Questions on angelfish

[biofish]

So, I’ve have 6 angelfish in a 55 gallon and I’ve almost had them for a year now. And I haven’t the faintest inkling on what their genders could be. They haven’t tried to reproduce, so no little peewees making a show or any two spending a lot of time together and I know they are practically impossible to gender based on looks.

But so far, they are all extremely chill. For the most part.

One of them is a bit more “aggressive” than the others. Like, more likely to chase after the others and really bites at your fingers when you wiggle them in the tank. I just did it about five minutes ago and that one actually managed to slightly scratch the surface of my skin with their bite (they were going after my knuckle hair). But I honestly kinda hesitate to really call it aggressive. But I’ve figured that based on what I’ve read that’s the one most likely to be female.

I bought them when they definitely weren’t babies; older than people recommended getting on a previous post, so they weren’t born and raised together.

So like. By this point I was kinda expecting a world war 3 apocalyptic show down or the start of one. I’m glad there hasn’t been, I know it can change as the angel fish mature but like. It’s been weirdly peaceful based on what I’ve been told/read.

My luck is practically nonexistent so there’s no way I somehow managed to miraculously get all male.

Anything else I should know? About keeping them? Differences between genders in behavior?

 

[Naughts]

Post photos of the fish as the genders have a different forehead shape.

 

[Ichthys]

The books are right, you can’t sex the domestic varieties by shape. Best guess is probably from the ventral profile if they’ve been raised together. And any that have consistently fatter bellies than the others are likely to be female.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Generally, I'd say six angels in a 55 gallon is pretty crowded. They like being in groups, but they need space to get away from each other. However, like many intelligent species, their personalities vary widely. If you have an unusually calm group, they might be fine. Just be aware that things can go south very quickly in a tank this small. Have a plan to rehome the more aggressive ones should the need arise.

 

[ghyti]

With 6 Angels there is a 97.6 percent chance of at least one pair. Hang in there for a while yet. Angels tend to get territorial. One of them will pick a spot and keep all others away. When a pair forms they will pick a spot and keep all the others at the other end of the tank. Their actions will be obvious. And no the males do not always have a hump on their head so you can't sex them that way..

 

[biofish]

Noticed aggressive behavior for the first time today!

I got some new cichlid pellets (Hikari Cichlid Gold) for my Apisto’s and figured, hey my angels are technically cichlids, I’ll try giving them some. And one of my angels started getting really really possessive? And kept chasing away two of the other angels, and only those two, when they went to go eat??? Is that normal? It was the smallest one chasing away the two biggest. And NOT the one I mentioned being the most “aggressive” in my initial post.

 

[anewbie]

Just be aware that males will bicker but do no real harm to each other; females will control things. Sometime they will live in harmony and other times they will be vicious monsters. You never know until they mature. My personal experience is that in a 4 foot aquarium there is little chance for harmony with more than 2 angels (IF one is a female); and in an 8 foot aquarium you might get away with a group depending on the female aggression level. You can safely ignore male bickering. Females will kill and you must either remove the female or the angel she is aggressive towards (or let nature take it course).

 

[biofish]

Females will kill and you must either remove the female

Why do they kill though? Is it like a female vs female show down? Female vs male? Female vs whoever looks at her wrong? If left will the female kill ALL the other angels?

 

[anewbie]

Why do they kill though? Is it like a female vs female show down? Female vs male? Female vs whoever looks at her wrong? If left will the female kill ALL the other angels?

I can't answer why they decide another fish (usually an angel) needs to leave though I suspect it has to do with a combination of territory and potential mate(s) but i have seen them go after both males and females. This doens't mean they will go after every male (or even female); but once they decide another angel is unacceptable (for whatever reason); i've never been able to get them to change their mind and this includes removing either them or the target for up to 3 months and then reintroducing. However in a sufficiently large aquarium (I have a 10ftx4ft) the undesired fish can find safe refuge. However in a 2ftx4ft (120 gallon) the female can find the target in all portions of the aquarium.

 

[Byron]

The problem associated with your question why they kill one another has to do with the conditions we give them. By this I mean, putting them in an aquarium, whatever the size. The way the fish interact in the habitat cannot occur in the aquarium unless mysteriously the fish are not behaving normally.

In nature, a group of around 30 forms, and develops something of an hierarchy. If a pair forms, as it obviously will, the others know enough to give them the space they need. There is no space in an aquarium to replicate what they have in nature, unless you have a truly huge tank. This is why aquarists advise separating the group if a pair forms. In the habitat the dominant male will defend his female and their territory, and drive away other angelfish who can easily escape his territory. Not in the aquarium.

As for the five you have, it is not unusual for a group to be peaceful for a year, sometimes not, sometimes yes. But things can change overnight. Environmental conditions control the behaviours of fish. Adverse conditions (to the fish's expectations) may cause increased aggression, or the opposite. Individual fish may behave different from the general norm. Recognizing all this is key to success, and as someone said, have a backup plan if things turn. It is normal, so be prepared.

 

[anewbie]

The problem associated with your question why they kill one another has to do with the conditions we give them. By this I mean, putting them in an aquarium, whatever the size. The way the fish interact in the habitat cannot occur in the aquarium unless mysteriously the fish are not behaving normally.

In nature, a group of around 30 forms, and develops something of an hierarchy. If a pair forms, as it obviously will, the others know enough to give them the space they need. There is no space in an aquarium to replicate what they have in nature, unless you have a truly huge tank. This is why aquarists advise separating the group if a pair forms. In the habitat the dominant male will defend his female and their territory, and drive away other angelfish who can easily escape his territory. Not in the aquarium.

As for the five you have, it is not unusual for a group to be peaceful for a year, sometimes not, sometimes yes. But things can change overnight. Environmental conditions control the behaviours of fish. Adverse conditions (to the fish's expectations) may cause increased aggression, or the opposite. Individual fish may behave different from the general norm. Recognizing all this is key to success, and as someone said, have a backup plan if things turn. It is normal, so be prepared.

One comment - while what you say might be true in the wild in the aquarium i found it is the female who is the aggressive one and will protect the male. The male tends to be much more passive - i've gone through several groups the past 8 years and that has always been my observation.

 

[Byron]

One comment - while what you say might be true in the wild in the aquarium i found it is the female who is the aggressive one and will protect the male. The male tends to be much more passive - i've gone through several groups the past 8 years and that has always been my observation.

I've also seen this play out with Bolivian Rams, interchangeably too. The common angelfish will be tank raised (unless lucky enough to have wild) and they do behave differently. The fact they usually eat the first couple of spawns is something wild fish do not do. But the general idea is the same.

 

[ghyti]

One comment - while what you say might be true in the wild in the aquarium i found it is the female who is the aggressive one and will protect the male. The male tends to be much more passive - i've gone through several groups the past 8 years and that has always been my observation.

I have just the opposite situation. I have been raising Angels for about 10 years and I have noticed it is the Male in a pair that is aggressive. The females usually just hang around the spawning site or chase other females away. The males are the aggressive ones and chase anything that comes near.