So the hard part is over: your male and female angelfish have successfully mated and produced their baby guppies. These babies hatched from their eggs and now are swimming about on their own.
But how long will it take for these baby angelfish to reach their full size and grow completely?
The length of time it takes an angelfish to grow will depend on several factors. However, you can typically expect it to reach sexual maturity by 8 months, after which it will gradually stop growing. So, expect it to take about a year for your angelfish to reach its adult size of 6 inches long and 8 inches tall.
It’s not too difficult to take care of angelfish and most people notice that their angelfish grow rather quickly. But there are several things that you will want to make sure of so that your fish grow properly and on time.
In this article, we will discuss these factors, as well as typical growth patterns for angelfish.
How to Make Sure Your Angelfish Will Grow Quickly
Keep in mind that all angelfish are unique and just because one grew very quickly doesn’t mean that the next one will. But, there are a few things you can do on your own to make sure that your angelfish are in the perfect environment for growing at a normal rate.
Make sure the water is always clean and filtered
This will mean changing the water and cleaning the tank on a regular basis. This is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your fish will remain healthy. Make sure that nitrogen and ammonia levels in the tank are kept as close to zero as possible.
Monitoring these levels will also help to keep stress down in your fish, which is also necessary for keeping them healthy. High ammonia levels in a tank can cause your fish to feel stressed or aggressive, and that will most certainly not allow them to grow to their maximum potential.
Fish aren’t the cleanest animals and their food and waste can make the situation worse. You can use plants to help keep some of these nitrogen levels down, too. A good ballpark range includes changing 10-15 percent of the water in your tank every week.
This will depend on how many fish are in your tank. And remember, changing the water means actually removing the water and replacing it with fresh water- not simply filling the tank!
Feed your fish well on a regular basis
How much you should feed your fish will depend on how old they are. If they are fry (newly hatched), then you should aim to feed them small amounts several times a day.
When the fish are already able to be seen as angelfish, it is still recommended that you keep up with these small feedings because they will allow your fish to grow faster.
Also, make sure to keep an eye on the quality of the food that you are feeding your angelfish, too. Many people recommend feeding baby brine, bloodworm, and other live foods, but you should also look for good granule food that will provide your angelfish with most of their nutrition.
Keep in mind that the most important factor is genetics
Just like with humans or any other animal, the speed at which angelfish will grow and the size they will reach depends on their genetics. So if you have smaller angelfish, that doesn’t necessarily mean that something happened to stunt their growth.
Some angelfish are simply naturally larger or smaller than others. The closer your angelfish is to being wild, the larger it will most likely be. Pay attention to the sizes of its parents and you will get a ballpark range of how large the babies will end up being.
How Big Your Angelfish Will Get
Those were some of the important factors you should monitor or consider when thinking about how fast angelfish will grow. Again, you will not have two angelfish that grow at the same speed or size, but you might notice this range being rather consistent with the fish in your tank.
When your angelfish babies hatch, they will typically stay at the site where they were hatched for a few days. Then, they will begin to grow rather quickly, and after a certain point, you will notice the speed of their growth starting to slow down.
This is completely normal. An angelfish tends to reach sexual maturity by 8 months, so this is roughly around when it will reach its adult size.
Here’s a good range for you to consider that tends to be consistent with the average angelfish.
- The size of a dime (1.5 centimeters) by 8-10 weeks old.
- The size of a nickel (2 centimeters) by 12-16 weeks old.
- The size of a quarter (2.5 centimeters) by 4 months.
- Around 4 centimeters (1.5 inches) by 10 months.
An angelfish will be considered an adult when it reaches 6 months, but they haven’t stopped growing at this point. However, you may notice that this is around the time period in which your angelfish seems to have reached a plateau.
It will continue to grow after this point, but rather slowly.
How big do angelfish get?
This question, again, will depend on the individual angelfish and some of the factors we have listed above. But if you take good care of your angelfish, the average tends to be around 6 inches long and 8 inches tall.
There are some angelfish that can even grow to be approximately 10 inches tall. In all, it usually takes about a year and a half in order for an angelfish to reach this size.
Get the right tank for you angelfish!
Getting the right tank size and tank shape is vital when keeping angelfish. Angelfish are not really aggressive but they are opportunistic and when kept in a tank that is not suited for angelfish, such “aggressive” behavior can be seen all the time.
In order to not lose any of your fish, avoid stress for your fish, and to save money, we highly recommend reading our following articles:
Related Questions
How long does it take for angelfish eggs to hatch?
You will be surprised by how quickly it takes angelfish eggs to hatch after they are laid. It will only take between 2 to 3 days, but the babies will stay attached to the site for around 3 more days until they start to swim around on their own.
Is it difficult to take care of angelfish?
Angelfish are known for being easy to take care of and maintain. As long as you provide them with a tank that is large enough, clean and filtered water, and the correct food, you will find that there isn’t much left to do to keep your angelfish happy and healthy.
Will angelfish eat their young?
It is not very common for angelfish to eat their own babies, especially if they have hatched from their eggs. Angelfish are more likely to eat their eggs, but this is usually in an attempt to protect their eggs from the other fish.
Keep in mind, once again, that the size of your angelfish will depend on the individual fish. You may end up having some fish that are smaller than average and others that are larger.
But if you make sure to take care of them and stay on top of their food intake and cleaning the water out regularly, you will help to allow your angelfish to reach their maximum capacity. You will be surprised by how quickly your fish will grow!