I fed my angels a cube of bloodworms this morning. During the feeding everything was fine. Once they were finished, the lip locked 2 times and just kept darting at each other with some twitches here and there. Now they act like nothing happened and swim around the tank with the occasional nip. Did I experiance aggressiveness or pre-mating thing???? It was really cool to watch during the lip-lock. They both turned completely sideways befor letting go!! It was really cool!! Can anyone shed a little light?? Thanks!
Angelfish behaviour --> Bizarre!!
- Thread starter jdheff1982
- Start date
Dangerdoll
Global Moderator
sounds to me like aggressive behavior. The twitching is what brings me to believe that. Of course this is from my personal experience...... I once had 3 angels in a 55 gallon and in fueding over the female, there were twitches almost constantly and lip-locking followed most times. I eventually had to separate one from the main tank due to the aggressiveness, and soon thereafter lost the weaker of the two. I don't think this will be your case though as it seems it was mainly due to the worms. Just be sure to keep a careful eye on them so as this behavior isn't continuing. If it does, you may have to separate them. By the way, do you know their ages and/or their sexes?
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I don't know either. I do know that the angels are about 4.5" long now. Is their a way to determine sex with these guys??? Thanks!
EDIT: This is a new behavour they have started. It seems that they both twitch at each other then nip which then leads into a lip-lock sometimes or the one that starts it runs off. Also, I have a good feeling they are both the same sex. I can see what appears to be a vent tube or something like that identical on both. Will getting some dither fish help the aggression?? How about another angel or 2?? Thanks!
EDIT: This is a new behavour they have started. It seems that they both twitch at each other then nip which then leads into a lip-lock sometimes or the one that starts it runs off. Also, I have a good feeling they are both the same sex. I can see what appears to be a vent tube or something like that identical on both. Will getting some dither fish help the aggression?? How about another angel or 2?? Thanks!
Last edited:
Dangerdoll
Global Moderator
ok, if both vent tubes are thin and darkish, chances are they are both males. The female's vent is stubbier and lighter in color, you can sometimes even see the opening for where the eggs deposit..... I'm not sure if dither fish are the answer, mine never were distracted with them. How big is your tank? I find that Angels seem less aggressive with 4+ of their own, but of course tank size is important as to whether yours can stand that many. Also, are there other fish in the tank?
They both must be females then. The vent is stubbish and kinda clear. They both reside in a 37 gal with a 6" pleco; nothing more. The species profile here says I can have a group of angelfish in a 30 gal. I guess this means I can 2 more angels??? Thanks for the help!!
You can have a group of small angels in a 30 gallon, but not more than a single pair of adults. I had 6 angels in a 55 gallon, and we had to remove two because the other 4 paired up and became very aggressive. When they would get around to spawning, one pair would drive every fish out of 2/3 of the tank. That's about 30 gallons all to themselves. I would not recommend getting more fish because the established fish will just pick on them. You probably have two adult males if they are aggressive a lot. I would recommend getting a female, letting her pair up with one of your males, and then taking the third fish to the petstore. Pairs get along much better, and are much happier over time.