Angel Fish

[delkimgreen1]

Years ago when my old man kept tropicals i remember him being less then thrilled when i bought him a pair of angel fish for fathers day. He said they would eat all his babies. Im tempted to get a pair purely for this purpose. Will they just hoover up the fry or will they attack my other fish i have guppies, swords, mollies and neon tetras ??

 

 

[Munroco]

Every fish will eat another fish if its small enough to fit into its mouth. Swords and mollies would have no problem, other than liking different water conditions. Neons, as long as they are big enough should be fine. I have 4 half grown angels in with a load of cardinals and other tetras and pencilfish, they never bother anything. If they were breeding it may be a different story.

 

[delkimgreen1]

ok understand that but are they nippy ? ie will they damage my guppies tails  ?

 

[Munroco]

I wondered about that, I'm not sure TBH but I don't think they'd bother the guppies

 

[Alasse]

My angels will definitely eat guppies & neons. They will actively hunt them down to do so. Do not trust an angel lol Some of mine are quite large, and if it fits in their mouth, they will chow on it

 

[DrRob]

They're variable creatures, but yes, overall, there is a risk. They will definitely eat neons once fully grown, and any fry smaller than that would be fair game for them.
 
Otherwise they're quite slow (apart from when they're in ambush mode) and can find fish like most of the livebearers a bit boisterous for them. My experience of them with guppies is that they drive them crazy and either nip the angel to death or taunt it until it goes on the warpath and you'll be left with a mess.
 
Cardinals though, as stated, once fully grown, are often about as small as you can go, and are sedate enough to be tolerated. It's a mix I like and have used before.

 

[Byron]

If I read the initial post correctly, you are asking about adding a pair of angelfish solely to eat livebearer fry.  This is not at all good.
 
First, angelfish are fish in their own right, and they need a suitable environment.  No mention is made of tank size, but they will attain six inches body length with a vertical fin span of 8+ inches, and this means a spacious tank.  Second, the fish must bond; a male will not accept any female, and vice versa.  If you only get two, they must be a bonded pair or one of them will likely be dead before long.  And as others have already mentioned, some of the other fish in this tank are not suitable for angels.
 
Second, they will not be able to adequately control livebearer fry.  And no fish should ever be purchased to deal with a "problem" that should be handled appropriately by the best means.
 
Third, fish should not be fed other fish (here referring to the basic fish we are discussing, not specialist feeders).  This is not some sort of animal welfare rant, it is based on nutrition.  Fish are not healthy food for other fish in an aquarium.  There is a vitamin issue (sorry, can't remember precisely what) so this is not something one should encourage.  While it is true than in the wild an angelfish would easily eat a neon tetra or similar fish if they encountered one (which is highly unlikely to begin with, given their respective habitats), small fish are certainly not the staple of their diet.  Insect larvae, worms and crustaceans form the principal food of almost all the fish we maintain in aquaria, and these ensure adequate nutritional needs are met.  
 
The fact that angelfish will eat (usually quite easily and readily) small linear fish in the aquarium is simply because the fish are being confined in a small space (compared to what nature intended) and certain habits emerge or are significantly heightened that would be minimal or non-existent naturally.
 
Byron.

 

[delkimgreen1]

Ok bad idea all round then Lol will just have to take out any fry that survive to adulthood and give to LTS.

 

 

[SeanTrollope]

they will kill all the guppies eventually

 

[delkimgreen1]

Yes i remember my dad trying to look pleased when i gave them to him all those years ago Lol . More i read the more i think there a species better kept in a shoal on there own.

 

[Byron]

More i read the more i think there a species better kept in a shoal on there own.

 
This is very true.  The angelfish is a shoaling species, naturally living in small groups (small is relative, just to differentiate from the groups of some other species like corys and characins that can number in the hundreds).  The fish will form a hierarchy within the group.  This is why the number of angelfish must never be less than five, except as mentioned previously for a bonded pair kept for spawning and rearing fish.  In such a small "group" there is significant likelihood that one or even more of the fish will be harassed to the point of death or at the very least very poor health.  Tankmates are possible, if carefully selected.  Corydoras are usually ideal...which reminds me of a video I came across showing what is perhaps the ideal aquarium for angelfish.  It may be of interest so I will attach it here; it is a large aquarium with a shoal of wild Pterophyllum scalare caught in the Rio Cuiuni, a SW tributary of the Rio Negro in Amazonas, Brazil.  You can easily observe the interactions of individual fish within this group, but no individual is picked on above what is absolutely normal.  This is quite a relaxing video too, which is after all what an aquarium should be.  Enjoy.
 
Byron.
 
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gXVgWLbZ-g