Adding 2nd angelfish?

[Kirschy17]

hey guys,

I bought a pair of pygmy yellowtail angelfish about a month ago.

Sadly one died last week without any clear reason.

I would like to have a pair again in the future. Is it realistic to do so? The fish is still fairly juvenile.

How would i go about it. My lfs currently has both smaller and bigger yellowtails available in store.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KJ]

@4FordFamily

 

[4FordFamily]

Your best bet is to buy a larger angel, so that the established one is most likely to be intimidated and accepting. It’s always a risk, however. A social acclimation box would be a good choice either way. Good luck!

 

[pcon]

I would respectfully disagree with 4FordFamily. One the surviving angel if it was the female could easily be far along the transition to male(the process can take as little as 20 days after the death of the male to complete the transition), and if it was the male the advice is a probable death sentence.

In my experience attempting to add a second angel to an already established one does not result in the formation of a pair, except in large tanks >180G(Tanks this size greatly help the likelihood of successful pairing) I cannot recommend gambling on gender and pairing receptibility, it just isn't smart. If you want to pair your angel, specifically, I would recommend first ensuring that it is a medium sized male, then introducing both your male and a juvenile/female to a suitably sized tank with plenty of hiding areas for both angels. You must be prepared to pull the juvenile and try another if the pairing isnt working out; meaning unless you are prepared to pull apart your display one or more times to deal with an attempted pairing going south it should be done in a quarantine tank. Centropyge pairs and harrams are well worth the effort.

4Ford's advice is solid for introducing angles of a seperate species which is a totally different art to pairing.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I agree with pcon in this case. Trying to pr angels can be tricky. If you do attempt I would strongly recommend a smaller specimen and would definitely use a social acclimation box, but would only try in in a sufficiently large tank.

 

[Kirschy17]

Tank is only a 65g so im propably best off keeping him alone. Btw how would i tell gender with those fish?

 

[eatbreakfast]

They aren't readily dimorphic. I've just relied on size. If Centropyge of the same species are coexisting, the biggest is the male.

 

[Kirschy17]

The one i lost was kind of a mystery. I had no parameter swings, no signs of any infection or bacteria(neigter on the fish nor the tank)

The one that survived has its fins really upright ever since.

I never actually saw agression between the two but could it be that mines a male then?

 

[eatbreakfast]

The one i lost was kind of a mystery. I had no parameter swings, no signs of any infection or bacteria(neigter on the fish nor the tank)

The one that survived has its fins really upright ever since.

I never actually saw agression between the two but could it be that mines a male then?

It could very well be male.