Angelfish Trouble!!!!Help!!!!

[hayer]

as seen in my sig, i have 2 angels in with the fish listed. well, they have started to chase the black skirts and rainbows and bite them. 2 of the rainbows have injuries, so i plan to either move them or return them to the lfs.
if i were to move them into an empty 55 gallon tank, what could i put in there that they wont kill?? i need help! i have already added/ taken out decor and takenn out fish to confuse them(did that today), so i will post on progress tomorrow. please help!! thank you!

 

[OrangeCones]

Are they breeding? If so, nothing may be safe around them.

 

[lauraf]

Yup, check for signs that they are breeding. Are they protecting one area of the tank especially? Are they picking at a piece of slate, or leaf, or side of the glass wall, pretty much anything flat? If so, they are cleaning it for spawning. Don't remove any more decor, because if they have picked a spot, and it gets removed, they might just find somewhere else in the tank and/or get even more aggressive. My angels spawn every nine days or so in my 39g, and for the first couple of days, they will chase away the other tankmates from their spawning area, but certainly don't physically damage them. But all fish are different.
For now I would try to separate the angels - whether you leave them alone in the 90g or move them and some of their familiar decor into the 55g. Establish whether they are indeed trying to breed. Then you can figure out if a tank of spawning angels is what you want to keep, whether you want to try your hand at raising the fry, and if so, what if any other fish could be kept?
I managed to breed angels without trying and with absolutely no knowledge or prep - if yours are breeding, you might find some advice in the thread I started in the breeding forum.
Meanwhile, separate your angels if they are injuring your other fish. Keep us posted!

 

[BadRedTerror]

Like the previous members stated:Make sure you keep an eye on breeding.That could be a big reason for your angels aggression.If you where to put your angels in a 55gal. i would recommend as tank mates:note(individually)
1.Blue or Gold Gourami
2.Bala sharks do great with angels.
3.Dwarf Gouramis
4.Plecos, the #1 choice for an aquarists bottom feeder.
5.Big species of Tetras also do great with angels.

 

[hayer]

how many bala sharks would fit into a 55 with 2 angels? wouldn't they grow too big?

 

[Doomhed]

how many bala sharks would fit into a 55 with 2 angels? wouldn't they grow too big?

i think they might not be a good choice. just a wee bit too big for the tank.

 

[hayer]

ok, thank you! they were not as aggresive today, so i am not sure what to do. still, what kind of fish would be ok with them in a 30 or a 55 gallon? i have options to both(friends that dont want the tanks).

 

[lauraf]

If you happen to have aggressive angels, then I would suggest things like cories or multipunctatus, that tend to occupy the bottom half of the tank and feed a bit differently. Clown loaches also work, and are so gorgeous, but I'm not sure if 55g is enough room as they do like to be with their own company.
If your angels are more community minded, and not breeding constantly, platies should work, and if BadRed is right about larger tetras (I would think that larger, slower moving tetras would be okay myself) then something like emperor tetras might be very cool . . . .
How big are your angels now?

 

[hayer]

my angels are about 4 or 5 inches long and are pretty aggresive right now. i will probably have to take them back to my lfs. the rainbow that they beat upthe most has the beginnings of fungus, so i am going now to get medication.

 

[lauraf]

You don't want to move the angels into your 55g?

 

[hayer]

i dont want to breed angels and they would be the only things in there, so probably not. has anyone had sucess with keeping other fish with breeding angels?like, hat kind of semi-aggresive cichlids could stay in a 55 and fend for themselves? if there are cichlids like that, i will keep them.

 

[lauraf]

As I mentioned upthread, I'm pretty sure that some neat bottomfeeders would be okay with the breeding angels. In a 55g you could have different kind of catfish, maybe even clown loaches - I love my multipunctatus and cories, and even in my 39g, my breeding angels don't pay any attention to them. So angels wouldn't be the only thing possible in that 55g. But if you don't really like angelfish, and want something else as your main focus, then I guess return the angels and move on to something different
Let us know your decision!

 

[hayer]

i think i will try discus. but, i have heard that they need daily water changes. i have 2 Penguin 350s on my 90, which is 140 gallons of filtration and 700 gph(gallons per hour).can i do a weekly water change? how big of a weekly water change?

will discuss eat tropical flakes, cichlid pellets, misis(sp?) shrimp, a frozen mixture of bloodworms and brine shrimp and other things, and brine shrimp?

 

[nanu156]

Get some more angels, they like large groups, come in fun colors etc. I would suggest adding angels that are larger then the ones you have.

If they are really jerks, take them into the LFS and try starting with a school of new angels that are smaller, they grow at a pretty decent rate and are more fun in a large group.

 

[hayer]

they have stopped being aggresive!! it is awesome!!! so i will keep them as they are. thanks for all your help guys.

btw, if 2 angels paired up, then wouldn't they beat up the other angels? plus, i do not have room for many more, maybe 1.