Question For The Angel Fish Experts

[JM68]

I have a female bellus angel in my 120g reef. She is about 3" long and in great shape. I really want a pair, but since its near impossible to find a small male i havent gotten one. All the males my lfs get in are 4+ inches and seem like they would be cramped in my 120g with the other fish. My question is since genicanthus angels are able to change sex would i be able to get a smaller female and put her in the tank without her being killed by the bigger female which would then force the larger more dominant female into a sex change. I ask this because my lfs just got a small female (not quite 2") in a couple days ago. I would love to get her and give this a try. What do you think? I would also socially acclimate them by keeping the smaller one separated for a period of time.

 

[LukFox]

Wait, it's possible I'm misunderstanding, but if a four inch fish would be cramped with everything else in there (and bellus need their swimming space), why would you get another angel that can get 7"? Do you not expect them to grow?

 

[JM68]

Ok i guess it does read funny. There is plenty of room in the tank. I am not a fan of getting larger sized fish. I like to buy small fish and grow them in the tank instead of plucking an adult fish out of the ocean and dropping it into a box. However, that is not the question i am asking so any input on the topic at hand would be greatly appreciated. I am not one of those people who cram my tank with oversized fish just because they look cool. The size of my tank is taken into consideration every time i purchase a fish.

 

[LukFox]

Okay, just making sure . I too like starting with smaller specimens.

On pairing them, I've seen it go either way... One will change, or they'll both stay female, or one will change male and then later turn back female. Genicanthus angels seem to be all over the place regarding how to pair them in captivity. So you can try it, but don't expect success.

Also I should note that there are people on this forum who would say a 120g is too small for even one Genicanthus, so bear that in mind. I haven't kept one in a long time to agree or disagree, but apparently they need a lot of length to not feel really cooped up.

 

[29reef]

Seems for geni's it's best to get a male and a female. Iirc

I suggest you try it. Don't forget to qt the new fish. No need to risk existing stock.

I in no way consider myself an angel expert.

 

[SDguy]

I have a pair of blackspot swallowtails. While they are the worst when it comes to any guarantees of male coloration, genicanthus in general, from what I've gathered, are pretty bad all around. Meaning, there's really no good way to either guarantee one will develop male coloration, or one will keep male coloration, if purchased that way.

I agree that large male geni's can be tough to adapt to captivity