One Very Aggressive Angelfish

[LyraGuppi]

I introduced 6 angelfish to my 90 gallon 3 hours ago. I released them from smallest to largest, only a couple minutes apart. Once they were together they all grouped up and started a little bit of pecking, but mostly just exploration. One angelfish though (s/he's not full grown, but judging on the head shape s/he looks female) has been relentlessly bullying my largest angel (who is a, by the head shape and vent shape, male). They started flaring as soon as they met, shaking and bumping each other. I turned all the lights off to give them time to settle in, but I came back a couple hours later and saw the male is in a bad shape. He has bite marks on his sides, along with a few splits in his fins. His  eyes have scuffs over it (I think he can see, he reacts to the environment) and his lips are bloody. The female(?) has split fins and bite marks also, but obviously came out dominate. S/he now attacks him on sight, forcing him into a corner or ramming him into the ground. S/he gets along fine with all the other angels, and they don't show any aggression.
 
Should I remove the aggressor for a time? Or this this like a betta sorority where bad aggression is the norm during the start? I can't rehome the injured one. The tank is planted and has plenty of hiding spots, but I don't want him to live pressed against the plants. I put in some stress coat to help him out.
 
EDIT: He came out of a driftwood cave with full coloration and sort of stood his ground against him/her. I've read a little about spawning behaviour, but this seems a little too aggressive. 

 

[AbbeysDad]

I have a puny little swordtail that wants to be tank boss (although he doesn't mess with the Angels that are many times bigger!)
He chases the other male swordtail as well as the male platy's.
I have no real advice other than to rehome one (which you say you can't do) or partition the tank (which may be equally undoable).
With luck, things will settle down but if the aggression continues, it's possible that only one of the two will likely survive.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Sorry for overreacting, it seems like he's reversed the roles and just lazily chases them around.

 

[Akasha72]

Hi, I had a similar issue with my female. She was alone in the tank for a time due to a hexamita outbreak. Once I got that sorted I added another angel and she asserted her dominance immediately even though the new angel was really small. To break things up I added two more small baby angels but she continued to pick on angel two. Angel two turned out to be the only male of the four. She carried on bullying him until one day I looked into the tank and they were lip locking ... soon after eggs were layed.
I re-homed the spare two females and to this day my two are still a pair. She's still the dominant partner though and she still bullies him. He's very chilled but every now and then he fights back and she gets a bit beaten up. They are both in a constant state of torn fins and bite marks... but then they'll calm down and swim together and cuddle up and look like an adoring couple.
I've just taken this to be normal angelfish behaviour. Angels are not aptly named ... they can be incredibly aggressive fish and what your describing is par for the course.
 
I would see how things go. It may be that he is the only male of the group and she's got her eye on him as a mate. If she starts being murderous though - and you'll know when it's going too far - that would be the time to seperate them. If the torn fins bother you you could add some melafix 

 

[LyraGuppi]

I haven't been able to sex them yet, but he is definitely the only mature male at the moment. He's now the boss of the tank, but he's not as aggressive as the female was. Just chasing and light nipping. I'm keeping an eye on them for now. Thank you!
 
It's not very helpful that aggression and courting can look the same

 

[Akasha72]

I haven't been able to sex them yet, but he is definitely the only mature male at the moment. He's now the boss of the tank, but he's not as aggressive as the female was. Just chasing and light nipping. I'm keeping an eye on them for now. Thank you!
 
It's not very helpful that aggression and courting can look the same

 
No, it's not helpful, I completely agree! I used to describe it as a dog fight because that's what it looked like ... chasing round and round in a circle biting each other, charging and barging each other ... and then peace would descend just as fast as the aggression started! They are certainly entertaining though lol

 

[LyraGuppi]

As you predicted, I believe they've paired up. Thank you again!

 

[Akasha72]

no problem. I'm guessing you've caught them lip locking? that's normally the first sign

 

[LyraGuppi]

 They follow each other around and cuddle, but I think the male's lips are a little more red than the last time I saw them. The female looks like she's becoming gravid.

 

[Akasha72]

if the lips are marked they've been lip-locking. That's what I see with my two anyway. Normally you'll see them lip-lock at some point - it can go on for a while. You might see some tail slapping too - this is where they bat each other with their tails. But if they are cuddled up and following each other around it certainly sounds like you have a pairing.
 
Keep an eye on the 'spares' now as they might turn aggressive towards them in time. It's not an exact science with angels. Some are really well behaved and other's are pure evil 

 

[LyraGuppi]

Ok, thank you!

 

[gmc1]

Akasha I added two angels about 3 months ago to my tank.they are the last additions that will be going in.they have been inseparable from day one.is that normal would you say?be good to think when they reach maturity it was the same.prob wishful thinking lol.

 

[Akasha72]

It could be the same thing gmc ... again, watch for lip-locking and tail slapping ^ as described above ^ These are the main signs that you have a pairing.
 
This was my pair when they decided on each other. This lip-lock went on for nearly 5 minutes
 

 

[gmc1]

Ok good to know cheers

 

[Akasha72]

no probs