Angelfish That Aint No Angels!

johno · Jun 18, 2008

Hi Ladies and Gents! first post here, but ive been reading on the sly for some time

I was recently givin 3 mature angel fish from a friend who didnt want them anymore..
I'm aware that they are pretty aggressive fish, and dont take too kindly to other fish when they are matured/older then what they do when they are younger

But the thing is the two black angels are ganging up on the gold one and harrasing it like mad :angry:

Is it because he is gold? (IZ IT BCOZ I IZ GOLD?!) haha sorry..
or is it just because they are a pair and feel threatend by the other angel?

I have a 20Gal tank and it has no other fish in it.

martyn413 · Jun 18, 2008

Hi and welcome to this amazing site.

I'd say that your tank is a bit small. The other 2 may have paired up and feel threatend by goldies presence.

How big are the angels and what is the tanks dimensions?

Angels need deep tanks, at least 18" because of their fins.

Also - you said the tank is empty so what was in there before? Is the tank cycled? If not they may be reacting weird because of the ammonia.

Regards,

Martyn

johno · Jun 18, 2008

johno said:
Hi Ladies and Gents! first post here, but ive been reading on the sly for some time

I was recently givin 3 mature angel fish from a friend who didnt want them anymore..
I'm aware that they are pretty aggressive fish, and dont take too kindly to other fish when they are matured/older then what they do when they are younger

But the thing is the two black angels are ganging up on the gold one and harrasing it like mad Is it because he is gold? (IZ IT BCOZ I IZ GOLD?!) haha sorry..
or is it just because they are a pair and feel threatend by the other angel?

I have a 20Gal tank and it has no other fish in it.

It had fish in it ages ago, but has had a fresh cycle since then

I'd say the biggest black one is about 4" or 5" ? including the fins

The tank is 15" high.

The only thing is my pH is slightly high, 7.8ish wich i plan to lower in the next few days when i can.

martyn413 · Jun 18, 2008

I wouldn't mess with the PH. A stable Ph is better than a fluctuating one.

Martyn

johno · Jun 18, 2008

Martyn413 said:
I wouldn't mess with the PH. A stable Ph is better than a fluctuating one.

Martyn

So any ideas how i can stop them from killin the poor goldie? :good:

martyn413 · Jun 18, 2008

is there enough hiding places? what is the water stats? ammonia? Nitrite? nitrate?

Unfortunately You may have to re home goldie otherwise they will damage him or kill him. :-(

Martyn

johno · Jun 18, 2008

Martyn413 said:
is there enough hiding places? what is the water stats? ammonia? Nitrite? nitrate?

Unfortunately You may have to re home goldie otherwise they will damage him or kill him.

Martyn

Yea there is plenty of hiding places, thats what he spends all his time doing, hiding and running into the plants / cave

the water conditions are fine, no traces of ammonia or nitrite / nitrate.

Looks like im gonna have to find him a new home? where, i dont know... shame because hes a good lookin little fella!

Corleone · Jun 18, 2008

If it's always the same two after the same one, it sounds like they paired off. You'll probably have to rehome the victim, because it can get nasty. Here's a thread with some of the results of a similar situation: http

/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical...ery-Sick-Angel/

On the upside, you might get some baby angels out of it. If the two start laying eggs, they might eat them the first few times, or eat their fry after that, but eventually they'll figure out how it works and you might be able to raise some of them.

johno · Jun 18, 2008

When i go right upto the tank and look in, they group together and sit lookin at me as if ive just caught them being naughty :lol:

Im deffinatly gonna have to take it out because there laying into him pretty hard :angry:

Miss Wiggle · Jun 18, 2008

yeah unfortunatley in a 20gal the gold angel really doesn't have enough space to get away from the pair, in a significantly bigger tank you could make it work but with that much space you really only have one choice, re-home the gold angel.

however that being said, a 20gal is no place for a pair of adult angels, so if you can't provide them with a bigger tank (think 30/40gals) you should be thinking about re-homing all three of them tbh.

rabbut · Jun 18, 2008

A 20g is fine for a breeding pair. A pair of fish that aren't proven though, will likely eventually kill each other in a 20g though :sad:

As Miss Wiggle says, at this point I'd re-home both.

All the best
Rabbut

Miss Wiggle · Jun 18, 2008

rabbut said:
A 20g is fine for a breeding pair. A pair of fish that aren't proven though, will likely eventually kill each other in a 20g though As Miss Wiggle says, at this point I'd re-home both.

All the best
Rabbut

I dunno..... I'd always a more is more girl though, having seen angels in a 2 foot tall 60 gal tank, seen how they've stretched out and thrived, I'd be very uncomfortable having a fully grown pair in a 20gal.....

rabbut · Jun 18, 2008

TBH it's more to do with the height they have, than capasity. Looking over the thread I don't think 15 inches is realy enough....

johno · Jun 18, 2008

They realy dont look as tho the tank isnt big enough :blink:

is it not just a case of "i would love to have a huge big house so i could thrive and have loads of room to do stuff in, but i could quite happily live in a decent sized house and be fine"

If that makes any sense.... i dunno im teird :good:

waterdrop · Jun 18, 2008

Interesting, from an evolutionary standpoint I wonder if it is that if the blacks have paired up, they view the gold as a potential eater of the eggs?

I kind of think of 28/29 gallon tall as the beginner size that a pair of angels can be part of a small community and be kept to maturity, but even that is cramping them.

~~waterdrop~~