Angelfish making sounds, and sexing

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Dragonswynter

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Hi all ☺
I have have been scouring the web trying to find anything I could about this phenomena, and I have found precious little information.
I have a 55 gallon, all angelfish (6), 1 ivory mystery snail, 2 nerites, and several plants.
Well for the last couple of months I've been hearing a strange kind of noise coming from my tank. It almost sounds like a knock, and I've been thinking someone is hitting the tank glass during their skirmishes. Tonight I finally saw it happen. My largest angel is making this sound itself. It is remarkably loud. I usually sit a good 6-7 feet away from the tank, it's set up in pur living room. I can clearly hear this noise over the television. I was able to find a very few questions on the web about this, posted on various forums. I've seen where long time angel keepers say that in the 30+ years they've bred them they have never heard a noise from any angels. And they can't imagine you'd hear it thru the water and the glass, especially with normal ambient noise, such as tv etc... And the few people who actually have heard sounds think they may be imagining it, because nobody else has ever experienced it. They're unable to get acknowledgement that yes, this is happening, they aren't going nuts.
It is only my largest angel making these sounds, at least as far as I have witnessed. I've also been thinking it is a male, due to just how aggressive it has been toward the other angels. Two of which were a proven breeding pair, so I know their sexes. The other large one in the tank I'm pretty sure is a male. I was able to get a look at that one's tube quite a while ago. I suppose it was extended then because the known female was placing her eggs. However, I just saw what looks to me like a female breeding tube on the biggest one. The known female died a couple of days ago, so now my known male is in what I believe to be a mourning state. He didn't start eating again until tonight, and would stay in the same spot where he and his mate were rearing their fry. They were the dominant fish in the tank. Now the dynamic has totally flipped, and he is being dominated and driven into fleeing and hiding from the biggest one.
It seems like the big one is trying to court or coax the non-paired angel maybe? When I witnessed the sounds, they were side by side, or the suspected male was moving away. It was almost like It was trying to call him back. Now I could very well be projecting, as I am far far far from being any kind of authority on fish! And sometimes they are near the others when I hear the sounds, so maybe it's a dominance thing not a mating thing?? I am leaning toward mating though, as they are usually on their own when I hear it, and the largest one is being very domineering over all others in the tank. Much more so now than ever before.

I would love to know if anyone has ever heard a freshwater angel vocalize in some way??
I did find a video of a marine emporer make sounds very much like what I hear from mine, but I've been unable to find anything else about freshwater varieties.
Also, if someone versed in sexing could take a look at the pictures I'm including, and let me know if I in fact have a male or female, that would be wonderful!
Thanks for reading my novel here, sorry it's so long! I tend to be a little OCD about details 🙄
 

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Hi all ☺
I have have been scouring the web trying to find anything I could about this phenomena, and I have found precious little information.
I have a 55 gallon, all angelfish (6), 1 ivory mystery snail, 2 nerites, and several plants.
Well for the last couple of months I've been hearing a strange kind of noise coming from my tank. It almost sounds like a knock, and I've been thinking someone is hitting the tank glass during their skirmishes. Tonight I finally saw it happen. My largest angel is making this sound itself. It is remarkably loud. I usually sit a good 6-7 feet away from the tank, it's set up in pur living room. I can clearly hear this noise over the television. I was able to find a very few questions on the web about this, posted on various forums. I've seen where long time angel keepers say that in the 30+ years they've bred them they have never heard a noise from any angels. And they can't imagine you'd hear it thru the water and the glass, especially with normal ambient noise, such as tv etc... And the few people who actually have heard sounds think they may be imagining it, because nobody else has ever experienced it. They're unable to get acknowledgement that yes, this is happening, they aren't going nuts.
It is only my largest angel making these sounds, at least as far as I have witnessed. I've also been thinking it is a male, due to just how aggressive it has been toward the other angels. Two of which were a proven breeding pair, so I know their sexes. The other large one in the tank I'm pretty sure is a male. I was able to get a look at that one's tube quite a while ago. I suppose it was extended then because the known female was placing her eggs. However, I just saw what looks to me like a female breeding tube on the biggest one. The known female died a couple of days ago, so now my known male is in what I believe to be a mourning state. He didn't start eating again until tonight, and would stay in the same spot where he and his mate were rearing their fry. They were the dominant fish in the tank. Now the dynamic has totally flipped, and he is being dominated and driven into fleeing and hiding from the biggest one.
It seems like the big one is trying to court or coax the non-paired angel maybe? When I witnessed the sounds, they were side by side, or the suspected male was moving away. It was almost like It was trying to call him back. Now I could very well be projecting, as I am far far far from being any kind of authority on fish! And sometimes they are near the others when I hear the sounds, so maybe it's a dominance thing not a mating thing?? I am leaning toward mating though, as they are usually on their own when I hear it, and the largest one is being very domineering over all others in the tank. Much more so now than ever before.

I would love to know if anyone has ever heard a freshwater angel vocalize in some way??
I did find a video of a marine emporer make sounds very much like what I hear from mine, but I've been unable to find anything else about freshwater varieties.
Also, if someone versed in sexing could take a look at the pictures I'm including, and let me know if I in fact have a male or female, that would be wonderful!
Thanks for reading my novel here, sorry it's so long! I tend to be a little OCD about details 🙄
Can’t get audio up. Read my big catfish can vocalize, never heard it. Guess unlikely, only have the one. Someone here was saying their fish do make sounds. Can’t remember who said it or fish type. Fascinating.
 
Can’t get audio up. Read my big catfish can vocalize, never heard it. Guess unlikely, only have the one. Someone here was saying their fish do make sounds. Can’t remember who said it or fish type. Fascinating.

Thank you for your reply! I am completely fascinated by this!! I would really love to know if anyone else has ever heard a freshwater angel "vocalize", or any other species of fish for that matter?!
Sorry, I haven't been able to get the sound recorded, yet. I am working on that though. As I said, I was able to find a couple of videos on YouTube of marine Emperor Angels "vocalizing", and it is very, very similar to the sound my freshwater Angel is making. I'm not sure if it's maybe a breeding thing, or an aggression thing? It almost seems to be trying to maybe entice another in the tank? It seems to make the sounds when they are close together.

***If someone could look at the pictures I posted with my original post and verify if I in fact have a female or male on my hands with that particular fish, I would really appreciate it! To me it looks like a female breeding tube, but I am far from an expert!
 
Thank you for your reply! I am completely fascinated by this!! I would really love to know if anyone else has ever heard a freshwater angel "vocalize", or any other species of fish for that matter?!
Sorry, I haven't been able to get the sound recorded, yet. I am working on that though. As I said, I was able to find a couple of videos on YouTube of marine Emperor Angels "vocalizing", and it is very, very similar to the sound my freshwater Angel is making. I'm not sure if it's maybe a breeding thing, or an aggression thing? It almost seems to be trying to maybe entice another in the tank? It seems to make the sounds when they are close together.

***If someone could look at the pictures I posted with my original post and verify if I in fact have a female or male on my hands with that particular fish, I would really appreciate it! To me it looks like a female breeding tube, but I am far from an expert!
Fascinating! I will google & let you know if anything pops up.
 
I've not heard my angelfishes speak to myself; but the clown loaches sure do make a racket at times.
lol I remember when I first got Clown loaches and I didn't know they did that. Spent ages trying to figure out where this clicking noise was coming from. Also remembered getting freaked out when I found them sleeping upside down but thats going off topic..
 
Only tank around here producing noise is the big one with the sump tank below. The husband has been fiddling with the flow rate, but still gets loud sometimes & we don‘t know why. System recently purchased used.
 
Absolutely, yes they do! I have 2 adult male fully grown angelfish and they were always clicking at each other, with their mouths, it is rather loud and seems to send shockwaves through the tank scaring the other fish, I believe it is a dominance thing and a show of strength, the louder the better! ps the breeding tube looks male :)
 
Hi all ☺
I have have been scouring the web trying to find anything I could about this phenomena, and I have found precious little information.
I have a 55 gallon, all angelfish (6), 1 ivory mystery snail, 2 nerites, and several plants.
Well for the last couple of months I've been hearing a strange kind of noise coming from my tank. It almost sounds like a knock, and I've been thinking someone is hitting the tank glass during their skirmishes. Tonight I finally saw it happen. My largest angel is making this sound itself. It is remarkably loud. I usually sit a good 6-7 feet away from the tank, it's set up in pur living room. I can clearly hear this noise over the television. I was able to find a very few questions on the web about this, posted on various forums. I've seen where long time angel keepers say that in the 30+ years they've bred them they have never heard a noise from any angels. And they can't imagine you'd hear it thru the water and the glass, especially with normal ambient noise, such as tv etc... And the few people who actually have heard sounds think they may be imagining it, because nobody else has ever experienced it. They're unable to get acknowledgement that yes, this is happening, they aren't going nuts.
It is only my largest angel making these sounds, at least as far as I have witnessed. I've also been thinking it is a male, due to just how aggressive it has been toward the other angels. Two of which were a proven breeding pair, so I know their sexes. The other large one in the tank I'm pretty sure is a male. I was able to get a look at that one's tube quite a while ago. I suppose it was extended then because the known female was placing her eggs. However, I just saw what looks to me like a female breeding tube on the biggest one. The known female died a couple of days ago, so now my known male is in what I believe to be a mourning state. He didn't start eating again until tonight, and would stay in the same spot where he and his mate were rearing their fry. They were the dominant fish in the tank. Now the dynamic has totally flipped, and he is being dominated and driven into fleeing and hiding from the biggest one.
It seems like the big one is trying to court or coax the non-paired angel maybe? When I witnessed the sounds, they were side by side, or the suspected male was moving away. It was almost like It was trying to call him back. Now I could very well be projecting, as I am far far far from being any kind of authority on fish! And sometimes they are near the others when I hear the sounds, so maybe it's a dominance thing not a mating thing?? I am leaning toward mating though, as they are usually on their own when I hear it, and the largest one is being very domineering over all others in the tank. Much more so now than ever before.

I would love to know if anyone has ever heard a freshwater angel vocalize in some way??
I did find a video of a marine emporer make sounds very much like what I hear from mine, but I've been unable to find anything else about freshwater varieties.
Also, if someone versed in sexing could take a look at the pictures I'm including, and let me know if I in fact have a male or female, that would be wonderful!
Thanks for reading my novel here, sorry it's so long! I tend to be a little OCD about details 🙄
If you google “angel fish vocalizations” You will actually hear them!
Also you’ll find blogs with ppl discussing this phenomenon.
 
Absolutely, yes they do! I have 2 adult male fully grown angelfish and they were always clicking at each other, with their mouths, it is rather loud and seems to send shockwaves through the tank scaring the other fish, I believe it is a dominance thing and a show of strength, the louder the better! ps the breeding tube looks male :)

Awesome! Thank you!! I had no idea that any fish vocalize until I tried to find an answer searching online. I find it all to be AMAZING! Thus far it has only been that one, at least that I've seen.

It being a male, it definitely makes sense that it's a dominance thing. The other two larger angels are also male. One just recently lost it's mate. He had been pretty docile since, but not anymore. I guess maybe his mourning period is over and now and he wants his top spot back.
I am going to rehome at least the largest male.

I have three small ones in the tank also, hoping at least a couple are female. They are still too young to tell right now. They're growing well, have more than doubled their size in the 4-5 months I've had them. Two of them are already very testy with each other, and they both hassle the other small one. For the most part, two of the big ones tend to ignore the small ones. The male that lost his mate could care less about the small ones.
It would be just my luck to end up having all males!! 🤣🤣
 

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