What to do with 3 angels?

[abcdefghi]

I have a 29G with 2 angels, M and F, in the past they have spawned a few times, but (and I believe this is probably due to me moving house twice) they have not spawned in around a year.

This would all be fine, but the M is constantly beating up the female, literally daily he is constantly beating her up, her fins are a mess. When they spawned it was around every 2 weeks, but I am fairly sure he just beats her up daily, it has gotten to the point that I am debating re-homing her (which I would hate to do, but at the same time hate to see her in such a condition).

Previously I tried putting the M back in my 55G (which already has another M angel in there). That did not go well, the angel already in the 55G attacked the "intruder" and so I had to move him back to the 29G. Originally all 3 were in the 55G, but I had to move the pair as the F was being aggressive to the M (that is still in the 55G) and I was worried for his health, and the M (who is now in the 29G) was actually very passive. Now the F is very passive, and the M is aggressive, but the F is constantly facing off to the M, shimmying in front of him etc. It's like she is teasing him and then he beats the crap out of her for it.

So, what do I do? I can't afford another tank, and don't think I could put all 3 angels back in the 55G (pretty sure it would be overstocked, and that either the F would start attacking the M again, or the M in the 55G would attack the M from the 29G, either way I end up with some pretty torn up looking angels). I could try a tank divider in the 29G, but ultimately that is only going to be a temporary solution. In a perfect world I would simply go buy a 120G+ tank and move all 3 angels into the larger tank, but I don't have the money to do so....Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks.

[montanafish gal]

sounds to me like you have 3 angels who are determined not to get along. If it were me, I'd choose one angel to rehome or take back to the LFS. I had to do the same thing, except in my case I had two pair in a tank and one pair starting terrorizing the other pair and being territorial. Ended up taking one pair back to LFS. Now there is peace in my tank again.
It's not always easy to choose a fish to get rid of, but it sounds like it may be the best solution for you and your angels. Good luck!

[Star_Rider]

have you tried placing the female in the 55 with the other angel?

I suspect tho that if she is 'beat' up the other fish may pick on her as well.

I had this problem in the past.

I now have 3 angels in separate tanks.
eventually I will shift the fish around and see how things go.

[abcdefghi]

have you tried placing the female in the 55 with the other angel?

I suspect tho that if she is 'beat' up the other fish may pick on her as well.


Not yet, but I have been debating giving it a go, it can't be any worse than now, and at least in the 55G there is more room. Maybe a tank divider to get her healthy looking, and then move her over.

My main concern then with 2 angels in the 55G is overstocking, it currently has:

1 angel
7 Rummy Nose
12 Black Neons
13 C. Paleatus
1 Rubberlip Pleco
4 (I think) Otos

I guess though that I could move either the Rummy Nose or Black Neons into the 29G.

[petluvr]

My two breeders fight ALL the time, and when I say fight I mean FIGHT. I attribute it to breeding. Mine stopped breeding for almost the same amount of time, I changed the tanks they are in and VOILA I have had eggs just about every two to two and a half weeks. Try doing a MAJOR cold water change and see if that helps, sounds like to me the male is wanting to spawn but the female has no eggs.

[Star_Rider]

your stocking may be a bit high but not really terrible.
with the exception of the angel and rubber lip the rest are pretty small.

[fishorama]

I agree with star rider. Try rearranging the 55 & add the female, worth a shot.

[abcdefghi]

Try doing a MAJOR cold water change and see if that helps, sounds like to me the male is wanting to spawn but the female has no eggs.

Well, I just gave them a 60% water change that brought the temperature down to about 72-74F from their usual 80F. Will see what happens over the next few days,

The female regularly looks fat and full of eggs, and her (I forget what it is called) ovipositur? is showing, but never any eggs get laid. Hopefully things start to improve, I am reluctant to try her in the 55G with the other male as they used to fight constantly.

[petluvr]

I went to Noahs Ark and bought a piece of slate, what they have out back and they have been laying on that. Is there broad leaf plants or something flat for them to lay on?

[abcdefghi]

I went to Noahs Ark and bought a piece of slate, what they have out back and they have been laying on that. Is there broad leaf plants or something flat for them to lay on?

They used to lay eggs on an Amazon sword, but I recently moved that plant to another tank (they had not laid eggs on it for months, and the plant was not doing so good) but there is a piece of slate in there leaned up against the side of the tank.