Tanked
Fish Herder
how do you tell which angel is the male and which is the female? when I get mine I want to make sure to have one of each.
sexing angels
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cichlidmaster
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Tanked,
very hard to sex angel fish!! There are several ways tho................
Venting is the most accurate, but this involves turning the fish over and checking the genital opening. Not an easy thing to do if you have never done it before. Also hard to do with small fish!!
If the fish are adults, and spwning the one who laid the eggs is the female while the one who is guarding or patroling the area is the male....again not reliable unless you have the fish already.
Some say in young adult/adult angels that the male will have a slight bump in the slope of his forehead, but I question this.
The best thing you can do is buy 6-8 young angels, let them grow out together and pair up on their own. The pair bond will be much stronger this way.
You can also buy breeding pairs from breeders, but these fish are usually a little older and have maybe a few spawns left at best. This is the reason breeders sell them. There are a few breeders who sell pairs that are only a few years old, but these pairs tend to be expensive.
Let me know if your interested in guaranteed breeding pairs and I can check a few sources I know to see what's available.
Hope this helped.......
CM
very hard to sex angel fish!! There are several ways tho................
Venting is the most accurate, but this involves turning the fish over and checking the genital opening. Not an easy thing to do if you have never done it before. Also hard to do with small fish!!
If the fish are adults, and spwning the one who laid the eggs is the female while the one who is guarding or patroling the area is the male....again not reliable unless you have the fish already.
Some say in young adult/adult angels that the male will have a slight bump in the slope of his forehead, but I question this.
The best thing you can do is buy 6-8 young angels, let them grow out together and pair up on their own. The pair bond will be much stronger this way.
You can also buy breeding pairs from breeders, but these fish are usually a little older and have maybe a few spawns left at best. This is the reason breeders sell them. There are a few breeders who sell pairs that are only a few years old, but these pairs tend to be expensive.
Let me know if your interested in guaranteed breeding pairs and I can check a few sources I know to see what's available.
Hope this helped.......
CM
Tanked
Fish Herder
thanks again CM, I am looking to get babies (well at least young ones), but do not care so much if they breed, I am looking for overall tank compatibility. would a male/female, female/female, or male/male combo be best for keeping aggression down?
cichlidmaster
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Hard call..........................
M/F combo - would inevitably try to spawn. Males can get aggressive during this time especially if the female is not ready yet.
F/F combo - Even though females tend to be less aggressive, I have had angels I thought were pairs, that were actually two females. One female would lay eggs every 10 days and the other female would take on a more dominate male roll guarding the area. Of course the eggs never hatched!! The dominate female at times would get aggressive towards the egg laying female.
M/M combo - worst case scenario!! One male would 100% for certain become the dominate of the two. May or may not get overly aggressive, especially if there were no females to compete for, but could not guarantee it!!
Sorry....wish I could have been more help!!
CM
M/F combo - would inevitably try to spawn. Males can get aggressive during this time especially if the female is not ready yet.
F/F combo - Even though females tend to be less aggressive, I have had angels I thought were pairs, that were actually two females. One female would lay eggs every 10 days and the other female would take on a more dominate male roll guarding the area. Of course the eggs never hatched!! The dominate female at times would get aggressive towards the egg laying female.
M/M combo - worst case scenario!! One male would 100% for certain become the dominate of the two. May or may not get overly aggressive, especially if there were no females to compete for, but could not guarantee it!!
Sorry....wish I could have been more help!!
CM
dolphin
Fish Addict
Hi Tanked
I have to say CM has covered most of this topic.
But I must add that with angels nothing can be taken for granted. It is well documented that two females will pair up if there is no males to hand, but I have had the reverse. Two male blue angels that had females in the tank with them paired up. They both cleaned the chosen spawning site, went through a mock spawning (at this time I confirmed that they were both males) and then defended the site from all comers. This happen a few times, until a split them up. One of then now has a real female (black) and if now currently swimming in a take with his offspring.
The best bet for tank harmony would be to have one angel in with fish of about the same size. Any more than one angel and the any of (if not all) of CM comments will happen. Great for me as I breed angels but if you do not want to breed them, and do not want a potential battle ground then do not get more than one.
Dolphin
I have to say CM has covered most of this topic.
But I must add that with angels nothing can be taken for granted. It is well documented that two females will pair up if there is no males to hand, but I have had the reverse. Two male blue angels that had females in the tank with them paired up. They both cleaned the chosen spawning site, went through a mock spawning (at this time I confirmed that they were both males) and then defended the site from all comers. This happen a few times, until a split them up. One of then now has a real female (black) and if now currently swimming in a take with his offspring.
The best bet for tank harmony would be to have one angel in with fish of about the same size. Any more than one angel and the any of (if not all) of CM comments will happen. Great for me as I breed angels but if you do not want to breed them, and do not want a potential battle ground then do not get more than one.
Dolphin
Tanked
Fish Herder
thanks dolphin, I can live with one, I don't want to breed them. what other cichlids would be good tank mates then.
I am thinking about firemouths, green severums, the albino shark i have already and possibly a discus if it could coexist with the rest.
input from anybody would be appreciated here
I definatly want to do cichlids in my 55 gallon and think my albino shark will get on fine. he is agressive enough to take care of himself, but only gets that way if someone trys to bully him.
I am thinking about firemouths, green severums, the albino shark i have already and possibly a discus if it could coexist with the rest.
input from anybody would be appreciated here
I definatly want to do cichlids in my 55 gallon and think my albino shark will get on fine. he is agressive enough to take care of himself, but only gets that way if someone trys to bully him.
dolphin
Fish Addict
Hi Tanked
A lot of people will scream NO! to discus in with angels, but I am not one of them. In my 1000 gall system I breed angels and discus. (all the water is shared by all the tanks). I have never had a problem with the cross over of diseases from one to the other,(all fish are quarantined for at least a month before adding to the system).
If you wish to keep discus then this will be you first concern as to water parameters. Any other fish you add will then have to match the parameters or are not be too fussy as to the type of water that they are put in.
Hope this is some help
Dolphin
A lot of people will scream NO! to discus in with angels, but I am not one of them. In my 1000 gall system I breed angels and discus. (all the water is shared by all the tanks). I have never had a problem with the cross over of diseases from one to the other,(all fish are quarantined for at least a month before adding to the system).
If you wish to keep discus then this will be you first concern as to water parameters. Any other fish you add will then have to match the parameters or are not be too fussy as to the type of water that they are put in.
Hope this is some help
Dolphin
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