Should I Add Another Angelfish?

[fishnovice]

Got my first 2 angels about 8 months ago. They had been constantly fighting in the small bare tank they had been kept in but when I put them in my large community tank with lots of hiding places, plants and other fish they soon stopped fighting. I then got another pair of angels who were also constantly fighting with previous owner and added them to the first two. All 4 (one silver, 2 white with orange heads and one black/white mottled )get on well, no serious aggression and interestingly on the rare occasions they fancy a fight they always pick on their old sparring partner. Don't know how to sex angels but haven't seen any mating behaviour and they haven't had fry. It's so peaceful I sometimes forget angel are cichlids. Maybe I've just been lucky!

I've now acquired another angel, a black one, who is currently in with the gourami and assorted odd fish. Looks a bit lonely, though it a million times better than in its former home -previus person kept it in a BioOrb!!! Should I put it in with the other angels?Or would war break out? All 4 angels currently swim all over the tank and don't seem to have territories.

 

[angelfishguy]

What size tank is it?

 

[fishnovice]

3ft -only have a few livebearers and 3 young small BN there apart fom angels so tank is not overstocked. Angels are all small -medium size, not huge.

 

[snowflake311]

When ever you add new cichlid they will fight to get pecking order set. I find yes adding more can help.

 

[Uriel]

I was always advised to buy 1 Angelfish or 6+ Angelfish. Apparently the reason behind this is with 2-5 angel fish they will fight for dominance where as when there is 6+ they will act as a shoal and there shouldn't be any fighting(given ample tank space). Whether this is true or not i don't know.

 

[karin]

Max stocking for a 3 foot would be a pair of angels IMO. Assuming the tank is at least 17 inches tall.

 

[fishnovice]

There was absolutely no reaction from the first two when I added another two,all four swam separately most of the time or swam all togehter in a shoal.As I said if they fancy a squabble they wil always attack their original tankmate/victim not a fish from the other pair and there are no "inter pair" fights.
So the more angels the better, space permitting? Perhaps I'll add the black one at the weekend when I can watch them all closely and remove it if war breaks out.