Angel Pairing?

[mtv8dmarine]

I have 4 angels, two marble, one white and one koi. There has been a lot of activity in my tank tonight. It's been rather choatic. The 3 pearl gouramis are chasing each other off, harlequin rasboras are chasing each other and the scissortails off. And then there's my angels.

My white angel which I presume to be a male by the beak-like formation of the front of his head has been hovering over the left middle/top of my tank for the past 2 hours chasing just about everything else away. He only lets the corys swim by, one gourami and only one of the angels...the koi. Anything else gets chased.

Side note, timer just turned the lights off so he's not behaving antisocially now.

Anyway, the one angel he let in the area, the koi seemed dismissive of him despite being allowed in the "zone". I did notice that she flashed a couple times (no my tank does not have ich) and tonight it the only time I've noticed such behavior.

My question to the experts is, have I been witnessing a pairing taking place? Would they be looking to lay and fertilize eggs in that area? There's nothing but plants and sand there. The driftwood is clear across the other side of the tank.

 

[karin]

I don't consider myself an "expert", but I have been working with angels a bit. Just had 8 that worked down to two pairs. So I'll just share some thoughts.

How old or big are these angels? Mine were about an inch when they started pairing behavior... (bodies were an inch). Is there a leaf, heater, or stone near by (preferably on a slant) that the white angel is protecting? Angels like spawning on big leaves that are at an angel so swords and big leafed, tall anubias do very well for them. But they also spawn on rock and heaters and other stuff too. Have you noticed the white and the koi going "after" the other two angels. Are the other angels hanging out in a corner?

It does sound like you have a pair forming, sort of subtle at first and then, my experience, the pair gets a bit more aggressive with the non-paired angels. I have no idea what happens when you through gourami in the mix.

I'm not certain what happens in the long run with four angels in a 55. I have a pair in my 60 and all is peaceful with a little chasing during spawning.
In a 30 gallon I would never have more than a pair and even that is pushing it.

While it is very hard to sex angels, your guess that the white is a male is a good one but time will tell.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[mtv8dmarine]

I don't consider myself an "expert", but I have been working with angels a bit. Just had 8 that worked down to two pairs. So I'll just share some thoughts.

How old or big are these angels? Mine were about an inch when they started pairing behavior... (bodies were an inch). Is there a leaf, heater, or stone near by (preferably on a slant) that the white angel is protecting? Angels like spawning on big leaves that are at an angel so swords and big leafed, tall anubias do very well for them. But they also spawn on rock and heaters and other stuff too. Have you noticed the white and the koi going "after" the other two angels. Are the other angels hanging out in a corner?

It does sound like you have a pair forming, sort of subtle at first and then, my experience, the pair gets a bit more aggressive with the non-paired angels. I have no idea what happens when you through gourami in the mix.

I'm not certain what happens in the long run with four angels in a 55. I have a pair in my 60 and all is peaceful with a little chasing during spawning.
In a 30 gallon I would never have more than a pair and even that is pushing it.

While it is very hard to sex angels, your guess that the white is a male is a good one but time will tell.

Hope this helps a little.

All four get along fine. In fact only the white angel chases others away. The koi socializes fine with the other two but it the only one allowed in the area by the white one. I do have some anubias barteri (round leaf) on the lower half of the tank. Those are big broad angular leaves. In the same area are some swords. I haven't noticed anything on the leaves yet though. As far as the gourami's go, they aren't being chased out of the area except by their own kind for the most part. By this I mean the angel may simply turn around and the gourami will leave where as he actually will chase the other angels out. I don't know if that makes sense.

It is hard to tell sexing. Sometimes I think my koi has more of a beakish look but it wouldn't make sense that the white angel would be tolerant of another male in the area. Who knows, maybe their both female...it's certainly difficult to know for sure.

My black marble has a body size of about 1.5 - 2". The white, koi, and white marble all are about 1". The black marble from what I can tell just stays out of the area on it's own and doesn't seem to really care about the drama. Instead it just drifts about friendly and content.

If the behavior is present again tonight I will try and video it. It's difficult though with a digital camera and the fact that if I get within 5 feet of the tank all the fish stop what their doing and come to the glass. I'll see what happens and perhaps try.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

how big is the tank?

 

[mtv8dmarine]

how big is the tank?

55 gal. 4 feet long.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

oh. how tall?

 

[mtv8dmarine]

oh. how tall?

Almost 2' tall.

 

[mtv8dmarine]

Well, there was no such behavior between the angels tonight. It was back to normal everybody socializing around the tank and fine. Maybe the angel was constipated and therefor grumpy.