DeanAsploded

I'm really confused. lol.

Some sites have been telling me that Angelfish grow to 12'' long and need a 40g tank for one specimen. Other sites have been telling me that while they need 20g tanks you can have one angelfish per 4g.

Can anyone clear this up? lol

btate617

I would think a 6-7" angel would be good size. They for sure need more than 4gallons each.
You will likely develop problems as they grow and pair off and begin to spawn.
For 40 gallons I would say start with 6 fish let them pair off on their own then keep a pair and remove the others. Thats just my opinion, others may think differently.

Brian

DeanAsploded

Are Angelfish any good on their own? And what size is an actual good size tank for one if so?

Butterfly

Deep tanks are better than shallow because of their fins. Yep you can keep them on their own
Carol

DeanAsploded

Obviously it's hard to sex almost any fish while they're young. So, for example; would two males who grew up with each other show aggression later in life if there were no females around? Or if there was only one female (ie, one died)?

Just speculating and asking whatever pops into my mind, really. lol I think Angelfish would be cool to try, perhaps not soon, but someday. =]

btate617

2 male cichlids of just about any kind are going to fight. One will be dominant and will try and prove it.

Brian

DeanAsploded

Understandable that two males would fight. Do female cichlids do the same thing?

btate617

They are cichlids........you just don't know.
Normally maybe not as much as males. They may get along fine, then one day a female will kill off everything else in the tank. it really is hit or miss day by day.

Brian

TedsTank

Yes, as a rule, female cichlids can be just as territorial as males....when spawning time/age starts rolling around there are no friends.
Sometimes when all the fry are raised together....after a dominant male asserts himself...some of the other males can become "sleepers" and take on female coloring for protection.
Since most cichilds raise their young, their personalities change to that sole protective purpose.

DeanAsploded

That's understandable as well, I guess. With some species you just don't know.

I had a pair of 3-spot Gouramis selected for breeding at one point. Some people say they're wonderfully peaceful fish, others say they're mass-murderers. lol
Livius (the male) got along fine with other males of the same species, and other fish. Kiwi (female) wound up freaking out one day and damaging him badly enough to kill him.
---
And to TedsTank post: Makes sense. Seems if I ever want one it'll have to be one by itself or a pair.

Does anyone know a minimum size for one, though?
Also; Just plain curiosity now, but can more than one pair be kept in a tank? What if the eggs are removed and disposed of so that there's no breeding going on?

btate617

Yes you can have more than one pair in a tank, everything depends on tank size.

Brian

DeanAsploded

I didn't mean to sound as if I was mixing up my gouramis with cichlids, Brian, just btw. Merely stating that I understand that some species of fish can have very large ranges of mood and behavior. =]

Would really love a good straight answer on the tank size per Angelfish, though. lol. Everywhere I look is a different size recommendation! So frustrating.

btate617

I would say you could house a single angel for life in a 30gal but really a 40gal would be better with the extra room.

Brian

angelfish220

I would say 30-40 gallon tank minimum, add 5 gallons for each additional angel. That is a very rough estimate

DeanAsploded

Thanks for the info, and for the help everyone.

Diver Dave

Some peple say each angel should have 10 gallons of tank capacity, but it all depends on the frequency of water changes.

Butterfly

The depth of the tank should be taken into consideration also. As angels grow their fins will drag and tear in a shallow tank. I suggest a 20g be the smallest tank appropriate for one angel.
Carol

TedsTank

I had 8 angels in my 55. They did well until they started pairing off. Gave 3 away. the odd one out was finally given away. Each pair had 1/2 the tank and they worked fairly good together....but it kind of ruins a community tank when all other fish live in fear as soon as the angels spawn....they killed off all my neons at night. Never had babies at the same time from both pairs but it would have been chaos as the fry start moving around a bit. The angel fish would bite me whenever I tried to wipe the glass off or cleaned the tank after the fry were free swimming.

They are beautiful fish...too bad it is so difficult to sex the small ones, would be nice if you could get all males or all females. If you decide to get some small ones, be prepared to move them as they grow. I might have made it sound as if they are not nice. They are wonderful fish....just happen to be cichlids.