angelfish behavior and pecking order

[TomFromStLouis]

I have had nine juvenile gold angels in my 75g (along with some SAEs and rummynose tetras) for about 10 days now. One or two of them are beginning to establish themselves at the top of the pecking order. In fact, I am not sure where he or she gets the energy to chase all the other angels around so much.

Once the order is established, will this behavior subside a bit or do they constantly reinforce it? There is no damage yet in terms of torn fins or anything. In fact, watching one stand up to the other for a locked lip pushing match was pretty interesting. And the other species are not at any risk it seems.

If this is what they will do with their time, that is fine with me. Just wondering if this level of violence will continue...

 

[aquariaddictus]

I'm going to let a cichlid person answer you, but wanted to ask you to keep me in mind when the breeding begins and you need homes. There aren't many good sources of angels around here - not at a reasonable price anyway.
tanks
judy

 

[Deb2]

Probably. Once their territories are established there will be less chasing. You may need to remove a couple if they become too picked but probably not. In general, with angels, they do better as a pair or in a large group which will diffuse any territory disputes amonge more fish.

 

[a_free_bird73]

Agree with Deb2 though I have seen exceptions to that. Last year I purchased a Koi male juvanile that was very confident. As he grew older he became rather nasty. As a full adult he turned to be a spectacular large male that managed to shred 3 other angels (2 males and a female) in a bad way.

I am however glad to say that in the 14years I have kept angels on and off athis is a rare occurance and he is one of the worst I have seen by far...

 

[dbcb314]

when i had 4 angels, the 3 biggest ones killed the little one who didnt grow as fast as them. then the other three didnt fight at all.