Clown loaches attacking angel fish

[Guy Dixon]

A family friend who is moving gave me their tank. I have decided they did not know what they were doing. They didn't even have a filter for it and all filter work was done by water changes.
My point is I don't know if these fish can live together though after some research I found that the clown should be quite peaceful.
One problem may be that there is only 2 clowns which I plan on changing very soon.

I do not know what to do about the fighting.
Both clowns attack the angel fish and push it around and its fins are all shredded.
I suspect they have been doing it to the other angel fish too but I have not caught them doing it.
I have already bought a small tank for the two red forest jewels that were in there for some reason as they were very agressive to everyone and do not want to buy a 3rd tank.

please help

Edit for first death in tank just happened now. Largest angel fish.

[Diana]

Hi Guy, welcome to Loaches.
We seem to be having a rash of aggressive Clown Loach stories lately. Have a look through this forum and read the other posts.

It may be that more Clowns will help.
You might end up separating the fish. Angels generally do not like as much water movement as Clown Loaches, nor do they need as much tank space.

[Guy Dixon]

I did look through some though I couldn't find any like my case. They often were about one trying to be the alpha loach.
In this case both clowns were attacking the angel fish at the same time.

A friend suggested that the angel was close to death and they were trying to eat it.
Is there any merit to this?

[Diana]

That might be. Was the Angel acting sick, lethargic, or looking like an easy target?

[Guy Dixon]

Both angels don't swim around much, usually just floating on their usual spots they seem to like and during feeding time it was just as active as the rest. It may of been weak as it did almost nothing in the way of defending itself from the attacks.

[mistergreen]

What tank size is this?
I would hold off on buying more clowns.

I personally would give away the angels or clowns to a local fish store, or whoever will have them. These are not a good mix of species.

[chefkeith]

I agree that Angels and Clowns are not a good combination.

Most likely the angel fish were weak or near death already.

It would be nice to know more about the water parameters and the tank.
There will be water quality issues if the filters are new, like it sounds. The tank needs to cycle.

What is tank size, volume, and water temperature?

Also would like to know Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, KH, GH, and pH from the tap and in the tank.