "angelfish" haha thanks!
tamara

 

[Tolak]

The guppys may get nippy with the smaller angels, as the angels get bigger they may get nippy with the guppys, or each other. Keep a divider handy, I'm surprised lfs don't make more money selling dividers.

The name probably goes more like "Angels, Mixed; Fancy Fish". It's a distributor's tag. Check out http/www.theangelfishsociety.org/phenotype_library_2007/ to identify what type you have, or post a picture.


Dime body size is usually around 60-75 days old, quarter is around 4 months, half dollar by about 6 months, by 10 months they are hitting dollar body size. This is with good feeding, and water conditions, not to mention the proper size tank.

 

[murphyk32]

Petcetera is horrible isnt it... we only acctually got one that just opened up but its not too appealing..

 

[afishdude]

listen to tolak he nows what he is talking about

 

[parker313]

Good luck with your angels. I've noticed around here that angels are one species of fish that it's well worth it to spend the extra money. At PetSmart, I can get a good size angel for about $6. At my lfs, they are closer to $14. However, I have tried MANY of the PetSmart angels and they all die within a week. They come in disease ridden and frail. So, for all the money I could save there, I am really just throwing way, whereas although my LFS may be more expensive on the front end, it's less expensive in the long run b/c the fish are tank bred right here in town and are hardy and strong.

 

[tamara]

Alright thanks, they definetly don't have good water conditions, proper tank sizes, and good feedings..i'm not sure if they even ever do get fed? The lfs is one of those types that keeps bettas in half a cup of water and etc. Horrible, but they were cute so i had to get them! My angels are probably about a year old. Here's some pictures of them, the black guy isn't very camera shy, but the other one is REALLY camera shy.. sorry about the quality and etc.

 

[afishdude]

the black one is a marble and a nice one.

 

[chibi]

You have some nice looking angels. With my experiences with angels and small fish, yours probably won't be very aggresive since they're being raised with smaller fish. If you were to get a big one and stick it in your tank, I'm sure he'd gobble up your guppies. But getting them when they're young teaches them tolerance in a way. I guess when they're young, they figure they can't eat them, so as they get bigger, they still think the same way. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about size too much now. My brother has 2 2+ year old angelfish in a 10 gallon and are okay, despite being nippy towards the other fish. It's good your tank is tall, so they'll be able to develop well.

 

[tamara]

Okay thanks for all the help!
-i wouldn't really mind if the angels munched on a few of the guppies...
but i don't think they will for a while since they're quite small
is it normal for them to be very shy? or is it because they're new to the tank right now?

 

[parker313]

Most likely it's because they're new. Mine are like little puppies now - everytime I come over to the tank, even if I'm looking in from the bottom, they're right up in my face so I can barely see anything else.