questions about angels-size, age, breeding

montanafish gal

montanafish gal

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Aug 1, 2009
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I have 4 angels and I had a few questions about them

1) How can you tell how old an angel is? One of my angels was dime sized back in june and is now about the size of a 50 cent piece. Any guesses on it's age?

2) The other angels are harder to tell; They are more than twice the size of the small angel right now. I haven't noticed a lot of growth with them since May/June. Is it because they are growing slower now that they are bigger? Would they be considered adults at that size?

3) what size/age would they start to reproduce?

This and any other info you can give me on angels would be great! Thanks!
 
Anybody else? I know there are lots of Angel owners out there.....!!
 
2-3" they will pair, and start breeding shortly after. You will notice pairing behavior. Angels don't really stop growing (unless stunted - bad juju) but they slow way down. The larger they get, the slower they grow. It is usually accepted that a 'full grown' angel has about a 6" body, not counting the fins. The age is almost impossible to determine - they grow at different rates depending on conditions.

What size is your tank?
 
It's a 46 g bowfront. I've heard that angels can get as large as the palm of your hand, or larger. Will mine grow that big in my tank? I feed them a good diet; flakes, bloodworms, brine shrimp, etc.
 
a 46 is BARELY big enough for 4 angels. If you get two pairs, that is. If you wind up with a pair and two loners, expect to have to find a good home for the loners. The pair will prolly take over the tank. Two pairs will fight some, but should just pick their side of the tank and be pretty ok. They can get a lot bigger than the average person's palm. If you want two pairs, it would prolly be better to get a 50, best to get at least a 75. A 46 bowfront is a lot less territorial 'room' than a 50 standard... what is the length of the tank?

What other fish do you have?

You will have to do a lot of maintenance - keep the water pristine.
 
hebily is pretty right on.
tho they may start exhibiting courting behavior before they get to 2" (I've seen pairs form iat 9-10 months)
sizes of Angels is partly dependent on they species of Angel.
there are three known species.
P. Scalare the most common domestic Angel has the potential to grow to a 6" body with fins making the Angel well over 9" tall.
I have seen extremely large angels with some Wild Scalare at young ages hitting the 9" mark. some of my wilds with fins extended are already there.

P.Altum.. probably the largest of the Angels with the Altum hitting up to 11" tall.
P.Leopoldi aka Dumerilii is probably the smallest of the Angels Leopoldi are a shorter finned (pudgy) angel. they are intersting and I find a bit more pugnacious.

that said. Angels tend to get their fastest growth the first few months but as mentioned will continue to grow their entire life.
you should be feeding young angels very much like Discus. several small feedings daily to get optimal growth. BTW, spawning take a toll on the fish and as a result may slow their growth.
 
oh gosh, the length? I'd guess 3 feet? I don't have a measuring tool and suck at anything mathmatical! LOL. heres a pic.

picture.php


you can see my two larger angels in the upper right hand corner (looking for more food). Below them you can barely see my school of 10 cardinal tetras. (no, the angels don't eat them, they completly ignore each other). What you can't see in the picture is my other two small angels, 2 small bala sharks (about 2 1/2" each, yes I know I have to find them a new home soon) and 3 oto's. that's what is in my tank.
I do keep my water pristine.
 
hebily is correct. if a pair forms that tank may be too small for 4 angels.

I have 2 pair in a 55 it's 48" long the tank is nearly divided in half by the pairs but still territorial battles ensue.
from the looks of it your larger angels are still young.

I have seen a "breeder' with angels that were 2-3 years old and they were tiny compared to mine..I figured hers either were genetic anomalies or stunted.
how often are you feeding? and what is your maintenance schedule?
 
Live plants will help with your chemistry, also... more heavily planted will help two pairs of angels get along, cause they can hide from each other a bit. Are those plants fake or brand new? I can't tell from the pic...
 
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