2 French angelfish in the same tank

[btackerman]

I have a 400 gallon tank and I had just got 1 large French angelfish and as I was doing more research on them I saw that they do better in pairs. Is it to late to add a second or any recommendations on what to do?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Well, I’m definitely not an expert on this subject - so if I’m wrong here, hopefully someone will correct me - but you should be able to add a second (though it might be best to pull the one in your 400 out so you can re-add it at the same time as the new one). I’d say your main problem with doing so would come from the facts that French Angels are thought to be gonochoristic (meaning that they don’t change sex), have no visible distinguishing gender characteristics, and, from what I’ve heard, are aggressive to other members of their species who are the same sex as them - so you’d probably need to get a male/female pair without being able to tell which one is which.

So, assuming you’re looking at keeping two adult French Angelfish (the one you shared a picture of is an adult, and I have no idea how it would interact with a juvenile - it might be fine, it might not, personally I’d aim for another adult and just avoid the issue completely), the advice I have to try and accomplish that (if you want to) is as follows:

-Use an acclimation box setup, where both angels can see each other but not touch each other. Watch them in this setup for signs of them getting along or being aggressive. I’d run this setup for a few (3-4) days at the minimum, possibly even going for as long as 10-14 days before attempting to put them together (shorter if they seem to get along well, longer if they don’t). If there’s signs of aggression, it probably won’t work out for that pair, so you’d probably want to go with a single fish or try a new second angel.

-If they seem fine until one is added to the tank, then they start fighting, do what you can to reduce aggression (feed well, use the mirror trick, rearrange rockwork, etc. - pretty much all of the principles used in this article: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tang-aggression-understanding-and-combating.215698/ ).

-If you’ve done everything you can think of and they are still fighting, then you should probably either (as I said before) keep one singly or try again with a new second angel.

Hope this helps!

 

[dennis romano]

Your tank is too small for two. I have seen them in the Keys the size of garbage can lids. That doesn't even take into consideration their aggression. The original fish most likely will look upon the newcomer as an invader to its territory. Your tank may seem big to you, but in reality is a little tight for a fish that may potentially reach sixteen+ inches.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Tank size says no , not to mention a potential war. Rarely can you house two of the same kind angel, most tangs and other large fish

 

[Thomashtom]

No way!!

 

[socalfishy]

if you try, use a big acclimation box for a while. I used it to introduce a clown trigger to a old established tank with other triggerfish, i had success.

 

[Pneumatic_Addict]

I would agree with the above on your tank size for two French’s. They’re by far my favorite Angelfish, but I’ve never owned one because of how large they grow. Seeing an adult pair in the wild, you’d agree. It’s not so much length as height and girth. They’re definitely a presence. We had a wild caught pair in our 600g LR tote at the shop, they definitely used up the real estate.

That being said, if your adamant:

I’ve had good luck with “pairing” angelfish over the years. Regals, Bandits, Blueface, Blues, Emps and Scribbled so far. Dwarfs as well. Might just be dumb luck but these are the basic guidelines I follow:

Make sure there’s a considerable size difference between the two. 3”+. One has to be the clear dominate from the get-go. With no question.

Always either add at the same time, or have the smaller of the two in first. I always like to go smaller first, as it gives the weaker of the two home field advantage. In fact, the smaller usually ends up harassing the larger a bit until they get settled.

Have a back up plan. Way to separate wether it be a QT tank or a divider. I know a lot of people opt for their sump, but please don’t. It’s a cramped, **** option…..