Help my angel fish wont let me add new fish and if I do it kills them?

Question

I have an angel fish in my tropical fish tank and it is dominating all of my other fish and wont let me add new fish. Its only about 20 weeks old and it lives happerly with the fish it has had all its life. It only attacks my other fish once or twice. It wont even let me add another angel fish iv tred and it killed it within 5 houres. I also added a dworf puffer and it atacked it but its still alive but its hiding. Iv got one of thoes nets that you put bad fish in but he/she gets extremly upset and it might get to stresed.

My pffa is gone he had ended his life :(

Answer 1

Your angel gets along with the fish it's grown up with because they've been together for a while, and everyone has established their boundaries. The angel may be the most territorial of the bunch (it is a cichlid after all!), but the others know where its territory is and respect his boundaries. He also knows them, and probably doesn't feel they're a threat to him.

The new fish don't have a territory and the more fish you add, the less the angel will have (or all the other fish are going to end up packed on the other side of the tank while he tankes the biggest chunk).

One thing you can try is to take out all the decorations and put them back in different locations. If the territory boundaries are destroyed, all the fish will have to make new ones. This will give a new fish a chance, at least for a while. Eventually, you should get a bigger tank for your angel. A 30 gallon or larger would be more its size.

BTW, dwarf puffers are a freshwater species. Just make sure there are plenty of hiding places for him and the others. The more you can keep the fish from seeing each other, the less fighting there should be and the safer it will be for any fish that your angel tries to pick on.

Good luck with him!

Answer 2

The Angelfish has established it's territory so as you see, it will not be a good idea to add any more Angels unless you have a much larger tank. This often occurs when larger fish are expected to live in a small tank. A Dwarf Puffer is a Brackish water fish and certainly doesn't belong with the Angel either and is probably helping to aggravate it. Puffers are fin nippers and as a general rule should only be kept with other brackish fish of the same temperament. Angelfish like the temp to be 80.

Answer 3

Puffers don't do well in community tanks - they are very aggressive and territorial. If you were to remove the angel now, the puffer is next in line to cause mayhem in your tank. Research the fish before you buy them!!

Angels are territorial, do grow big, and need large tanks. To keep them successfully in a community you are best with a tank of at least 30 gallons - any less and it's best to find a more suitable fish. Angels also east small fish as a part of their diet in the wild, so small neon sized fish do not make good tank mates for them.

Research your fish, stick to peaceful types, stick to fish that stay the right size for your tank, and you will be much better off.

Answer 4

Thats just cruel. Bettas need heated and filtered 20+ litre aquariums! I hate to think what your other fish were in. Do some research before buying fish. EDIT: FYI petshops just want your money and those small containers they sell them in are for temporary housing. These fish come from massive tropical rice paddies and streams in Thailand. You said your other fish are healthy but your paradise had ich which is usually caused by bad water quality. All the petshops where I live keep their bettas in filtered and heated community tanks. The paradise fish (and maybe the catfish depending on the species) is the only fish you have that can actually live in coldwater but it requires at least a 40 litre aquarium with a filter. EDIT: Suzie where you live has nothing to do with it. A betta is a betta no matter where you live and the same rules apply. Petshops will tell you anything to sell you things. EDIT: carole you are on the right track but 24c is about the minimum and 30c is on the upper end of the scale. Also bettas come from Thailand and a few other parts of Asia not India.

Answer 5

Angel fish are a more agressive kind of fish you should probably separate it from the others with a perminant divider or get another tank.
Your local petstore owner may know a few kinds of fish that can be with angel fish.
Not even all fish of the same breed can live together peacefully. I tried leaving a male beta and 2 females together and the male injured one of the females and then tried to go after the other one. I had to remove him.

Answer 6

What if you tried taking the angel out of the tank, change the tank all around,possibly add more plants,or other decor-provide lots of hiding spaces,add the new fish you want to add, and then put the angel back in. The other fish, being in there first wouln't be entering angel territory as the angel has to re-establish its territory in its "new" home.I found this approach worked with my betta. Good luck!!

Answer 7

I had the same problem.I have 2 Angels,lovely fish peaceful with all other tankmates.I bought 2 more angels and they both attacked and killed the new ones.They are very territorial among its own kind, normal cichlid behaviour.I have a 50gal tank.
Best solution is to introduce them all at the same time in your tank.

Answer 8

puffers are not an ideal community fish therefore the angel may suspect that and kill the threat.
angels are a natural bully in any community aquarium and will not mix with smaller tank mates (Neon's) they also require a large area for swimming as they can reach 15cm (6inch).

they will take there own territory and will kill or eat any fish that enter that area or in other words their tank.

Answer 9

It's not just it's territorialism, and aggression, it's also a size issue - if you olut a fish in that's as quick and a bit bigger, it is less likely to try.
I would agree with a post above me, rather turn it into a species tank full of Angels, that's stunning to see....

Answer 10

It is in angel fishes breed to fight and kill off the others. They can't help it. Maybe put the angel fish in a small tank by itself so it doesn't kill the others.