my angels are at it again

[angel_lover]

my angels have been fighting alot again but now its eems the tables have turned the male is dominating,i think he really hurt her today there is a peice of skin missing from her lip and now shes not eating,i even tried a peice a brine shrimp(which she loves)and she didnt budge.im gonna rearrange the tank again i guess i dont know what else to do

 

[Cian McLiam]

I hear ya Angel_lover!
Mine were like that for weeks and still jump at each other viciously when the tank lights go out, they even splash out of the water sometimes!
A lot of people recommend separating them for awhile but both lose colour and are very shy and timid when one is removed. Adding more may or may not help, it will give the aggressor more 'targets' but you could also introduce a psycho!!
Would love to hear some suggestions...

Ken

 

[Morrgan]

Ack, sorry to hear that angel_lover. Mine "disagree" every now and then, but they've never hurt each other. The only thing I can think of is to arrange more places for the other one to hide, put in more plants and such. Then she can at least get away from him and rest. Keep an eye on them and if the male keeps bullying her too much, then you'll have to separate them for a bit.

 

[angel_lover]

i went out today and bought tons of new stuff,it looks so awesome!!!!hopefully they will calm down.i'll keep you guys posted thanks

 

[missyintx_99]

Man, that is wild. My Angels might nip at each other occasionally, but I've never had one inflict actual damage on another. If redoing the decorations doesn't help the only other options would be to seperate them or return one.

Good luck! I hope it works out.

 

[peter101]

It is common to see angels grabbing eachother's mouths and shaking violently. If you are sure on the sexing of your angels, this is a common pre-spawning ritual in which angels take part in order for the female to test the male's strength. It is also a form of fighting. Remeber, they are ciclids and do not always act "angelic". You've done the right the in re-organising your tank but they may still go at it. I had a pair of angels who just wouldn't stop so I eventuall had to bring one back. What size tank are they in? a larger tank would provide for less territorial disputes so make sure that they are no too cramped.
good luck with your angel! a great fish

 

[angel_lover]

i have 2 in a 55 and ive had them for 8 months and just in the past 2-4 weeks they have been fighting alot,and they have spawned 4 times already so it doesnt seem like pre-spawning behaviour,because they didnt seem that rough b4 ...and i dont think i can part with either i love them sooooo much

 

[smb]

Might be the male wants to breed and the female doesn't. If this is the case you have to seperate them, at least for a while, or it will only get worse. Male cichlids will wear down and/or kill females if they want to breed and the females don't.

 

[KnuckleHead]

You could easily squeeze 2 more angels into that tank. That should help spread out any aggresion. I personnely know a great place to get angels by mail reletively cheap at that

 

[angel_lover]

I still have some babies left but i was hoping for them to spawn again,dont they have to alone to spawn???

 

[KnuckleHead]

Theyll spawn in a community tank. But the eggs wont stick around if theres any other fish nearby.

 

[smb]

I've had good luck breeding cons with other fish present, and in almost all cases I make sure their are other fish in there to help the pair bond. The cons won't let any other fish around and will team up and go after any other fish, regardless of size, to keep them away. I even had a 10" Midas that couldn't get near the eggs w/o getting attacked.

 

[angel_lover]

well i guess i could keep 2 of their babies,what do you guys think???right now its the 2 of them,5 babies,and temporarily a dwarf gourmais(i had to make space for the convicts)but actaully he doing just fine in there nobody bugs him and he doesnt bug anybody but hes probably lonely

 

[angel_lover]

ok this is getting out of hand,i dont know what is wrong with the male but he is really really agressive he never used to be like this it used to be her picking on him.i think im gonna take him out.how long should i keep him out for???

 

[smb]

I would keep them seperated for 3-5 days and try again. If they don't shape up within 2 days after reacclimation try it for 2 weeks and then re-introduce. If that doesn't help, I would consider the honeymoon over. Sometimes it happens, especially if you move an otherwise good breeding pair to new settings or take dither/target fish away after breeding. It's rare that this happens but it does happen.

You can try adding more females and see if that works.

I'm still thinking that the male wants to breed and the female doesn't and this is the only problem. Sometimes a seperation is what the Dr. ordered or the addition of more females helps spread out the males aggro and as a group, the females can cope with it.