Angel Tank

[Mako Man111]

I know it varies fish to fish, but in your peoples experience, how agressive are these fish towards each other if they are not a pair?

 

[Tolak]

It depends somewhat on the size of the tank, and how many other angels there are. Decorations, which fish often use to orient territories off of, also come into play.

I have a 65 that took around 14 angels to find a compatible mix for 7 fish. This includes a pair of blacks and a pair of zebras in there with 2 unpaired silvers & an unpaired zebra. This took a good 6 to 8 months of fish switching to work out. In the process a pair of silvers which were terrors had to be relocated, a couple of koi were getting beat on by the zebras, and a third black really took a whipping by the black pair. There was also a pair of marbles that were barely tolerant of each other, much less any other angel.

I have a 55 with a couple of pairs, along with around 8 breeder size angels, and several dime to quarter size juvies. Other than an occasional chase, the pairs don’t bother the other fish. I have a second 55 stocked almost the same, which is even more peaceful.

I have a 29 with 4 adult koi, and an adult marble that I'm working on getting a pair, these fish are almost too tolerant of each other, and need to show some signs of aggression, signaling pairing behavior. There was a 5th koi, which was constantly getting harassed, and ended up going in the 1st 55 I mentioned, which ended up pairing with a gold. I have some 2 1/2 week olds growing out from that pair.

The black from the 65 needed a 2-month recovery until the fins were healed up, ended up pairing with another black, and looks better than either of the fish that beat on it. It's the male of one of my best breeding pairs.

So, the way I see it, it's around 50/50 whether they will be compatible, and stocking more like an African cichlid tank can be beneficial, as long as you have someplace to relocate fish to if they don't work out. I hope these examples help.

 

[Mako Man111]

It depends somewhat on the size of the tank, and how many other angels there are. Decorations, which fish often use to orient territories off of, also come into play.

I have a 65 that took around 14 angels to find a compatible mix for 7 fish. This includes a pair of blacks and a pair of zebras in there with 2 unpaired silvers & an unpaired zebra. This took a good 6 to 8 months of fish switching to work out. In the process a pair of silvers which were terrors had to be relocated, a couple of koi were getting beat on by the zebras, and a third black really took a whipping by the black pair. There was also a pair of marbles that were barely tolerant of each other, much less any other angel.

I have a 55 with a couple of pairs, along with around 8 breeder size angels, and several dime to quarter size juvies. Other than an occasional chase, the pairs don’t bother the other fish. I have a second 55 stocked almost the same, which is even more peaceful.

I have a 29 with 4 adult koi, and an adult marble that I'm working on getting a pair, these fish are almost too tolerant of each other, and need to show some signs of aggression, signaling pairing behavior. There was a 5th koi, which was constantly getting harassed, and ended up going in the 1st 55 I mentioned, which ended up pairing with a gold. I have some 2 1/2 week olds growing out from that pair.

The black from the 65 needed a 2-month recovery until the fins were healed up, ended up pairing with another black, and looks better than either of the fish that beat on it. It's the male of one of my best breeding pairs.

So, the way I see it, it's around 50/50 whether they will be compatible, and stocking more like an African cichlid tank can be beneficial, as long as you have someplace to relocate fish to if they don't work out. I hope these examples help.

Thanks for the response. If I wanted to keep say 2 pairs, what size tank would you recommend?

 

[Tolak]

I've seen pairs in bare bottom 29's or 30's, with a divider. You really have to watch your water quality with this type of stocking. Many breeders will keep 3 pairs in a bare 55 with 2 dividers. If you are looking for a more decorated tank, a 55 with 2 pairs works well, especially if you can make a sort of natural divider with the decorations.