HELP!!! Angelfish Bully

HELP!! I have a pair of angelfish that mated, spawned, and were working really hard together to make sure the fry were safe and hatched. They were the best of buddies until the fry were free swimming for 3 days. Then the female started bullying the male and won't let him near the fry. Today, after feeding the fry and cleaning the tank....they were kissing again! Now she is ramming into him every chance she gets again. I have to admit, she is taking great care of the fry, but isolating the male is starting to wear him down. They are in a 20 gallon high tank. I have a separator in the tank, but they keep finding ways of getting through to the other side. I really don't want to have to go through the expense of setting up another tank especially since the fry will need one in a few weeks.

Is this normal?
Should I separate them?
Will she kill him?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

Is this normal?
Should I separate them?
Will she kill him?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Normal? YES!!
separate them? YES! definitely, if you can!
Will she kill him? YES!!!! very possible!

I had this very same thing happen with one of my pairs. Eventually the female beat up the male so much that it damaged his swim bladder and he never recovered. A couple weeks later he died. It was really sad.

And just like you described, they got along beautifully until the babies arrived!!

another pair of mine also fought all the time when eggs or babies were around. But neither of them got seriously injured.

Its' really unfortunate and sad to watch. I feel your pain!!

is this your first litter of babies? how long have they been free swimming?

 

A 20 gal high is also too small for angels to live permanently, so I'd look into getting a larger tank for them. If you decide to try reintroducing them later, do so in the bigger tank where the male will have room to escape the female.

 

Thank you for your reply. Yes, these are actually my first angelfish and the first time I've ever seen fish spawn and raise fry....all new to me. The fry are 5 days old now. Up to now, the female has been keeping them in a tight school at one end of the tank. Today is the first day that she has let them swim around on their own and explore without herding them together. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. I don't know anything about swim bladder, but I have seen fish kill each other for territory in the tank. I'll keep an eye on them and separate them tomorrow if they don't stop fighting. I know it's crazy, but it really upsets me when one of the fish die

Great advice! It used to be big enough for all of my fish, but I bought them all really small and they all grew really fast! The male was actually only about the size of a half dollar a few months ago. He's still way smaller than the female, but he'd definitely need more room to get away from her now. Thank you!

 

Update...I had to take the male out this morning. Your feedback had me really concerned and she was still bullying him this morning. Do you know how long I should leave the female in with the fry??? Thank You!

What's the best size tank for one pair? If the fry survive, can they stay in the 20 gallon high for a few weeks?

 

Update...I had to take the male out this morning. Your feedback had me really concerned and she was still bullying him this morning. Do you know how long I should leave the female in with the fry??? Thank You!

What's the best size tank for one pair? If the fry survive, can they stay in the 20 gallon high for a few weeks?

Where is the male now?
Keeping the female with the fry is not necessary. In fact I find it much easier to take out the fry and put them in a smaller tank. Its easier to do daily water changes and easier for the babies to find food when it is put in there. Speaking of....what are you feeding the fry?

For the babies I use a 10 gallon for the first 2-3 weeks and then upgrade the babies to 20 and then a couple weeks later upgrade them to the 46 gallon to finish growing out.

as for tank size for a pair...usually a 20 or a 29 is the smallest used as a TEMPORARY spawning tank. But long term....a pair really needs something larger than a 29....and unfortunately...you may have to part with one of them if they can't ever get along. OR...remove the eggs immediately every time they are laid since they do most of their fighting when there are eggs or fry around....Problem is they will lay eggs every 2 weeks........

depending on what you would like to see happen long term....you may have to part with one....How many tanks do you have right now? How many could you set up?

edit. I just want to add...
I am very impressed that this was your angels first try and your first experience and it has gone so well. My angels failed many times before getting it right! And I failed a couple times when trying to do my part!

 

So based on the advice you've been giving me, I went out and got a 40 gallon breeder tank. I set it up over the weekend and moved the male and my 4 blue rams (2 mated pairs) in there. The male is looking pretty bad. He seems depressed and developed mouth fungus two days after moving him out of the tank with the female. I've been treating with API melafix + pimafix, but honestly, I've never seen a fish get better from these types of things and I am not that hopeful about him either. I notice that when fish are stressed, bad things happen, and there's not much that can be done to save them. So, I was going to take the female out yesterday and put her in with the male, but because he is sick, I can't put her in with him. She's been cleaning the glass again, so I think she may be getting ready to spawn again.

So, taking the fry out.....is that safe? I am worried that I would shock them and kill them??? They are doing great (8 days old now), but I'm not so sure that a few have been eaten by the bully over the past few days. I have been feeding them baby brine shrimp about 4 times a day since 2 days after being free swimming. I tried the Oceanic instant baby brine (don't waste your money) and HikarI first bites, but that killed quite a few of the fry shortly after feedings.

All I know is what I've learned from these forums and youtube. I never had fish before, and just kind of got carried away with it over the past few months. Now I have 3 tanks - a 30 with all tetras, a 20 with the bully and fry, and a 40 with the rams and male angel. It's really just beginners luck I suppose, if you call that lucky. If the fry survive, what am I supposed to do with all of them?????

Thank you again for your help!!!

Oh...and the past two days, the female keeps ramming her face against the glass. Do you have a clue what that's all about???