fighting ?

Hello Angelfish keepers.

I have 2 pearlscale golds in a 200 litre aquarium with a few tetras and corydoras and 1 bristlenose.

For the first 3 months they have been getting along fine and have reached approx. 4 inches across.

For the past week they have been fighting .

There was some initial lip locking and then the slightly larger angel started chasing the less dominant fish around and attacking it constantly. This carries on until the subordinate fish is in one corner of the tank. Should the subordinate fish venture away from this area then the carry on continues. There has been some damage to the finnage.

What I find rather bizarre is that if I turn off the lights the two fish start swimming closer together and everything calms down.


Today I did some plant pruning and a little moving of décor etc. hoping that this may make some difference. They were fine for half an hour and then this behaviour started again, with one fish cowering in the corner. I have turned off the lights and they are now swimming together again. With the light off they nudge each other but within minutes of the lights coming on the aggression begins and it is very aggressive.


Any opinions would be appreciated.

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Lights off does often calm things down, I suspect in the wild they tend to huddle together for security, except when guarding eggs or young.
I suspect you have two males, and during the day they're trying to establish territories in case a female swims by. The problem with just two angels, is that a dominant one can constantly bully an underdog. With more fish, it's much harder for one fish to dominate the rest, although there's often quite a bit of squabbling as they establish a hierarchy.
Otherwise careful use of plants and decor might enable you to divide the tank into two, such that the one fish can't see the other. A thick curtain of vallis can be quite effective in this regard.

Thanks for your reply.

After lights out last night the sub fish came out and started to have a go back and then there was some lip locking and then they seemed to be prepared to put up with each other.

This morning I am sat here watching them with no lights but plenty of daylight in the room and they are swimming together at strange angles to each other with the odd gentle push but no dramatic biting or lip locking.

I suppose I will just have to watch them carefully for the next couple of days. It would be such a shame to have to re-home one as they are such beautiful specimens and I have grown attached to them both.

Is there a chance that they are male and female and just testing each other ? Or would the squabbling not be so violent ?

Thanks again.

It's possible, but hard to say, as you say, just keep an eye on them and see how things develop, as long as the less dominant fish is prepared to stand up for itself, is still feeding, and isn't getting seriously damaged by the other, things will probably settle down in a few days, if not my advice would still be to add more rather than rehome one.

Yeah, I will keep an eye on them. I did have thoughts a while ago of getting rid of the rest of the community and increasing the angel numbers. Maybe 4 angels, my 10 sterbai and the bristlenose in my 200 litre. The tank is well over filtrated and is quite heavily planted and the water out of my tap is very, very soft with zero nitrates so it is ideal for angels.

Thanks for the advice. No doubt I will be picking your brain in the future.

Ah well I have decided to get another two. Just returned from local shop and purchased a silver with black stripes and red eyes and what I think you may call a smokey with a blue blush around the head with red eyes. Both nice fish but slightly smaller than the current occupants.

A bit nervous to see howt it goes. Lights off tonight I think and may cover with a sheet until dark.

Wish me luck

Good luck, don't be too alarmed if there's a bit of squabbling initially, just make sure that all have plenty of cover should they wish to hide.

Well I left them in the dark for a couple of hours.

I turned on the lights and have watched them for another couple of hours.

To say I am pleased is an understatement. What a change!!!!

The big boss has now become a lot less aggressive. As soon as he chases the original subordinate fish, the two new fish race over to see what is happening and it stops instantly. The sub fish is now far more confident and does not seem perturbed at all.

Also the blue grey fish that I was unsure about purchasing because he/she looked a little dull in the shop looks absolutely stunning under my lighting. A beautiful turquoise blue and smokey grey. He is definitely not shy and faces off to the boss straight away if he tries it on.

All in all a good day and very fascinating.


I have kept fish for over 20 years. Coldwater, freshwater and saltwater tropical. I got back into the hobby after a break of 5 years or so and promised myself I would just keep it to the one community aquarium. I fear these angelfish are giving me the bug again.

I fear these angelfish are giving me the bug again.

Good news

This is definitely an angelfish tank now.

I bought a silver zebra and smokey zebra ( at least that is what they call them at Abyss Aquatics in Stockport).

The development of the heirachy is very interesting to watch. To say angelfish are feisty is an understatement.

I am particularly happy that the original sub fish seems so much happier.

Thanks for the advice, it was totally successful and has me gripped.


Now, where can I put that 300 litre aquarium I saw today ?