Juvenile Angelfish Slight Aggression

I have a new juvenile angelfish that's been in my main tank for a couple of weeks. His/her body is maybe the size of a loonie (dollar coin). I've noticed he's been doing some light chasing of my Platys (no contact, just a quick rush then stops). He's far less aggressive than my male Platy, but it's still giving me pause for concern. I know Angels are semi-aggressive... Do you think he may turn into quite the bully if already chasing at this stage or is this fairly typical?

 

In my experience this is pretty typical. A single Angel is likely to be a bit of a bully. I have always had much greater success with small groups.

 

Hmm... Okay. I only have a 37 gallon so I can't really do more than one.

 

He is trying to establish his territory, as he gets bigger it may become a larger problem, do you know how big your tank is? (A smaller tank will promote aggression, but some angels are beyond allowing other fish in the tank with them... bizaliz3 can probably explain that with one of her angels that terrorized two breeding pairs into a corner).
Though a 37 is large enough it may be the angels personality, give him a few more days to settle in and if he hasn't stopped I would suggest trading him out for a different since you aren't able to get another tank.

 

Mcasella thanks. I had him in QT before this, so I'm beyond the exchange period. I will watch him though and if continues try to rehome him. When I viewed him at the store he wasn't aggressive with his tank mates, but he's also a month or so older now.

 

Mcasella thanks. I had him in QT before this, so I'm beyond the exchange period. I will watch him though and if continues try to rehome him. When I viewed him at the store he wasn't aggressive with his tank mates, but he's also a month or so older now.

He probably had a different pecking order with other angels than with your fish, so he is reacting trying to establish his own pecking order where he ranks highest.

 

He probably had a different pecking order with other angels than with your fish, so he is reacting trying to establish his own pecking order where he ranks highest.

That would certainly make sense. He was one of the smaller ones in the tank. I had hoped that by getting a little guy he's adapt better.

 

I have a medium sized platinum pearlscale (which I'm thinking may be female, she is over 2 inches across so she is technically an adult but I don't know if she will grow anymore...) that has been a jerk to every angel it has been in with despite being raised with other angels, bigger and smaller than it, even ones that I thought were more aggressive than it (she's a half pint compared to many of my adult angels, but throws down when she wants something another angel has and they normally hand it over crying uncle)...so it really depends on the angel because some of the others I have are the most docile angels you'd ever see, but I have been able to raise them for an extended time (at least 3 weeks) and kept an eye on them to see how they will work out even the smallest juvies.