My Angelfish are bullies

[Kryptonite27]

About two weeks ago i got 2 Angelfish juviniles off my friend who is a breeder here in NZ (about 3 months old from fry to know). I also have another 4-5month old Marbled Angel in my tank so they all not to big. I have a few questions, one is considerably smaller than the other two and just wondering is this normal? He/she also persists of badgering the heck out of my two bristlenose catfish one is orange one its spotted. It heards them around the tank but not ever nipping at them just chasing them. I have pipes 3 bushy plants and a piece of driftwood shaped like a cove so plenty of cover but they like the easter island statue i have. Will this Angel being the smallest stop doing this or is this the first warning of agressive behaviour. Also how early is too early to sex them? I have uploaded a picture if this helps anyone sex it. It is only about 3cm in size so still very small.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Angelfish are chiclids so basically they do sometimes show aggressive behaviours toward tankmate as well as amongst other angels.

As for sexing these, I am not clued up really on this for angels, so will leave that for more knowledagable members to comment.

One thing you must note if you are not already aware, angels are not the smallest of fish, grows to around 6 - 8 inches on average so not exactly small when you consider you need a group of at least 5 to help spread the agression.

Due to their size, a tank of at least 55 cm or around 2 feet in height is considered minimum as they need to have room to swim upright comfortably as they do have long trailing fins and find it stressful if in shallower waters. A tank of 200 litres / 50 US gallons is considered ok for angels.

Angelfish

 

[Essjay]

Angels are virtually impossible to sex until they breed. There are angelfish experts who claim to be able to tell the difference before they spawn, but even they don't get it 100% right. Juvenile angels are impossible to tell apart.

 

[Byron]

I agree with both Ch4rlie and essjay. Discerning gender is sometimes easier by observing behaviours, though that may not always work either. Your "bully" is not likely going to change its behaviours; we cannot alter the personality of a fish.

But you have a real problem here, whatever the genders. Angelfish must be in groups of at least five. This requires a long tank, minimum 4 feeet/120 cm. But then they will likely pair off, and the trouble really begins.

If you do not have space for five, or do not want the result down the road, a single angelfish is preferable. However, I do not recommend this because it is not natural for the angelfish to be on its own, as it is a shoaling species, and maintaining fish contyrary to what they expect is not the way to go.

Byron.

 

[Kryptonite27]

Thanks guys