# Angelfish pairs.



## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Sooo I wanted to get 2 angelfish for my fish tank permanently. I was thinking I could do this 2 ways. I thought maybe I could get 5-6 small ones and wait for them to pair off, and keep the pair and give away the others. Is there any benefits to having a mated pair? I feel like it would be fun to watch.  (but I'd feel bad giving away my fish and I'd probably become attached). Or I could just get 2 and see what happens. I just don't want them to be aggressive at all with each other.


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## BarbH (May 23, 2011)

There are a couple of ways that I would suggest going about getting a pair of angels for your tank. The first would be the method that you mentioned, which would be getting a group of 5 angels and letting the pair form naturally. The benifits in my opinion is that first you get the joy of being able to raise these guys, personally one of my favorite parts of keeping angels. Also this allows the angels to choose their own pair. Once you have your pair form the remaining angels you could take to your lfs in which you should be able to at least get store credit or maybe even cash for depending on the store.

If you want to start off with just two that are a pair than I would suggest looking for a psir of angels that have been proven as a pair. Sometimes you can find a pair available for sale at lfs. Otherwise I would check around for a local breeder that might be selling a pair. Going this way you are definitly going to spend more on the fish.

A few things to keep in mind is that when a pair is spawning they are going to protect their territory. Depending on the angel the aggression can range from simply rushing and chasing tank mates away from their area while spawning to killing any other fish in the tank. Also sometimes angels may pick on their mate and for the well being of the other fish need to be seperated. As stated earlier the temperment of angels can vary greatly from being very mild to very aggressive bullys.


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

BarbH said:


> There are a couple of ways that I would suggest going about getting a pair of angels for your tank. The first would be the method that you mentioned, which would be getting a group of 5 angels and letting the pair form naturally. The benifits in my opinion is that first you get the joy of being able to raise these guys, personally one of my favorite parts of keeping angels. Also this allows the angels to choose their own pair. Once you have your pair form the remaining angels you could take to your lfs in which you should be able to at least get store credit or maybe even cash for depending on the store.
> 
> If you want to start off with just two that are a pair than I would suggest looking for a psir of angels that have been proven as a pair. Sometimes you can find a pair available for sale at lfs. Otherwise I would check around for a local breeder that might be selling a pair. Going this way you are definitly going to spend more on the fish.
> 
> A few things to keep in mind is that when a pair is spawning they are going to protect their territory. Depending on the angel the aggression can range from simply rushing and chasing tank mates away from their area while spawning to killing any other fish in the tank. Also sometimes angels may pick on their mate and for the well being of the other fish need to be seperated. As stated earlier the temperment of angels can vary greatly from being very mild to very aggressive bullys.


Yes, the breeding pair is a lot more expensive, but much quicker. I also heard that they sometimes will stop being a pair in transit? When I had breeding angels before, this wasnt the case, though. They bred even after we moved.

Anyways, the group sounds more interesting to me.  buying the pair seems like a boring shortcut for some reason!  

Are angels typically peaceful with their "partner"?

I'm not too worried about them being too mean to the tank area. I plan to have rainbowfish which are fairly large, and in my experience the breeding pairs were never that bad. But, I suppose, it always depends. I guess ill have to find out and hope I have peaceful fish!


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## BarbH (May 23, 2011)

Austin said:


> Yes, the breeding pair is a lot more expensive, but much quicker. I also heard that they sometimes will stop being a pair in transit? When I had breeding angels before, this wasnt the case, though. They bred even after we moved.
> 
> Anyways, the group sounds more interesting to me.  buying the pair seems like a boring shortcut for some reason!
> 
> ...



With aggression especially when they are spawning it is difficult to know until they actually start spawning to tell what they will be like. A couple of years back I had a pair form in a 50 gallon 4ft long tank. When they spawned and where protecting their eggs they would chase everyone away from the area, no real aggression. When there was no eggs in the tank they got along with everyone else just fine and would go back to hanging out with the other 2 angels that were also in the tank. I know of another lady that has a lot of angels. She has several pairs in one tank that get along fine, then she has another pair that she had to place in their own tank because they are not so mild mannered. From what I have seen it is one of those things that you have to wait and see and make sure that you are observing what is going on. Unfortunately there is no sure way to know how a pair will act until they spawn.

From my experience the pair that I had did very well together and shared the responsibilty when it came to spawning. From others experience usually a pair will get along with each other. But I have also seen others who have had to seperate a pair because one will get abusive with its mate. If you haven't checked it out already I would suggest checking out the Angelfish forum The Angelfish Forum II - Focused on Freshwater Angelfish. - Powered by vBulletin. There are a lot of hobbyist and breeders on that site with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to raising and breeding angels. From the time that I got my first angels I have found this site to be invaluable and has increased my knowledge in keeping healthy angels.


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

BarbH said:


> With aggression especially when they are spawning it is difficult to know until they actually start spawning to tell what they will be like. A couple of years back I had a pair form in a 50 gallon 4ft long tank. When they spawned and where protecting their eggs they would chase everyone away from the area, no real aggression. When there was no eggs in the tank they got along with everyone else just fine and would go back to hanging out with the other 2 angels that were also in the tank. I know of another lady that has a lot of angels. She has several pairs in one tank that get along fine, then she has another pair that she had to place in their own tank because they are not so mild mannered. From what I have seen it is one of those things that you have to wait and see and make sure that you are observing what is going on. Unfortunately there is no sure way to know how a pair will act until they spawn.
> 
> From my experience the pair that I had did very well together and shared the responsibilty when it came to spawning. From others experience usually a pair will get along with each other. But I have also seen others who have had to seperate a pair because one will get abusive with its mate. If you haven't checked it out already I would suggest checking out the Angelfish forum The Angelfish Forum II - Focused on Freshwater Angelfish. - Powered by vBulletin. There are a lot of hobbyist and breeders on that site with a wealth of knowledge when it comes to raising and breeding angels. From the time that I got my first angels I have found this site to be invaluable and has increased my knowledge in keeping healthy angels.



Thank you!!  that's good to know. Hopefully mine will be peaceful with each other.  I will check out the forum!


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

I just wanted to add my two cents for fun  my angelfish pair only chased other fish during a spawn. the rest of the time they just harassed each other. i would totally want to raise a pair that formed out of a group of juvies. that would be a real treat!
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## Captain Jim Dandy (Oct 30, 2011)

I agree with those saying start with your group..I think you will learn much more of their true nature if you see them grow up and do natural maturations. It can be quite a thrill even though it doesn't always run smooth as silk.


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Hmm but in the end, in the finished, completed, stocked tank (yes, we'll see if thats possible, I'm gonna fight catching MTS!) I want to end up with 2 angels. I just feel like I'd be cramming a group into my tank, especially if I want rainbowfish. 

But, if, as djembakah say, the pair will fight when they aren't mating, that may not e a suitable option either way? :/

I agree with trying the natural way.  but ill probably only keep the pair in the end and hopefully they get along!


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

Mine spawned pretty regularly. and wheb they didn't have eggs, it wasn't like they were trying to kill each other, more like...they picked at each other. and when they were spawning, it was much more intense. only once there were eggs did they chase other upper level fish. i chose not to keep other mid/upper swimming fish with my pair for that reason.

i definitely hope that one day i can do another pair. Id very rewarding, even if my pleco ate all the eggs lol
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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Hmmmm maybe I shouldn't do that since I want to get rainbow fish haha. I thought the rainbow fish might be fine though.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

I honestly can't say for sure with that. it really depends on the individual fish. small rainbows would be something i worried about though
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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

By the time the angelfishes pair the rainbows should be full grown.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

What kind of rainbows? And how big is your tank, i missed that 
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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Boesemani and its 50 gallons.
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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

Hm. i feel like they're pretty large (though i don't know for sure). Did anyone tell you whether they'd work in a tank together with angwls? I've never wondered that so i don't know.
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