View Full Version : Angelfish
Alright, now my angelfish is starting to headbutt all the fish.. our gold gourami, our swordtail, or other gouramis and chasing the small fish. What should we do?? He wont stop.
Will we have to sell him? I don't want to but is there anything we can do?
zpromoter
08-29-2009, 11:43 AM
What size tank is this in? Do you only have one angelfish? If you only have one, this behavior is not surprising as they get fairly aggressive when kept by themselves.
jm1212
08-29-2009, 12:28 PM
tank size is important.
blue gouramis/etc. are not very good tankmates for angelfish
dmann
08-29-2009, 11:02 PM
buy your other fish, helmets lol
should have one more angel
I have a 35 gallon tank. I have one angel (small), a blue gourami, a gold gourami, and an opaline gourami. Other fish are small.
People told me that they get along.. and I read up on them and it says they are good tankmates.
bluekrissyspike
08-29-2009, 11:49 PM
angelfish are pretty territorial. you might get one once in a while that doesn't mind sharing it's tankspace with med sized fish but in a tank that size i think the pecking or headbutting is going to be inevitable. don't forget, angelfish are cichlids and cichlids are not exactly known for being overly friendly to tankmates. not sure how big or old your angel is. i got mine 2 years ago at dime sized. after the first year he was just over four inches long. now he is 7 inches long. and growing. the bigger he gets, the more aggressive he is. he was in a 30g to himself but he just looked too cramped in there so now he's in the 55 on his own. if i add 'friends' he just bugs them non stop. they are beautiful though, and have great personalities when it comes in interacting with their keepers. i often feel they are being misrepresented when they are catagorized as 'great community fish'.
Hebily
08-30-2009, 1:23 AM
You do NOT want to put a second angel in that tank! It will NOT solve the problem. It will make it worse. They will either fight all the time, or pair. If they pair, they will not leave the other fish alone. Either way, there will be blood. With just the one, it might settle down after a while... how long has this been going on, and how long has the angel been in the tank?
BettaFishMommy
08-30-2009, 1:51 AM
i agree with Hebily, adding another angel will most likely not end in a good situation, and adding any fish to a tank with a very dominant fish isn't good either.
i find it interesting to read that having a solitary angel in a tank with other fish can cause the angel to be 'mean'. i have two angels in separate tanks and both are just fine with their various tankmates. one angel is even in with endler males that are less than an inch long and no casualties.
Its been in the tank a couple weeks and it started acting out a few days ago.
bluekrissyspike
08-30-2009, 1:44 PM
it will only get worse as it matures, i think. i'd personally set it up it's own tank if possible or take it back to the lps. i hate returning fish, but if you have to...