Hello, just have a question about bonding new angelfish. I have a rather large (approximately 1year old angelfish) in a community tank and he has never shown and aggression towards the other fish. I originally wanted a pair, but every angelfish I ever purchased died except for this one, so I only purchased a single one expecting him to die, but he lived and he surpased by expectations. Anyway, the other day I purchased another angelfish, quite small, about a quarter of his size. The first day he would go after the new one and nip at him, but by today he would pretty much ignore the other one, and come up for feedings together. Just wondering if they will be ok together and if there is a chance they will eventually become a pair? as there is quite the size difference and the sex is unknown. I just wanted a second, because they are such interactive fish and seem genuinly interested in their owners.
angelfish
- Thread starter Hillary80
- Start date
Lupin
Registered Member
- Sep 21, 2006
- 21,430
- 13
- 0
- Real Name
- Paul
Hi Hillary,
There is no way to be certain if they will eventually mate nor can we indicate their actual genders until they spawn. Even two females will pair up and spawn which surprises some owners. Generally, unless your pair are really a bona fide spawning pair, then we would not recommend keeping two to three due to bullying issues but there are always exceptions to the rule. As long as your older angelfish continues to accept the new one rather than dissuade it as it has been treated as an intruder initially to its territory, then both will be fine together. Your smaller angelfish may not be sexually matured yet. It takes most strains 7-8 months prior to hatching to be sexually matured. Some are late bloomers becoming sexually matured by least a year or so.
There is no way to be certain if they will eventually mate nor can we indicate their actual genders until they spawn. Even two females will pair up and spawn which surprises some owners. Generally, unless your pair are really a bona fide spawning pair, then we would not recommend keeping two to three due to bullying issues but there are always exceptions to the rule. As long as your older angelfish continues to accept the new one rather than dissuade it as it has been treated as an intruder initially to its territory, then both will be fine together. Your smaller angelfish may not be sexually matured yet. It takes most strains 7-8 months prior to hatching to be sexually matured. Some are late bloomers becoming sexually matured by least a year or so.
You can tell the sex of mature angels by taking a frontal view of the fish. Females have "U" shaped bellies while the males have "V" shaped belly bellies. As LUPIN says, false mating or pairing occasionally happens. If the spawning intervals happen too often (like seven days or so), then it's probable that you have two females paired.