Angel Fish, Single? Pair? Shoal?

[beany_bot]

Hi folks. Bit of advice needed here.

Is it best to keep Angel fish on their own or in a pair or what in a community tank? 55Gal. The tank has no barbs or known fin nippers. I just think I heard they are quite terratorial like RTBS's ? I have a RTBS by the way but hes harmless.

 

[Colin_T]

if you want a breeding pr then get a group of young and grow them up together. Once they mature they will pr off. Seperate the prs into their own tanks to prevent fighting.
Adults can live individually or in prs.
Young usually occur in groups until they start to mature. Then the group breaks up.

 

[beany_bot]

Thanks, so two would be ok in a tank together without tearing lumps out of each other? Is there anyway of sexing them? I would love it for them to breed.

 

[Colin_T]

if the two are a pr then they will be ok. If you stick two adults together and they are both the same sex they could fight. Hence the reason you buy a group of young and grow them up together so they can pr off naturally.

You can get the fish DNA sexed by a vet or you can watch the adults when breeding. Males have a longer thinner ovipositor (egg laying tube) and the females have a shorter wider ovipositor. Males will sometimes develop a slightly humped forehead. This is due to a build up of fatty tissue that gets used as a food reserve during lean times. Females don't normally have it.

 

[Tobigara]

I would think that 2-3 adults in a 55 would be ok even if they aren't a pair. i'm not sure about this tho so i would go with what Colin says and try to get a pair