How old is my angle fish?

"Mariachi" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thank you for your input.

The reason for my orginal question is why my angels have not paired
yet. I thought maybe they were too young...but from what I have read
2" body *can* be up to a year old - depending on conditions.....so
lets just say they are of breeding age.....what factors could be
causing them *not* to pair up...what can I do to help them
decide....providing of course I have male and female fish..(i have 4,
bought on 2 sepearte occations..)..

I am feeding frozen blood worms, beefheart and several types of flake
and pellet food

There are many factors that will dictate a fish's growth.
I have specialized in both Bettas and Angelfish for close to 30 yrs.
I've also had many batches of fry.
When we moved to the house we're in now I found out what hard water
will do to an Angelfish's growth.
STUNT it badly. I had year old fish that looks like dime to quater
sized babies.
They should have had a body size of close to a grapefruit by then.
They had lovely clean water, quality foods, a varied diet and lovely
warm water. Still, they didn't grow.
All because of hard water. Once a fish's growth is stunted, they don't
grow normally either if put into better conditions.
To say a fish is *this old* based only on it's size and without any
other information is irresponsible.
To do so *after* the appropriate info is gathered is giving a
"guesstimate".
When I spawn Angels I have to cut the water with RO water just to get
the fry to grow. Same with Bettas too.
However, the Angels that are born and raised in this hard water will
grow better than fry born into soft, acidic water.
I am not trying to confuse the original poster more, just adding
another variable to what dictates a fish's growth.

Hi folks

I have just returned to fish-keeping after a break of about 16 years and
have always had a soft spot for angels. I bought a 48x18x18 tank at
Christmas, set it up and ran it with some tiger barbs and then acquired an
Angel about 3 weeks ago. Anyway I swear he has grown half an inch in 3
weeks. He was just over an inch when I got him and he is now over one and a
half inches. My children claim they see him growing every day!

There are some real positives for him. My water is naturally soft, PH from
the tap is around 7, but in the tank it has settled at 6.4. The tank has a
big external filter, Ammonia and Nitrite are always 0 and it is lightly
stocked. I feed twice a day, once on flakes and once on frozen food. I was
concerned about getting him as I was warned tiger barbs could nip his fins,
but he is clearly the boss. At feeding time he chases the barbs all over the
place.

Neb