Mixing Different Size Angelfish.

[chilledtim]

My girlfriend has 2 marbeled angelfish in her tank about 2"~2.5" body length, Im going to be picking up some baby silver angel fish soon around 1" body length.

If i got 2-3 for her tank aswell would they all be ok, I ask because one of her angelfish has made himself the Alfa and picks on the other one abit i guess to re-enstate his authority.
Will he see new angels as challenges and start attacking them strait away or will he ignore them as there only juvies?

Many thanks

 

[Tolak]

What are the measurements of the tank they will be going into? It's a tough call with angels, as they are cichlids, and each has it's own personality. There are some things you can do to make it more likely to work out, provided the tank is large enough for all the angels.

When you get the new angels home, take the dominant angel, and put it in a bucket of tank water. If you can add an air supply & a small heater you can keep the fish in the bucket overnight. Cover the bucket after adding the dominant angel, don't want any jumpers.

Rearrange the tank the dominant fish came out of, angels key their territory off of objects in the tank. Doing this will destroy any old territories. Add the new angels to the tank after properly acclimating, dimming the lights will help them settle in. Once they seem happy with their surroundings add the angel from the bucket.

I've played this swtcheroo game with angels countless times, most recently with a known male & female adult silver. The female didn't like the male in a 29, I pulled the male, and kept him in a 10 for a few days. I added the aggressive female, they were instant buddies. I'm waiting for some spawning behavior before they get moved to a larger tank.

 

[chilledtim]

Tolak always to my rescue lol

Her tanks a 3ft 30G, Would that 'moving territory around' thing need to be done when adding any new angelfish?

she bought 4 Angels over a year ago but 1 died withing the 1st 24 hours, then another went 9 months later leaving just the 2 so she feels more are needed to make the tank look complete again