Are you worried that your angelfish is incapable of living alone in its tank? Are your angelfish displaying signs of loneliness when kept alone in a tank and is showing signs of shoaling behavior?
In this article, I will answer these questions about the aesthetically pleasing angelfish and whether or not it can survive alone in an aquarium.
Yes, angelfish can live alone, but it is better if you do not make your angelfish live alone in a fish tank. Angelfish must be better kept in groups in a fish tank to avoid stress and health hazards
A single angelfish can get lonely quickly, though it often needs no one. Thus, to help with the social hierarchy of the angelfish, you should keep six angelfish in the same aquarium and prevent the negative impact of loneliness
Can Angelfish Live Alone In a Single Tank?
Making your angelfish live alone in a tank is asking for trouble. It is challenging for the shoaling fish to be left alone in the tank as it might lead to stress and other health-related hazards.
Every fish likes to be kept in a tank that imitates its natural habitat, so like a fish lover, you should endeavor to do the same with your angelfish.
This condition could include a group of angelfish living and swimming together in a shoal. Your angelfish has the natural tendency to wish to belong to a community, even if it is not their own.
But if you desire to keep a single angelfish in your tank, you should go for the adult angelfish as they are pretty immune to stress arising from loneliness.
Matured angelfish would prefer to be alone in the tank to assert their territorial dominance. But do not think of even experimenting with this with the young angelfish as it will be equivalent to the inhumane treatment of the community-loving, social fish.
Can Angelfish Live Alone In A Community Tank With Other Fish?
You can keep your angelfish in a community tank, but you must be careful to keep them with the right tank mates not to set off an aquarium war.
If you desire to keep just one angelfish in your tank, turning your tank into a community tank could be your best bet. You can easily have different types of fish together in community tanks, though they might be bereft of a shoal to swim with.
You should note that angelfish are pretty territorial, meaning you need to take special care of the kind of fish you keep with your angelfish in a community tank. Below are the factors to consider when keeping your angelfish with other fish in a tank:
Keep a Relatively Bigger Fish
Please do not keep a fish of small size with your angelfish in the same aquarium; else, it could be your angelfish’s next meal. Therefore, when selecting the ideal tank mates for your angelfish, keep a bigger fish almost the same size as your angelfish. However, be careful not to keep a predatory fish with your angelfish to protect it from attack.
Do Not Keep Aggressive Fish
It would help if you were careful not to keep fin nippers and fish with aggressive tendencies with your angelfish in your community tank, as this could result in a tank war. Keeping other species with your angelfish should be a calculated decision, as you do not want to expose your pet unduly to harm.
Size of the tank
You must conduct adequate research on the ideal tank size that is habitable for your angelfish and other fish in the tank. A bigger tank of about 55 gallons should do the trick and allow you to keep other species of fish and help you imitate the natural habitat for your fish.
Keeping a community tank requires much work from you, but it is always worthwhile when you watch the variety of fish swim around beautifully in your community tank.
Downsides Of Keeping Your Angelfish Alone In A Tank
We have reviewed how keeping an angelfish in the tank alone could negatively impact the fish. Adult angelfish might not react adversely when kept alone in a tank, but the younger ones lack the resilience to swim alone in a big tank all by themselves.
Below are the negative impacts you will expose your angelfish when you keep them alone in a tank.
Stress
Young angelfish are small and sensitive and will be stressed out if kept alone in a tank. The feeling of isolation is scary for the fish as it would be if it were a human kept alone in a large deserted room for extended periods.
Isolation brings the stress of captivity to the fish, and it can cause chaos to its overall health.
Loneliness
It is not uncommon for people to believe that fish do not feel anything, but how wrong can you be. Your fish do get lonely, especially the young ones.
Hence, it is up to you to take steps to limit stress and loneliness in your fish. So, you should note that your angelfish is capable of feeling and needs a companion to enjoy its habitat.
Loss of Appetite And Lethargy
You might find this surprising, but your angelfish is likely to be unable to eat and mourn about being alone.
Thus, if you keep your angelfish alone in an aquarium, they will not eat as much as they should.
One fish kept alone will be tired and passive. Alone fish will not swim around acting like they would if marked with other fish.
The angelfish tend to sit in one place if they do not have company and will not even show signs of enthusiasm to eat or play.
Merits Of Keeping Angelfish With Companions
Knowing the health hazards that may arise if you keep angelfish when it is kept alone in a tank, you might already be aware of the benefits of having tank mates for your angelfish.
Below are the benefits of having companions for your angelfish:
Stress Reduction And Activeness
Your guess is as good as mine; if you eliminate the problem of loneliness from your angelfish, you are likely to keep it safe from sickness and diseases brewed by stress factors.
Companionship for your angelfish will reduce the stress borne of performing all activities alone in a big tank, as this saves it from other tiring and energy-consuming factors.
You can solve these problems by introducing new fish or a shoal of fish into the tank to make the angelfish live happily.
The confidence and activity level of these fish will increase once placed in a group. They start to become more active when in a group and are likely to be better able to defend themselves against predators when they swim together.
Mating
Keeping a group of fish in a tank helps enhance breeding if you intend to breed young angelfish. During the breeding season, you will see eggs from their mating in no time, which is advisable to remove from the tank once the fish starts showing breeding behavior.
Low Energy Consumption
The concept of hydrodynamic efficiency is present in angelfish. This is why a shoal of fish often features less tired fish even after a whole day swimming as they will consume less energy.
Thus, keeping a shoal of angelfish in the tank will result in energetic and active fish who consume little energy, making them sharp even after a full day’s activity.
Can Angelfish Live Together in Twos?
The answer to this question depends on the gender of the two angelfishes to be kept in the same tank.
If you prefer keeping two fish, then you should opt for one male angelfish and one female angelfish together in a tank; this is great as they will live peacefully together.
Opposite attraction is very true for the angelfish as they tend to breed together during the breeding season and live peacefully
However, the reverse is when you keep angelfish of the same gender in the same tank. Doing this is an invitation to aquarium war, as they will fight, injure, and possibly death to either of the fish.
Can Angelfish Live Alone In A Small Tank?
Angelfish can grow up to 6 inches and exhibit personality traits that mean they love to stake claim to territories. Thus, the smallest tank you should consider for your angelfish is a 20-gallon tank.
Small tanks are likely to affect the overall health of the angelfish. Hence, do not attempt to keep your angelfish in a tank smaller than 20 gallons.
Therefore, the answer is no; angelfish cannot survive in a small tank. Your angelfish needs to be a part of a community in a large tank, or they will die of loneliness.
How Many Angelfish Should You Keep In A Single Group?
You might be wondering about the number of angelfish to keep in a tank; however, you need to be aware that maintaining angelfish are held in a shoal; they will develop a social hierarchy like they do in the wild.
It would be best to deter from keeping two angelfish together in a single tank as it will bring chaos due to the aquarium war that will arise from these territorial fish.
Minimum Group Size
The minimum group size if you intend to keep a low number of these fishes in a tank is three, as this will reduce the tension that is likely to develop from just keeping 2 of these fishes in the same tank.
Ideal Group Size
If you want your angelfish to be happy, you should aim to keep a small group of 5 to 6 angelfish. It would be best to take into cognizance that the higher the number of fishes kept in a tank, the larger the tank you would be expected to have.
You will have to go for a 60 plus gallon tank to ensure the safety and well-being of the angelfish you intend to keep.
Keeping multiple angelfish in your tank is better than keeping a single fish as it can better survive in small groups than when kept alone.
Below are factors to note when keeping angelfish:
Angelfish, like all fish, have individual traits. They are complicated creatures and have personalities that determine how they react to certain situations.
Some fish can thrive in isolation- especially the matured angelfish while others struggle.
Hence, as a fish owner, to answer the question “can angelfish live alone?” you take the below factors into consideration:
The Personality Of The Angelfish
Angelfish are noted for being territorial, which makes them aggressive. These aggressive tendencies are pronounced when they have mates or eggs to protect. Some fish owners often separate these angelfish pairs when they start mating to prevent them from terrorizing the whole tank.
Another personality trait of the angelfish is that they are gluttons and will eat for as long as you feed them. If the tank is small, angelfish will attack other fish as they believe they have to fight to protect the limited resources.
Many angelfish are also calm and peaceful fish, but this is a rarity. The cause of the aggression of the angelfish is not always apparent and makes them unpredictable.
Possible Tank Mates
Angelfish can be greedy and eat anything that fits into their mouth, such as eat smaller fish. Thus keeping a smaller fish in the same tank as the angelfish could cause these smaller fish to disappear.
Ensure to choose your angelfish tank mate carefully. It would be best if you kept fish too large for the angelfish to eat in your tank.
What Are the Ideal Angelfish Tankmates?
You can keep your angelfish with other fish, but you need to understand that not all fish are the best tank mates for your angelfish.
Angelfish, though territorial, are relatively peaceful, so you need to consider this when selecting the right fish for your fish.
Despite the possibility of keeping your angelfish with different species of fish, it might be best to restrict schooling of your angelfish to a group of angelfish other than alternatives.
You should maintain the consciousness that the mindset of an angelfish is unlikely to change from seeking a habitat for their shoal just like they do in the wild.
Below are some of the best tank mates for your angelfish:
- Praecox Rainbow Fish
- Betta Fish
- Boesemani Rainbow Fish
- Bristlecone Pleco
- Keyhole Cichlids
- German Blue Cichlids
- Swordtails
- Dwarf Gourami
- Zebra Loaches
- Platies
- Mollies
- Corydoras Catfish
Why Do Angelfish End Up Alone?
Below are reasons why people often tend to keep a single angelfish sometimes:
Fear of Conflict
If you introduce angelfish arbitrarily into a fish tank, you might welcome an incident. Thus, you could keep angelfish alone while searching for the ideal tank partner.
Acclimating
You might see an angelfish alone in a small aquarium to enable the fish to get conversant with the water.
Other reasons are:
- Isolation
- A popular look
Conclusion
Angelfish are shoaling fish, and keeping a single angelfish in a tank could be considered inhumane to a fish well adjusted to social hierarchy. It is not recommended to keep angelfish alone unless you keep them in a community tank with compatible fishes.
Loneliness and stress are emotions that these fishes will feel if left alone in the tank, followed by depression and other health hazards. Despite the demerits of keeping these fishes alone in a tank, you should also ensure that you do not overstock your tank with angelfishes. They will disrupt the tank as they seek territorial dominance.
Overall, angelfish are one of the easiest fish to keep, but you need to take special care with your angelfish to get the best out of these aesthetically pleasing fish.
Related Reading:
- Can Guppies and Angelfish Live Together?
- A List of the Top 10 Reef Safe Angelfish
- Can Goldfish Live Alone?
- What Are Good Nano Reef Tank Recommendations?
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