I've come to the conclusion, that long term, Angel fish should be a single, in aquariums

[GaryE]

Most keepers of African cichlids, almost all of which are very territorial and aggressive to very aggressive, recommend packing them in. The theory is that the larger the number the less the aggression because none can stake out a territory, nor can any one dominate all the others. Seems strange that this doesn't also apply to angelfish.

There are a lot of nuances. First off, mbuna live in intense crowding in the wild. They inhabit basic rock piles in a vast, sandy lake. If they venture out of their underwater islands, the open water predators await. That has driven a lot of the evolution in the lake, as fish not far apart on a map are a world apart in reality. They develop into separate species isolated by the danger zones they can't cross.

So they have adapted to constant territorial turnover. The crowding is both natural, and astonishing.

Travel 10 km from Lake Malawi into the river systems, and you have fish you can't crowd. They have more stable territories, and a different river habitat. One admittedly huge lake is a small percentage of Africa, but we make a huge error if we treat all African Cichlids like it's one lake. As someone who loves the non Lake Malawi species of Cichlids from Africa, calling mbuna "Africans" drives me nuts.

Angels (scalare) have that barring on their flanks. They like reeds, roots and grasses, even though they travel in other habitats. They seem to form small social groups more than shoals. 10, 12 - groups like that move together, with worked out ranks. They pair off and bond.

Mbuna lay eggs which the female picks up and cares for. The male can mate with another female within a short time - no pairing there. Both angels care for fry, only the female mbuna does, and once she spits the fry out of her mouth, they are their own problem. There's no extended broodcare.

Apples and oranges...

 

[raylove]

I've tried angels several times over the decades, usually in 55-60 gallons, in groups of 4-6. Always I've ended up with just one due to carnage. Once I ended up with a pair which spawned a number of times before they too fell out and the female was killed by the male. The remaining single always seemed happy enough so I too have concluded the for most of us not lucky enough to have a massive tank that one angel is the only option if you want angels.
Interestingly, I have never encountered any aggression to other species other than the fact that anything that will fit in the mouth WILL eventually be eaten, and the mouth is larger than you might think. I've seen a 5" angel easily swallow a full grown harlequin.
Many fish that are territorial in the home aquarium will actually live in large groups given enough space. I saw a large room sized tank once (I guess something like 20 feet by 20 feet and perhaps 10 feet deep) at a garden centre. I well remember that amongst the fish in it was a huge group of very large Blue and Cosby gouramis, all hanging together in a loose shoal. No aggression at all as there were too many if them in such a large space that territorial issues couldn't arise. Also, I guess that territory only really comes into it when you are close to some hardscape. When you're hanging open water, several feet from anything definable, what is there to claim? Similar considerations would surely apply with angels?

 

[Uberhoust]

I have 8 Angels in a 75 gallon 4' tank, for the last couple of years (there were a couple more but one had internal issue, and one suffered an accident during a water change). They are all related, from three separate breedings, 3 have birth defects and don't seem to grow, even when they were in their own grow out tank. There are two pairs that still breed from time to time and we have some drama in the tank when this occurs, but it is limited to defending the one rock that both pairs use. I haven't noticed any actual fighting the defense is chasing only and lasts now only for half a day when the eggs are being laid.

One observation is that their tank is in the kitchen, den area, where there is a lot of activity outside the tank. When I was actively breeding angels I had a number of tanks in our basement where there is not as much activity outside the tank. In those tanks I did have more troubles keeping none breeding angles together. I suspect that the angels get along better because they have distractions from outside the tank, they watch everything that goes on in the kitchen, and interact with anyone that approaches their tank.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have only ever wanted to keep two different angels, The first were the DD balck angels. These are a color morph created by line breeding and are a typical tank raise group. I got a group of 6 youngsters from a breeder I knew from fish chat back in the very early 2000s. I eventually got a pair and the rest were sent to new homes. Their tank was a 45 gal. communit which is where they spawned. So I had the standard issues one sees when going this route. Because they were producing over 500 eggs a spwn I learned quickly this was not the right thing for me.

But the angels I really wanted more than anything were wild Altums. Difficult tokeep alive when the first arrive, it took me a few tries. But what struck me most about this species, aside from how beautiful they are, was that they do live in groups in the wild and do OK this way. I recently sold the 4 Altums I had kept for the past 4 or 5 years. They came to me in partial payment for some plecos. They were in a 55 gal. and were large and lovely and got along just foine. Oc rourse now and then there might be a brief squable, but I never saw any serious injuries and I never had to medicate the tank for anything. For part of the time they lived with a few rummy nose and a couple of H. contradens.

 

[Oldspartan]

I guess Linda and I will soon find out. The 90, currently cycling, is to get 6 Juveniles and a single that is about a year old. The Juveniles are currently growing and getting along well in a 29. Hope to put the seven together in a couple of weeks. We will observe closely.

 

[gwand]

I guess Linda and I will soon find out. The 90, currently cycling, is to get 6 Juveniles and a single that is about a year old. The Juveniles are currently growing and getting along well in a 29. Hope to put the seven together in a couple of weeks. We will observe closely.

Your a poker player I assume

 

[Magnum Man]

Tank boss, front and center... murdered it's sibling, and about a dozen Cardinal tetras... it's my blue , zebra lace

 

[fishorama]

Pretty! I had 6 "hand me down" adults in a 75g & 2 paired up & spawned. Everyone else was kept to 1/3 of the tank except for brief forays for eggs or food. Drama!!

I don't think it's "wrong" to keep a single angel. It may be very hard to introduce any more now, especially 1 that thinks the entire tank is its territory. If you got similar sized angels & totally rearranged the tank, it "might" work...But it's doubtful. I did have 2 adult females (more hand me downs) that alternately laid eggs together then ate them. We bought what we hoped was a male & it was! But as much as he flirted, they weren't interested nor would they let him share the "caviar". They weren't too mean, no damage, but he was definitely firmly shooed away. Poor boy, no breeding, no snacks.