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I've actually SEEN one that was 6-7" of body, top to bottom, w/out fins. Beautiful (gold?) variety someone brought back to LFS because they didn't want it anymore. Very shy. They later put a bunch of quarter sized angel babies they ordered in the same tank..and had to remove them-they nipped the big one too much.

Yeah, they're enthusiastic. Especially if there is a bunch of them. How many you got? Are you trying for a pair?

Mike

3/4-1in is the biggest atm. And they eat like pigs.

body minus tail eas probably somewhere between 3.5 and 4 inches

About how big was the body cichlidiot? (What a great name!)I've got two that are 8" tall with fins but one has is 3.5" body the other is a veil tail and its body is only 2.5".

Mike

The largest angel I ever kept was probably about 5 inches long and about 8 inches tall. I had him for about 4 years before giving him away.

girlunderrainbow - You're right about the color not being altumish (I forgot you mention it was goldish), so it must have been a scalare (and a really old one at that).

Eric

There's no telling what type it was..LFS isn't really knowledgeable about somethings. Do Altums come with that color though? The WHitish body with Gold flecks? who knows. But the body type wasn't like pix of Altums I have seen..I don't recall the price. Wasn't cheap I don't think. Been a year or so.

girlunderrainbow - are you sure that it wasn't an altum angel? That's truly an amazing size for a scalare...

Either way, I bet it was an impressive site. I just saw an angelfish that was probably 7" tall (incuding finnage) in a display tank at the LFS and it was a beautiful sight.

Eric

Wow! How long were his fins? And what were they asking for him?

Mike

What is the largest Angelfish you, you personally, have had in your tank? I hear alot about Angels as big a Sevrums but I've never seen one. Unless we're talking with fins and not just body size.

My largest is 3.5", best guess holding a ruler to the tank and waiting for him to get in position. Roughly the same top to bottom and front to back. If you count the fins, however, he is 8" tall. He is about 2.5 years old so he might still be growing, I don't know. And lest you think he's stunted by a small tank, he lived most of his life in a 75 gal.

Mike

[span class="edited"][Edited by Mike R 2004-08-11 16:59][/span]

I think Klee's right, most fish are bigger in the wild.

Inko's altums excluded has anyone seen a saclare with bigger than a 4" body and does breeding them slow their growth?

I know I've got breeders older than my biggest angel. (He refuses to pair and in fact I'm not even sure he knows he's an angelfish. He lived with Oscar for a while and the two were best buds but with other angels in the tank he hides.) My pairs seem to max out at 2.5-3" body size. He is 3.5" and 2.5 years old so he might get bigger. Does a life of celibacy make them grow larger?

Just thinking out loud, Mike

If you've ever seen a full wild DD (WS?) angel, you'd notice that they far exceed aquarium strains in both depth and length. As far as I know, nearly all fish appear smaller in the aquaria than in the wild, ESPECIALLY disucs (wild Inarhias grow ENORMOUS).

http://www.belowwater.com/fish/wild-discus/jatapu-02.jpg

[span class="edited"][Edited by Klee 2004-08-13 12:55][/span]

To the question that was brought up to me, I'm not quite sure what your asking. Why fish get more $$ when they are older? It's pretty simple, raising a fish that big takes money, is rarer than a small fish, and basically overall is worth more.

To clear things up, I am talking about HEIGHT being the larger numbers i've said.

"Probably most strains are incapable of producing fish that big because they've been bred in captivity for so long"

Captive breeding proves fish to be larger, in angelfish and discus. Both angelfish and discus are both duller colors in the wild, being flashy is bait for larger fish, birds, and animals. They also remain smaller in the wild, for there are many dangers, so the smaller the size, the easier to hide. This doesnt mean 1", but a fair size.

They get about as big as severums in actual body size. Fins increase the height. For this reason I reommend a minimuk tank of 55 gallons. In fact, I'll be getting an Angel for my upcoming 55 Amazon South American River tank.

Um, severums get to be about 7-8 inches excluding fins. Anything over 5 inches is rare for angels (w/o finnage). Personally, my larest angel was a peruvian labelled in the FS as an altum. grew to be about a good 8 inches in depth.

inko what i dont get they do that in my pet shops all the time why would you pay more for an older fish?

Have you ever been in the same room with an angelfish with a 6" body. Sevrums get to be 8", I have a gold sevrum that's a little over 7" with the tail so figure the body is 5.75" or so. I know this because there is a 6" flower pot in his tank.

I look at the opening of the pot and I know I've never seen an angel with a body even close to that big. Get a 6" flower pot and put it in your tank, then imagine an angelfish with a body that fills it. OMG that'd be one huge anglefish.

I think probaby some individuals of some strains get that big but they are as rare as hens teeth. Probably most strains are incapable of producing fish that big because they've been bred in captivity for so long.

I want to find out if anyone has seen one. What color was it? Where did you see it? Do you know how old it was? Was it wild caught or captive bred? We've all heard of them but has anyone seen them?

Failing that, lets find out how big we've had or have now. Come on people, how big? Just the body now. Get a 4" pot and look at the opening, ever had an angel that big?

If it seems like I'm baiting, maybe I am. But it's all in fun. Sometimes I think we take ourselves and our fish too seriously.

So let's swap some fish stories and let's not exagerate like those murderous thugs the anglers.

Mike

[span class="edited"][Edited by Mike R 2004-08-11 22:37][/span]

They get about as big as severums in actual body size. Fins increase the height. For this reason I reommend a minimuk tank of 55 gallons. In fact, I'll be getting an Angel for my upcoming 55 Amazon South American River tank.

It is true that angels get pretty large, and can reach a length of 12" in height. About 1/2 a year ago, someone in my area sold the p.altums for $70 a pop that was about 12-13" tall, he said it was 8 years old, so that's probably why it was so big.

The normal scalares do tend to get some heigh too, I've seen some in my LFS about 8-9". I've heard of some bigger to recall, but havent actually seen any. My 2 year old ones reached 6" in height. Of course, there are always different variations, like veiltails and long fins that might contribute to this.

The bodies dont tend to be that big, the largest i saw was about 4" diameter.