# Serial killer angels



## letsgowildcats (Mar 30, 2012)

I have a 56 column tank, and recently had stocked 3 angels, 1 festivum, 8 serpaes and 5 cories. 2 cories died early on(I blame the serpaes), and then I noticed a dead serpae a few weeks later. At the same time, I noticed my marble angel(in my avatar) had chunks of his fins nipped off, and figured he just snapped back at that tetra. The next day, I happened to look over at the tank and saw my white angel deliver a fatal blow to another serpae. For their sake, I gave the rest of the serpaes away to a friend and figured peace would be restored to the tank. After all, getting rid of them opened up a ton of space in the tank for more territory to be claimed. However, when I came home from work just now, my marble angel only has a little stub of his top fin left and is in the process of dying. 

I have seen no sign of aggression from the festivum, it seems like he has "befriended" my striped angel. Those 2 are usually within close proximity of each other, and their fins are in pristine condition. I have read that when angels pair up they tend to eliminate the extra angel in the tank. However, it really doesn't seem like the striped and the white angel have paired up at all, he is usually alone in one of his few favorite spots. The striped angel and festivum dance around the tank all day, though.

I guess my main question is that now that I'm down to 2 angels, would it be safe to stock any other fish or would they just get picked off one by one again? I would really like to see more life than I currently have in the tank, but I don't know if it would be possible with such aggression. Any input?


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Having three angels landed me three males once, although a similar run of events left me with one, eventually. I'd say you have male that has claimed it all, and it is going to be hard to add any other angels to that scene. It remains to be seen if the striped angel is female -maybe. I hope so. 
I'm surprised he went for serpae tetras. That's not typical for them. He's going to be a problem.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Could also be that you had the other two pair up.Ive heard angels tend to become very mean when they pair up,towards other fish.How big are they?


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## letsgowildcats (Mar 30, 2012)

The angels are both about quarter sized(bodies), whereas the festivum is about 1.5 inches.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

They really shouldn't be attacking anything at that size - quarter sized is still a baby. Fish have individual characters, and you sometimes get one that is a bit psycho. If it's hormonal or territorially driven, it usually won't show til the fish is half grown at least. 
Don't leave your chainsaw beside that tank...


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

LOL no doubt Gary!

I agree,its a bit odd...


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

That is weird! I got 2 angels when they were quarter sized (bodies) and as they've grown, we found out they are both males. They bump each other and chase each other, but don't actually harm one another. (We put them in young with our Harleys, hoping they would grow up seeing them as "friends" and not "food." So far so good.) But, it's not uncommon for Angels to eat fish that are smaller than they are.

I've heard that doing a total re-scape of the tank can help because it makes a completely new "territory" that they are all introduced to at the same time, so no one really "owns" it.

Normally Angels that are as small as yours aren't that violent yet.... odd.

If your Marble hasn't died yet, you could try putting it in a hospital tank with daily water changes and some aquarium salt. It may help to heal the fin, depending on how "gone" it is.


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

ive got a 56 tall with a male black veil and 2 female marble angels in the tank, the 2 females will chase each other around and all but never any problems other than that with them, could just have claimed that his territory or somthing


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

It sounds like you've just got a fish with a bad attitude. Other than that are you sure water conditions are good etc. Sometimes fish become ill from other causes which makes them targets to be picked on. One very wild thought, is there any chance the angel and the festivum have paired up? Never heard of it and seems very unlikely, just sounds a bit like what you are describing.


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## letsgowildcats (Mar 30, 2012)

I'm still new to the hobby so I haven't seen what paired fish act like, but the festivum and angel are very friendly towards one another, and are always near eachother. I just read that the female may bully the male a bit, but I haven't seen any of that(assuming the angel is female, just a hunch). I'm definitely thinking about getting rid of the "killer" angel though, I want to be able to add in a bolivian ram and a handful of less nippy tetras. 

In anyone's experiences, do some pet stores take "used" and abused fish? I don't have the heart to kill/flush him, but I want peace in the aquarium. I appreciate all the friendly replies!!!


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## congar15 (Dec 6, 2011)

My local pet store takes fish and sometimes even pays for special specimens. You could try that and then continue your aquarium with more peaceful species.


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