Angelfish have long been considered to be some of the best fish to keep in your home aquarium. They’re popular because they’re a lot of fun to take care of and they happen to be quite pretty.
Watching these fish swim around in the aquarium will be a true joy. You’ve probably heard that angelfish are good options for people who are looking into getting started with home aquariums, but you still might be nervous about things.
Setting up a new fish tank can be intimidating, and no one wants to be responsible for killing a bunch of fish. You might be interested in buying some angelfish, but you might be worried that they’ll die easily if you make mistakes.
Are angelfish hardy or will they die fast if you make some rookie mistakes? Continue reading to learn more about angelfish and how hardy they may or may not be.
Angelfish Are Considered to Be Hardy
Angelfish are indeed considered to be hardy. These fish have a good reputation for being beginner-friendly fish for this reason.
If you’re looking for a fish that will be able to survive even if you make a few mistakes, then you’ll likely want to purchase a few angelfish. These fish do a good job of staying fairly healthy even if you don’t do everything perfectly.
They’re hardy enough that they will not die if you forget to feed them a few times. Generally, it’s recommended to feed angelfish each day, but they can technically survive between three days and one week without food, depending on how old they are.
The fish won’t die immediately if you make mistakes with the water parameters either. If you have problems during your first couple of weeks, then the fish should be hardy enough to survive while you figure things out.
That being said, the fish are not invincible. The fact that they’re hardy doesn’t mean that you can continually neglect or try to force them to live in improper water conditions.
Angelfish will indeed die if you don’t figure out how to care for them properly. They’re simply not as delicate as many other options, and this makes them good fish to help you to learn how to take care of an aquarium.
Water Parameters Are Important
Water parameters are important, and you’re going to want to do your best to get things right. It’s true that angelfish are hardy enough to tolerate some fluctuations and mistakes, but you’ll stress the fish and make them sick if you keep making errors.
This is why it’s imperative to purchase the right stuff that you need to care for the tank. You’re going to need to use a heater to keep the water at the right temperature.
Angelfish like the water temperature to stay between 76 degrees Fahrenheit and 84 degrees Fahrenheit. If you buy a heater with a built-in thermometer, then it’ll be easy to look at the tank regularly to see what the temperature of the water is.
Just make a habit of checking the water temperature daily to ensure that the heater is working as intended. Even if you live in a generally warm area of the world, it’s best to use a heater to avoid temperature fluctuations.
Extreme temperature fluctuations can make the fish stressed, and this will often lead to illness. Don’t forget to buy a heater for the fish tank.
It’s also going to be necessary to test the pH balance of the tank regularly to ensure that it stays in the right range. You’ll likely want to purchase chemicals that can help you to raise or lower the pH balance depending on which direction you need it to go.
The pH balance of the water needs to remain between 6.8 and 7.8 to be optimal for the angelfish. If you want your angelfish to thrive and stay healthy, then you need to check the pH balance regularly.
Using pH testing kits won’t be difficult in any way. It’s just something that you need to do from time to time to keep things right.
The balance can be thrown off by various factors. For example, too much organic debris in the water can raise the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels.
When this happens, it can make it difficult for the fish to breathe. It’ll also stress the fish and make it more likely that they will get sick.
Give the Angelfish Enough Space
Giving the angelfish enough space is an important factor when you want to keep them healthy. Putting angelfish in a tank that is too small will be a recipe for disaster in some ways.
Angelfish can be very territorial, and they’ll be more likely to fight each other and other fish if they’re forced into small spaces. For this reason, you need to avoid cramming too many fish in one fish tank.
It’s said that one angelfish needs to have at least ten gallons of space. This means that if you plan to keep one male and one female angelfish together, you’d need to have a 20-gallon aquarium, at the very least.
Honestly, it’d be better to have a much bigger aquarium than this. Angelfish like to have more than enough space, and they’d be happier if you gave them ample room.
Many enthusiasts say that it’s better to keep two angelfish in a 29-gallon tank or a 30-gallon tank. If you plan to make the angelfish a part of a community tank, then you’ll need to ensure that you have a large enough aquarium for all of the fish that you plan to add.
Take some time to think things through before buying the fish. Ensure that you have enough room in your home for an aquarium that is large enough to accommodate the fish.
Otherwise, it’d be better to wait until you’re in a different position to buy the fish. You don’t want to try to force fish to live in a cramped space.
It’s also worth noting that angelfish like aquariums that are tall and wide. These do a better job of accommodating their body shapes.
Avoid Stressing the Fish
It has been mentioned a bit earlier that causing the fish to experience stress will be a bad thing. So far, you’ve learned that improper water conditions can stress the angelfish.
You also need to know that many other things can make the fish stressed. For example, putting the fish tank in a very noisy environment will stress the fish out.
If you have the fish tank placed in a noisy room in your home, then that’s likely not great for the fish. It won’t kill them, but it could make them stressed, and that will make them more susceptible to getting sick.
You see, when angelfish (and many other types of fish) experience stress they’re going to have compromised immune systems. This makes the immune system less effective when trying to fight off infections and diseases.
A stressed angelfish will have to worry more about conditions such as ich, velvet disease, and so much more. To avoid such complications, you want to limit the stress that the angelfish experiences.
As far as noisy rooms go, it’s better to pick a more peaceful room for the fish tank. Don’t put the aquarium next to your television or your stereo system for the sake of the fish.
Keep children from tapping on the glass of the fish tank, too. This causes the fish stress and it scares them.
Angelfish Aggression Issues
Angelfish aggression issues can pop up if you aren’t careful. The fish are hardy enough to withstand fighting with each other for the most part, but you want to mitigate these issues to keep the fish as healthy as possible.
You know that the fish can fight over territory if placed in a small tank. It’s also important to know that male angelfish do not get along well.
If you place two male angelfish in the same tank, then they’re going to fight. These fish might be hardy, but they aren’t invincible.
Two angelfish fighting each other will wind up injuring each other. The male angelfish might fight so much that both will get pretty beat up.
This can be a big problem if the two fish are in a very small tank. It isn’t unheard of for male angelfish to kill each other during these fights.
For this reason, you should try to avoid putting two male angelfish in the same fish tank. This is especially true if the tank is somewhat small.
You might be able to keep more than one male angelfish in the tank if the tank is quite large. It’d also be wise to ensure that the tank has hiding places so that the two fish can escape from each other.
Place aquatic plants and rock decorations in the fish tank. This will help the fish to feel more at ease and they should be able to hide if they feel the need to get away from the other fish.
Pick the Right Tank Mates
Picking the right tank mates will be a big part of keeping the angelfish healthy, too. Often, people want to buy angelfish as part of a larger community fish tank.
You might want to put the angelfish in the tank alongside other fish. Before going forward with this plan, it’s going to be best to think about things for a bit.
If you put the angelfish in a fish tank with other fish that they aren’t compatible with, then you’ll encounter many issues. For example, the angelfish could wind up eating and killing some of the other fish.
Angelfish are mildly aggressive, and they will wind up bullying many other types of fish. They can also be bullied by certain fish that are larger and more aggressive than they are.
You need to look up compatibility between the different fish that you wish to add to the community tank ahead of time. There are many fish that angelfish can live alongside easily, but they won’t be able to live with every single fish that you might think to add to the community tank.
Take a bit of time to do your research before purchasing all of the fish for the new aquarium. You’ll be glad that you did.
Angelfish Diseases and Infections
As with other fish, angelfish are going to be susceptible to certain diseases and infections. These can kill the fish if you don’t take care of them well.
For the most part, angelfish are hardy enough that they won’t die easily. However, if you continue to neglect the tank, the angelfish will have a harder time staying healthy.
As mentioned earlier, stress causes fish to have compromised immune systems. If you stress the fish and the water in the tank is dirty, then the fish have the potential to get sick.
Your fish could wind up getting ich or they could deal with some type of bacterial infection. To keep them safe, you’ll want to keep the water clean and check for any signs of disease.
If you see white spots on your fish or if you notice the fish acting sluggish, then it’s a good idea to check to see if there are any problems. Being an observant and proactive fish tank owner can make a difference.
Catching certain diseases early on will allow you to take steps to treat the fish. You should be able to look up the symptoms to get a good idea of what is happening to your fish.
It’s also possible to reach out to an exotic veterinarian if you want specific advice on how to care for the fish. These fish are hardy enough that they have a good chance to survive getting sick if you can take action quickly enough.
Final Thoughts
You’ve learned a lot about angelfish and how hardy they are now. Knowing more about them should make you more confident about choosing to purchase them.
Truly, these are easy fish to take care of overall. You do want to do your best to take care of the fish tank if you want to keep them alive for a long time, though.
Angelfish have the potential to live for up to ten years in a fish tank. Do your best to give them a chance at such a long life by taking care of the fish tank to the best of your ability.
Jeff has always enjoyed having pets, but as a child, he was drawn to his family’s fish tank. Being able to maintain a small ecosystem and observe the behaviors and interactions in the underwater world peaked his interest early on and has kept him hooked until this day. On Avid Aquarist, Jeff shares everything he’s learned about helping aquatic life survive and thrive in a home aquarium.