Angel help!

[nx2ured]

My husband and I have had these two angels for about 6 months.
Gertrude (assumed female)

Angie (definate female/has laid eggs)

Then we found these and couldn't resist!
Smokey (probable male/has a hump)

and Stripe (probable male/has a hump)

The problem is this: when we introduced the probable males (Smokey & Stripe) into the 55g heavily planted tank with the female and probable female (Angie & Gertrude), the two females and Smokey began to hang out together chasing Stripe (who is a bit smaller).
Can angels have threesomes?
Should we put a divider in the tank to seperate Stripe?
Also, Angie has started cleaning and is now being chased off by Smokey, but she is not affected by it because she goes right back to him.
One more thing, can anyone tell us what kind of angel Smokey is?

 

[nx2ured]

Also,we tried dividing the tank with Gertrude and Smokey on one side and Angie and Stripe on the other.Stripe then started picking on and chasing Angie.Angie backed down from him even though she is twice his size!

 

[ziggy2]

I wouldn't divide the tank. It is so hard to sex angles without venting you may be wrong. You could possibly end up with a pair you didn't expect. I have seen breeding trios, but it is unusual.

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

In a 55G you could probably squeeze in two more angels to help disperse aggression, that would be my solution to things - though you'll have to remove some once pairs start forming.

With numbers under 6 in cichlids, even ones as docile as angelfish, there are always going to be 3 that predominately pick on one.

 

[Paullywolly]

In a 55G you could probably squeeze in two more angels to help disperse aggression, that would be my solution to things - though you'll have to remove some once pairs start forming.

With numbers under 6 in cichlids, even ones as docile as angelfish, there are always going to be 3 that predominately pick on one.

Agree

 

[nx2ured]

My husband and I are discussing getting two more angels to add to the 55g with four angels. What would be the best way to add them to the four already in there?

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

You'll want to redecorate the tank so that all of the angelfish are forced to create new territories. I know it sucks if you've got the tank right down to the last detail how you want it, but it can also be an opportunity to add a new peice of driftwood or other decoration you didn't have in there before.

The idea is to disrupt things so much that all of the angelfish don't recognize any of their old territories, it will stress them into wanting to shoal together in a group until they make up their minds on where they'd like to go - which will afford the new angelfish a bit of time to acclimate.

When you buy the angelfish have them put oxygen and AmQuel or Prime in the bag - float the bags for a few hours, even overnight if you wanted to. After that put the two new angelfish into the tank and THEN start to redecorate. You need to get the other angelfish so side tracked that they don't even realize there are two new fish to pick on in the tank.

 

[MFielding]

I think you've got some good advice so far. My best advice is usually something like, "Well, you'd probably better get another tank." Anyway, I posted to say I think your "smokey" is actually a silver ghost, or wild type with one dose of stripeless. BTW, nice fish. Angels are my favorite.

 

[ziggy2]

I agree with everything socks says except, especially for angles, I would quarantine first.

 

[nx2ured]

Ok, so we decided to leave all four angels together in the 55g to see what happened. Well, all but one (Smokey) has their fins torn...so we divided the tank again in order to hopefully get more advice from a few more experienced Angel keepers. Our question is: Should we buy two more angels to add to the 55g and hope for the best, or should we move two of the angels into another 55g containing 10 medium sized Rainbows and 6 rosey barbs? Thanks for your advice!!