# Thinking about getting an Angel



## jbrianchamberlin (Aug 31, 2009)

Had one or two when I was younger and loved them. I also like different tetras though, espcially cardinals. When I was a kid I had neons and an Angel and never had any problems. Thoughts? I always thought that having an Angel when it's smart helped... they never went after the smaller fish.


----------



## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

I have two angels with a school of 12 cardinals and a few cories. They love it in there. I had two angels and a few neons in my 30g, but inorder for the neons to not be potential food, you have to feed, and feed A LOT. 

Since theyr're from the Amazon, this is how I keep my angels:

Water Temperature:
75-82 degrees F.

pH:
6.2-7.4

Hardness:
Very soft. (10-120 microsiemens)

Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite:
0, of course.

Tank size:
30g MINIMUM. 55g is better.

They can get up to 6 inches in length, but what you have to worry about is how tall they will become. I have seen angels grow in excess of 8 inches in height, so having a taller tank is essential. As far as food, they will eat most foods you offer them. I feed mine a vareity of flake foods, brine shrimp, and either blackworms or bloodworms.

My favorite part, sexing!

In general, angelfish are very difficult to differentiate between male and female with the exception of when a pair are spawning. During spawning, the male and female will find a suitable place to lay their eggs,. (usually a broad leafed plant, such as the Amazon Sword Plants.) The female will lay the eggs in lines, and will make continuous passes depositing her eggs over the leaf. Her mate will follow closely behind her and will deposit his sperm onto the eggs. After the initial spawning is compleate, they will gaurd the eggs for their lives untill they hatch some 7-10 days later. The sexes can be differentiated by the more narrow and pointed papillae of the male; like a sharpened pencil, and the stouter, more rounded papillae of the female; like a dull pencil.

I have had few problems with my different pairs of angels, but they can become very terratorial when spawning, and males can sometimes fight and nipp eachother. I love them because they're so peacefull and yet so exotic looking, especially since they're cichlids, and not many cichlids have that type of body frame.


----------



## syddriver (Sep 27, 2010)

I love my angels! I have two of them along with tiger barbs and a parrot fish. They all get along just fine. They are so regal looking!


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Depends on the size of the tank, Ive kept neons in with discus and angels in a 200+g tank and its been fine.

Sexing isnt hard once they are mature, it can be done with a quick glance again once mature. Id go for it, If you need any half wild's I got a few that will be ready in about a month to 6 weeks.


----------



## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Angels are great fish. Keep their water clean and warm. They are a social fish so keep two or three together. They are also a very tall fish so keep them in a tall (20G+) tank when adult. They are a Chiclid but because their mouths are so small they don't pose a risk to other fish.


----------



## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Nice information.. you think angels would get along with guppies, f. betta, and balloon mollies??


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I have 1 lone Guppy in a 125g that has two adult Angels in it. They don't mess with any of the fish I have. In a smaller tanks all bets could be off. An Angel does have a small mouth but I assume they can still attack, just not swallow.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Angels are able to dislocate their jaw bone to accomidate larger food. I watched the father suck up an older juvenile of his yesterday, he popped his mouth out then it came open, its not huge but it did the job of fitting that fish in its mouth.

I used to raise my angel fry in guppy tanks for free live food but the adults never bothered the adult guppies.


----------



## Alasse (Mar 12, 2009)

My Angels love guppies, and i dont mean in the friendly way. Mine will also eat neons. They'll even take on 2cm BN (had to save the stupid thing, got stuck in its mouth)

Mine are large though, the male is 25cm from top fin to bottom fin, the female a bit smaller


----------



## hobbzie (Jan 14, 2011)

I have 2 angels in a 55 gallon w/ tetras and other tropical fish. I have had them since they were quarter size they are now the size of your palm. They have also decided to breed which resulted in 1 baby surviving out of about 50 eggs. The only time they have been aggresive is when they laid there eggs on my filter tube but once I removed the eggs they returned to normal. All in all I think they are a great choice for a community tank.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

One thing people ALWAYS forget is that Angelfish are still cichlids and can/will at some point prove that.

Hobbiez is correct in their behavior change when they are on spawn. I cant get within 5 feet of one of my breeding tanks, the male angels attacks the glass and oh noes if I come at the tank from the top, he jumps and does a shark impersonation that kinda makes you wonder what his intentions are if your hand was in the tank, well found out and now got a nice scab.


----------

