pairing flame angels

[dviper150]

I wanted to buy 2-3 flame angels and wanted to know what would be the best way to pair them up if possible.

I have a 150 gallon tank with about 120 lbs of live rock. IF they do start fighting, I have a 30 gallon refugium and I can separate them if I need to.

[ocellaris123]

Flame angels are sexually dimorphic, with the males having pointier bluer fins. They are also larger. Your best bet is too get a male and however many females you want and introduce them at the same time. This is the way I paired my flame angels and even though the male is aggressive towards the "female" their is no major conflicts which occur.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv111/ocellaris123/DSCF2555.jpg

[dviper150]

I am going to be ordering from online so I have no idea which ones would be males and or females. Would it be better to get 2 or 3?

[tcmfish]

If you get 2 or three small ones, they will work it out. Angels start out female and the most dominant fish will turn male.

If you check my homepage, I have a thread on pairing angelfish.

[jameshongth]

If you get 2 or three small ones, they will work it out. Angels start out female and the most dominant fish will turn male.

If you check my homepage, I have a thread on pairing angelfish.

Hi tcmfish,

Will it possible for the male flame angel to change back to female if there are no female in the tank :worried:? Eg 2 male in a huge tank and female has already RIP.

[tcmfish]

Everything I have read, has never said anything about them being able to reverse, but it is easier to find small female fish anyways.

[jameshongth]

Everything I have read, has never said anything about them being able to reverse, but it is easier to find small female fish anyways.

What size is good to start from? 2" or below 2"?

[ocellaris123]

Everything I have read, has never said anything about them being able to reverse, but it is easier to find small female fish anyways.

I have heard that most of the flame angels offered for sale are males, and I have noticed this too, at least in my area.

[tcmfish]

The smaller the better. Maybe it would be better to order the fish online from somewhere like liveaquaria that has a much better selection of fish. Your LFS probably only orders large sizes of fish, I know a few LFS back home used to do that a lot. The average hobbyist wants the bigger fish, even though all sizes are available on their order sheets. If you have to go through the LFS ask them if they can get smaller ones. I know one of the LFS here can commonly get flames that still have the ocellus on the dorsal fin and are tiny, like in the one inch range.

I think ever since people have been talking about the blue markings and shapes of the fins of male flame angelfish, that people pay too much attention to it. Flame angelfish get large, if you go to the store and pick out the two smallest angels and they aren't big ones already, chances are they will work it out.

I bet most of the pairs for sale on the diver's den, are paired up at their facility. Pairing angels is easier than most people think. Those things sell in seconds everytime, without fail, and they probably take a small fish and a larger fish and keep them together for a couple weeks/months, and wa-la pair.

[jameshongth]

The smaller the better. Maybe it would be better to order the fish online from somewhere like liveaquaria that has a much better selection of fish. Your LFS probably only orders large sizes of fish, I know a few LFS back home used to do that a lot. The average hobbyist wants the bigger fish, even though all sizes are available on their order sheets. If you have to go through the LFS ask them if they can get smaller ones. I know one of the LFS here can commonly get flames that still have the ocellus on the dorsal fin and are tiny, like in the one inch range.

I think ever since people have been talking about the blue markings and shapes of the fins of male flame angelfish, that people pay too much attention to it. Flame angelfish get large, if you go to the store and pick out the two smallest angels and they aren't big ones already, chances are they will work it out.

I bet most of the pairs for sale on the diver's den, are paired up at their facility. Pairing angels is easier than most people think. Those things sell in seconds everytime, without fail, and they probably take a small fish and a larger fish and keep them together for a couple weeks/months, and wa-la pair.

Is this 1.5" flame angel male or female?

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j74/jameshong_2006/FA.jpg

[tcmfish]

If it is really only 1.5", I'd say female or immature. If you can find a smaller one to match with it though, you should have a pair no problem.

[Recty]

When I paired mine up, I bought 4 in the 1.5-2" range and one in the 2.5-3" range. I wish I had just bought 5 in the 1.5-2" range... I ended up with one for sure male and two changing males and only two females. Angels dont revert back to females, so once you get a male started your stuck with it.

That is the only problem with ordering online, I ordered two distinctly different sizes of fish (an extra inch makes a big difference when they are only 2" long) and I ended up getting 5 of the same size fish, one being SLIGHTLY bigger than the others, but not really. I had quite a bit of bickering in my 210 which eventually settled down, but if I had to do it all over again I'd just get 5 of the smallest ones I could get.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/flame001.jpg

I lost one within 2 weeks to some weird rip in his skin, but the other four did great. You can see them in a top down shot here.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/topdown003.jpg

Even after months of growth, you can see how small they were compared to my emperor.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/topdown002.jpg

Flames are a great little fish to add a splash of color and action to your tank, I definitely recommend them :)

[dviper150]

Beautiful flames recty. I don't know if my tank is big enough to house more than 3 flames. I will give 3 a try and see how they do.

[Recty]

This is just my thoughts... I'd order one more than you plan on keeping long term, it seems to me littler fish like that have a higher mortality rate with shipping and who knows what else, if I planned on having 3 long term I'd start with 4.

That's just my opinion though :)

[Recty]

Beautiful flames recty. I don't know if my tank is big enough to house more than 3 flames. I will give 3 a try and see how they do.

Thanks :) Here are a couple pictures just because I can!

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/flame019.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/flame004.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i236/Recty/flame003.jpg

They are great little fish, I've got some videos on Youtube of them racing around my 210g, it's amazing how much color they added and just "life" they added to the tank.