when i bought my angelfish they were very small in size about size of a dime to a quater. i have 9 of them in a 55 gallon tank as they grew bigger they got very agressive and started to bite each others fins. They show no sign of aggresion at the petstore. what should i do to stop it, and no i do NOT want to get rid of any of them???
2007-05-14 18:35:57 · 4 answers · asked by Brian 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
i'm on a tight buget so i can't afford a bigger tank
2007-05-15 11:48:19 · update #1
The only two options are removing a few or getting a much, much larger tank. Angels are territorial and will fight when cramped for space. A 55 might hold 5-6 adults until they pairs off to breed, them it would hold the breeding pair and probably no more. They only become aggressive as they get to adult age and size, that's why you noticed no such activity in the store.
MM
2007-05-14 18:41:55 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ok, you have two options for the mature snappy angelfish you own.
Get a larger tank (which is actually more effective)
or have additional plants and other forms of hiding places.
The latter would reduce the chance of an angelfish meeting up with his other belligerent tankmates and resulting in an unnecessary battle involving fins and lips. (territory buliding)
With a larger tank however, they could also avoid such contact.
It is up to your personal decision, if you are able to afford to fork out a little more cash, do consider a larger tank as the better alternative as it gives your fish the ample space for growth and proper finnage development while also evading ''face-offs''.
2007-05-15 03:25:22 · answer #2 · answered by Laurenzo O 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As MM pointed out you've sorely overcrowded the tank. They're territorial and fall in the semi-aggressive category. As with most fish the aggressive behavior is limited in juveniles and won't properly show itself until the fish start to become mature.
Your thinking full grown these guys can get around 8 or so inches and they're even taller than they are long! Around 5 is the max I'd put in a 55.
2007-05-14 18:53:27 · answer #3 · answered by Sage M 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Angelfish seem to be very territorial with each other. It is very normal for them to behave this way with each other and sometimes another species. I do not think you could do too much about this problem... possibly add hide out areas to the tank.
2007-05-15 18:31:45 · answer #4 · answered by Anna M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋