Fish petting is a challenging thing to do due to the daily routine it requires.
People who are taming angelfishes in an aquarium can relate to that.
Like every other fish, Angel Fish requires the right conditions to grow quicker. Angelfish reaches dime-size by around 8 to 10 nickel through 12 to 16 weeks. In 4 months they get quarter-sized and they reach about the size of a silver dollar coin after 6 months.
The maximum growth on an angelfish can be observed in 6 months, and after completing 6 months, the fishes are known as adults.
After reaching adulthood, angelfish grow, but it is a lot slower. The maximum length of angelfishes can reach around 6 inches.
Most angelfishes take a few years to reach such a size. However, if this isn’t the case with your angelfishes, you would need to know the root causes behind such hampered growth.
Let’s find out!
Table of Contents
What Factors Influence The Growth Rate of Angelfish?
Various factors influence the size of angelfishes, with the speed at which they’re able to reach such size.
Clean waters and frequently changing water important.
Let’s begin with the importance of pure water. This is among the most vital things for any fish.
Fish owners have to ensure to keep low nitrogen levels in the aquarium. It means keeping ammonia virtually at zero and the same can be said for the nitrite.
While nitrite is considered safe, it is still advisable to keep its amount as little as possible.
Introducing plants to the aquarium is also good for keeping nitrogen levels less in water. Personally, floating plants do all that. Plants are among the best sources for reducing nitrogen count.
Keep a Check On Your Fish Diet
The growth rate of your angelfish gets considerably affected by what they’re eating, how often and how much. For keeping the feeding balance of your fish intact, you need to consider a few vital things.
Firstly, when we’re talking about juveniles or fry i.e. very young angelfishes, they would require small regular feedings. Also, the fishes require frequent water changes for clearing out waste through feeding them often.
After getting recognized as angelfishes, they’re considered juveniles. In this stage, they become hardy and it is tempting for letting up the feeding regime with water changing routine.
After, when you wish about the continuous growth of the fish quick and large, then you must continue feeding little amounts five times in one day. Due to such an intense feeding routine, the water quality has to be carefully observed.
If you let your angelfishes eat a lot of food, it becomes unhealthy with overweight that can halter its growth. Excess produced waste with rotting leftover food also ruins water quality. In such conditions, the fish has chances of becoming sick resulting in slow growth.
However, if you underfeed the fish for minimizing rotting leftovers and waste, the fish will get the same negative effect of undernourishment. The angelfishes won’t get the required nutrients for correctly growing. This prevents the bodies from maturing at appropriate rates.
Not Maintaining Ideal Water Temperature (75 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit)
Like all fishes, angelfishes thrive in a certain temperature range. If you wish to see them grow at their best, you have to be sure to maintain temperatures around 75 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit.
The tank must have a heater. Also don’t rely on nature for keeping water at the correct temperature.
You can use a digital heater for providing level to the water, without getting any drastic swings. You can easily get heating systems and thermometers.
The thermometers can help you know the current water temperature. At the right temperature, your angelfish grow healthy and faster.
Maintaining Right Water pH levels (6 to 8)
Similarly to the temperature maintaining the right pH levels is important.
Even though angelfishes are hardy fish species that are adaptable to different conditioners, with the right pH levels they can easily keep them in great health. This encourages faster growth in them with substantial body sizes.
For angelfishes, the pH levels should range between 6 and 8. To fix pH you can add baking soda, crushed coral, or shells. Wood can also be added to water for lowering higher pH levels.
Also, you have to ensure that you’re using high-quality food.
Feeding things such as frozen and live foods are important – like daphnia, brine, and bloodworm – but it is also recommended to pick solid commercial foods for getting the majority of the nutrition.
Tank Size And The Impact On Growth Rate of Angelfish?
Many fish breeders emphasized the importance of purchasing large tanks for the angelfish for making them grow quickly and substantially. Many people think that the fish grow while fitting the size of the fish tank.
However, this doesn’t hold true.
When different factors are favoring, the angelfish grows at a steady pace and it was meant to grow in that way irrespective of the fish tank size.
The size of the tank on its own doesn’t only compel the angelfish for growing slowly in s small way. Breeders who have thought that the aquarium size is meant for blaming the stunted growth of the fish remain oblivious to various other aspects that remain in play.
However, a small tank exacerbates all other negative aspects of the life of angelfish which turns living conditions bad while affecting the growth of the creature. The size tank factor works with other elements for bringing negative or positive changes.
Little tank exacerbates stress that has been exerted in young fish, with the level of aggression the toxin volumes in the water with feeding habits.
Large tanks can alleviate stress and can also lead to less aggression with the prevention of toxic element build-up in water while improving habits of feeding.
Genetics Can Be The Reason For Halted Angelfish Growth
This is only a fact. A few fancy angelfish strains are little and grow slow. There isn’t a lot that can be done about it. The best possible measure is feeding them with a healthy diet, with the purest water quality. This helps them in reaching their highest growth potential.
However, don’t get frustrated if your angelfish isn’t reaching the size same of the wild angelfishes. With closer wild strain the less inbred it is and therefore it would easily be able to become larger.
If the idea of implementing all aforementioned measures feels just too much, you can remember this: that angelfish will grow in a fast and healthy manner when they’re in relaxed conditions with the availability of space and foods.
The principle should be kept in mind. If you’re able to keep the fish healthy, stress-free, and happy, you’ll notice their accelerated growth.
