Should I get a pair or a single angelfish

[authmal]

Since Saturday. It's body is about quarter sized, I would guess.

Thankfully, others have mentioned it, or I'd've only fed once per day, like I do with my other fish. Unfortunately, on weekdays, one feeding will be about 6 am, and the next won't be until about 3:30, but I'll do another feed at about 5, which is when I'll feed the rest of my fish as well, then I'll do I'll do another about 8.

No one mentioned the need for frequent water changes, but I did about a 10% yesterday while vacuuming up uneaten food, and will do so probably every day they (the angel and 11 rummynose) are in quarantine. It's tedious, but safer than leaving uneaten food to decay. So, I inadvertently stumbled into taking care of that. I'm not a huge fan of angels, but I made the decision to have it, I picked it out, I brought it home, and I will do what I can to make sure it's able to live a healthy life.

For what it's worth, my eldest daughter is ecstatic, my youngest is ambivalent because she doesn't like the orange on it.

 

[authmal]

I was just worried, because I only saw it taking food off the bottom. It ignored the food for the first few minutes. I'm surprised the rummies didn't eat it all first. Unlike my other fish, I've actually taken the time to watch to make sure it ate. The only thing I saw it eat Saturday was bloodworms (I usually feed bloodworms after putting fish into quarantine, transferring to main tank, or after water changes on main). Yesterday, I saw it eat pellets twice, but it waited for a while before doing so.

 

[authmal]

Ate 3 pellets while I watched this time, and 2 were still sinking. So that's an improvement. Came out of the corner away from the heater toward the middle of the back part of the tank, so that's also an improvement. The rummies? Unlike the fish in my main tank, these come right up to me. I'm certain that when I do a water change tonight, they'll be investigating my hand.

 

[stephcps]

Ed has FAR more experience than me on this....but I have raised quite a few angels. I never did daily water changes. But, as I do on all my tanks with juvie fish, would do every other to every 3rd day water changes. While my angels may not have reached their full potential growth wise....they are still quite large, beautiful and healthy. I do think young fish grow better with more frequent water changes.
Also at quarter sized I would leave off the 5pm feed and just do the 0600, 330 and 8pm. But, that's just me.

Sounds like he is still just a little skittish, but coming around!

 

[Captain Jim]

Yeh, he's learning new foods..sounds like he may not be the most boisterous bear in the woods.

 

[authmal]

Yeh, he's learning new foods..sounds like he may not be the most boisterous bear in the woods.

That's possible. They feed a different flake (it's not just red) at the LFS. I have Omega One. Angel (haven't really thought about a name yet) doesn't seem to care for the Omega One flakes. Nibbles, but, not a ton. Seems to be less dissatisfied with the NLS pellets, in that it will eat a few pellets, usually 3, while I watch. I'll be doing a bloodworm feeding today. I guess I could find out what flake they feed, and mix some with the other foods, to see if that makes the transition to new foods less problematic. The rummies love everything I throw in the tank. As predicted, when I siphoned out uneaten food and stuff, they weren't afraid of the arm monster at all, bumped into my fingers, investigated the gravel vac, and just hung out by the arm monster. The rummies are acting more like personable cichlids than my cichlid! :screwy:

 

[Star_Rider]

Quarter size is a juvenile..how quickly it got to that size is dependant upon genetics and how it was cared for in growout.

Angels are very similar to discus tho tend to be a bit more aggressive feeding.. it was use to being in a large school so alone would tend to be shy. they often forage on the bottom especially if there are more active feeders in then tank..
a minimum of 3 feedings at this size I tend to feed 4 X until half dollar sized...then drop it to 2-3.. I still feed my Adults 2 smaller feedings per day.
My Altum eat 3-4 Times as adults. again smaller feedings letting them forage.
small daily water changes to remove uneaten food with 1-2 larger weekly water changes are fine.
I use Kens angel flake for mine along with bloodworm and black worms

 

[authmal]

I've thought about getting black worms, but I haven't found a place locally that sells them. I want to get a small quantity first, and see how that goes, then think about getting more. I'm happy with Omega One, and I got the smallest jar. I'll get a larger one, or try Kens when I'm out of flake.

As far as how quickly... I don't know how long my LFS had them before putting them on display, but I think they were in the tank a week before I picked mine out. One of the things I like about my LFS is that they quarantine everything they get, going so far as to have a separate quarantining facility. That said, I don't know how old the angels were.

 

[stephcps]

Look at getting freeze dried black worms! They are soooooooo much easier and actually safer. Retain all of their nutrient value as well. I buy from aquaticsuppliers.com
These are EXTREMELY popular with discus people right now. Check them out. If you email Al he will even send you a sample! I have been using them for a couple of years now as a dietary staple for most of my fish. They absolutely love them....but don't get as spoiled as they do with the live blackworms. I found when I was feeding live most of my fish refused other foods and would hold out for the live. I don't see the same issue with freeze dried. So I usually feed once with the worms and once with flake. Some of my tanks get a 3rd and that would be NLS pellets.

 

[authmal]

Well, the angel still isn't eating much, which is a bit of a concern, considering how many people say that young angels are little gluttons. This coming Sunday will mark a mere week in quarantine. Do you think moving it out of quarantine and into a larger, much more decorated tank would help it be less skittish? The QT is bare aside from heater, thermometer, stupid castle ornament (my kids wanted it, and it's just plain not going in my 55) and filter intake. At this point, the rummies are more interested in my bringing food than the angel is. I know a week isn't a long time in quarantine, but, so far, I've had no issues with fish I've bought from this LFS, and have only had 2 (can't remember where I got my first batch of rummies, so it may be as many as 4, but I think I only got 1 rummy from this LFS before, and 5 from one that has since gone out of business) die in the past 2 years. No parasitic or illness concerns, to date, not even ich (knock on wood). I don't know if the additional activity of the other fish in the 55 would help or hinder. I do know it'd be harder to get the angel fed multiple times, but I'm not sure if it'd be a better course of action or not.