aggressive angelfish

Question
32 gal.  7 rosie reds, 1 upsidedown cat, 2 other cats, 1 large angel (had for years) and 1 newer (young) angel that we purchased a few months ago to keep older angel company after silver guarmi (sp?) friend died.  Recently moved rocks and removed a plant.  (Well, my husband did)

The two angels were getting along beautifully until last night when the large started attacking younger relentlessly.  I read your answer to another subscriber and you said it could be that one is spawning?  I'm assuming the younger may be spawing because she was "cleaning" the tank a day earlier which I thought was unusual.  We didn't know what to do and didn't want to see her suffer so we separated her in one of those floating containers to protect her.  Question....Is this the right thing to do?  And for how long?  Or, should we take her out completely and maybe take her back to the store?  Temp:  73-74.  My husband does not gravel vacuum which I wish he would! Also, if we keep her separated, can we feed in that container?   Thank you so much!!  

Leigh Anne
P.S.  I know nothing about fish or aquariums!  

Answer
Hi Leigh:  Angelfish are part of the cichlid family and they can be really aggressive.  Like other cichlids angelfish are obsessed with the care of their young... and that starts with cleaning the tank before they lay eggs.  Their aggression level also increases dramatically during spawning.  It is good that you have separated them... One of them would have died eventually.  You will either have to get the little one a new home... or give her back to the aquarium...or you can wait awhile and see if she spawns at which time the aggression will decrease.  I think they can lay eggs though about every 16-24 days... so it is a cycle of aggression that they go through.  If the container that you have put her into is small... you should not leave her in there too long... a few days at best.  If possible another aquarium would be great.  It does sound like the size difference between the two fish is too great to overcome immediately.   

I would also raise the water temp to between 78-82... that is tropical fish range.  Since your husband doesn't gravel vacuum... let  me tell you how to do it since it needs to get done at least weekly.  Without gravel vacuuming your tank slowly becomes a toxic wasteland...and the end result is that your fish die... so what is the point of keeping fish if they just die.  Gravel vacuuming is really easy and in a 32 gallon tank it should only take about ten minutes... you basically just start the siphon hose by placing one end in the tank and sucking on the other end until water starts to move past the top of the tank.  Place the drain end into a bucket and make sure it is still draining...try not to get the water in your mouth...I usually have the drain end in the bucket by the time that the water is halfway through the hose.  Run the gravel vacuum chamber (the part in the tank) through the gravel... the gravel should fill about 1/4 to 1/2 of the chamber and any filth will be sucked through the gravel and into your bucket.  I use a five gallon bucket which I dump after every four gallons or so... just make sure you can lift it...and I repeat this process until my gravel is clean.  I only take out about 10-15 percent of that tank water... then I fill the bucket with tap water, add dechlorinator and dump it back into the tank.... To fill your bucket from the sink... use a small plastic container about the size of xl cottage cheese bucket in your sink with the tank bucket on the floor.  turn the tap on... and let the container fill with water... just let the water run... put the gravel vacuum in the container and start the siphon flowing... when your bucket is full enough to be manageable... take the vacuum out of the container and dump the bucket of water into your tank.... by the way... you are leaning a lot about fish and aquarium keeping... dave...