Agressive Angelfish

[fishrookie]

I have a 10 gallon tank that has two angelfish. (there are several other kinds of fish as well) When we bought them we were told that they would all do well together, and they have, for the past 2-3 months. I changed the water on Sunday and decided to rearrange the plants and reef. Apparently this was the wrong thing to do. The smaller of the angelfish has begun to attack the bigger one! When someone suggested that I move the stuff around I immediately clued in that maybe I had moved the stuff TOO much so I moved it all back to the original configuration. The pecking continued but now seems to have slowed, if not stopped...at least towards the injured angelfish. He has almost no tail (I say he but have no idea) and the front fins are obliterated. I feel horrible! I've added antibiotics to the tank in the hopes that he'll make it but the aggressive fish still seems to be "charging" at the other fish in the tank. What am I doing wrong??? The PH seems fine and the temp is also OK. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[TabMorte]

A 10G is WAY too small for an angel fish. I suspect that that's a huge contibuting factor to this aggression you're seeing. They're too crowded and need a MUCH larger home.

[roark fishies]

Time for a bigger tank! yay! Angels are territorial and they get big. About 6" long. They just don't have the space to set up their own territories in 10G. Two angels alone need at least a 20G I would think. And you said you have other fish as well. I would definately say time for a bigger tank.

[fishrookie]

Do you think 20G will be enough or if I really want to keep the angelfish will I need something even bigger, say, a 40G? When I called the pet store yesterday she said that angels will get as big as your hand and if I do a 20G when they get bigger I'll have the same problem all over again. I really wanted to ask why she let me buy the 2 angelfish when she new I was also buying a 10G... So, 20G or 40?

[TabMorte]

I would go with as large as you can afford. If you do a 20, yes that's exactly it you'll have the same problem. If you can go with a 50. It'll probably cost you just as much as the 40 and it's bigger. With fish tanks if you're keeping ciclids (which angel fish are) bigger is better.

[MOsborne05]

Originally Posted by fishrookie

Do you think 20G will be enough or if I really want to keep the angelfish will I need something even bigger, say, a 40G? When I called the pet store yesterday she said that angels will get as big as your hand and if I do a 20G when they get bigger I'll have the same problem all over again. I really wanted to ask why she let me buy the 2 angelfish when she new I was also buying a 10G... So, 20G or 40?

For future reference, don't trust anything the lfs tells you. They are trying to sell you something. When you find something that you like, do your own research or ask on here, we will tell you the truth because we care about the welfare of the fish.

I would go with a 40 gallon at minimum. Try to get a 45 if you can, because angels need taller tanks.

[roark fishies]

People at the fish store are generally pretty stoopid. I've heard of them selling 2 blood parrots (which get up to about 8-10") and oscars for a 10g.

[nrstype]

I'm in agreement with the rest of the folks, 10g is too small for 2 angels (angels are a semi~aggressive anyways) when the decor/plants were rearranged, the territories were skewed, and tempers flared for a piece of the tank. Looks as if one may want to rule the entire thing though now, so a bigger tank is in order.

I've kept angels in 5g tanks (to grow out after breeding them), when dime sized, put them in a 10g, etc...etc... I've bred koi's, veils and half black angels.

I have them comfortably "adult sized" in a 30g "long" fully grown veil angels (30g long, makes for more "territory" of their own), and koi angels in the 46g bowfront quite happily.

I would recommend a 29g/30g long if that is the BIGGEST you can go. Bigger would be better, but my angels I've bred and grown out now are comfy in these tanks, provided that they have their own space, which is why I opted for the 30g long tank.

Bigger is better for these fish. I only recommended the LEAST, minimum tank size.

Good luck.

[TabMorte]

If you can go to a 33 Long you can do a 39 which is the same length but taller. I'd go that route personally. Hell they're the same price at my LFS.

[BritishBookBug]

I would agree with everyone about bigger tanks for angels. I would also add that how many you have in a tank depends on their personalities. I had 4 angels in a 46 gal tank. They fought all the time. My gold/silver angel had its dorsal fin completely broken off. I had to hospitalize him in a 10 gal for a few weeks to help him recover. Then he had to go in the 75 community tank. We couldn't put him back in the 46 gal. I eventually gave the 2 aggressive angels to the lfs and kept a black veil female. I now have the male silver/gold with the black veil female in the 29 gal tank. They have bonded and are spawning, so there are no territory issues. The silver/gold angel's dorsal fin grew back. That was amazing to see. I used Melafix in the hospital tank to help him heal. I also added a little salt to the water as he had a wound on his back too. Angels can be brutal. I am careful not to put any fish in their tank that they might see as a threat. I think my problem was that I had 3 males and 1 female, which of course I didn't realize when I first bought them. Good luck with your angels. They really are worth the effort.