"Playing" for most fish is a misnomer. What we may want to consider "play" is more likely serious display, hierarchy, dominance, etc. I have never seen angelfish "play," where this was anything but the exercise or attempted exercise of serious dominance. Usually the male will decide enough is enough, but I have seen female cichlids initiate some very rough behaviour to another female, killing her, and while that was a dwarf Apistogramma species, it is still inherent cichlid behaviour.but, like, how do you tell the diffrence between fighting and playing? should i add some hides? how do i tell who started the fight?
The tank is no where near spacious enough for any hiding places that would actually protect an harassed fish. Sight is one factor, but fish release chemical signals into the water, and they can indicate aggression, submission, spawning, whatever. If a male in that small a tank decides female (or another male) "x" is in his territory, the targeted fish really has no escape. It will be hounded to death.
I would answer "no" to this question, because the small angelfish will grow quite rapidly (if they survive each other) and you need a contingency plan to deal with what is certainly likely to occur. Angelfish are cichlids, but should not be in the same tank as other cichliids, with a very few exceptions, but it is still not advisable.ok so, could i get 4 angel fish and two cichlids? angel fish ARE cichlids right?