- Pairing & Identifying Majestic Angels -
Hello,
I have a question regarding keeping (2) Majestic Angelfish, a male and a female, which, I was told by an employee of one of the LFS is possible, but from what I am reading (and probably should have been reading last week) about the Angelfish in general is that they are loners and do not get along with others for the most part, especially Angelfish of the same species. 
<Actually, some of the larger angelfish hang out in pairs in the wild, including majestic angels.> 
I assume this applies to attempting to keep a male and a female Majestic in the same tank? 
<This would be a challenge.> 
Or can it be done? 
<It could be done... the fish would have to be caught as a pair, and generally speaking they don't pair up until later in life which means you'd have two very large angels.> 
Which I attempting to do in a 75 gallon tank FOWLR, which I know is going to be too small in the long run, I do plan on getting a 220 gallon in the next 5-6 months from this same LFS. 
<While this is an admirable plan - I too really like these angels - I would strongly advise you to wait until you have the 220 and even then, don't think it's large enough for a pair of large angels. More importantly is that like human couples, you can't just throw a male and a female in a box and expect them to pair by chance... there's more going on there. Would be expensive and difficult at best, and would almost certainly result in the loss of one, perhaps both if you try to force things in either the 75 or with an unmatched pair.>
(Identifying:)
The employee at the LFS attempted to help me identify my existing Majestic (3-4 inch juvenile) by the description I gave, a lot of orange coloration vs. yellow, which I was told meant that I probably had a female and the Majestic I looked at last week and ended up purchasing last night (4-5 inches) has mostly yellow vs. orange in coloration and I was told he was purchased as a male from their supplier. 
<I could be wrong, but I've never heard of this system for identification for sex in these angels. What is more likely is that these have come from different geographic areas. There is a picture of a pair in the new Kuiter Angelfish book and I can't tell the difference between the two.> 
But he also told me it is somewhat hard to tell what you have, a male or a female, when the fish are this age/size. So my question to you guys is as far as identifying the two fish as male/female, is this accurate information I was given, and is it too early in these fishes life to identify them? 
<My first inclination is that it's not even remotely true, and even if it were true, I don't think it's reliable enough.>
Thank you greatly for any info/help you can provide .(your site is great and an excellent source of information BTW)
Erick
<Cheers, J -- >