a ton of misc. questions

[JDogg]

#3 Cardinal and Rummy-nose are fine with angels...no neons though

If you search the forum, you will see that others have reported their angels eating cardinal tetras. We know angels eat neons, even adult neons, and I don't think an adult cardinal is all that much larger. At the very least, I think it's safe to say that any sub-adult cardinals would at least be "at risk" in a tank with adult angels.

I've never had angels, but it also might depend on the disposition of individual fish.

Rummy-nose are significantly larger, so they should certainly be safe.

my cardinals must have been giants, i think they were easly the same size as the rummy-nose i have now :? angels never even payed attention to them...

 

[Skyrmir]

I keep harlequin rasboras and rummy nose tetras with my angels and they seem fine together, at least they were in the 75 gallon tank. When the tank exploded and I had to put them all into a 30 gallon things got touchy.

Generally the angels only get aggressive towards each other or anything that gets near their chosen 'spot'. So really it's a question of space. Since a normal 55 gallon is just shorter and narrower than a 75, I'd say you could get away with most tetra's as long as the angels pair up. Two unmated angels are going to pretty much decide the whole tank is their territory, anyone that disagree's had best not fit in an angel mouth.

 

[kostasonia]

Anyone on the guppies problem...? It´s that I have had the same problem..

 

[WaterPond]

Two unmated angels are going to pretty much decide the whole tank is their territory

so i am guess thing one will not be much better? lol, i don't really want to buy like 4 fish and then wait for pairs to form, i could never return a fish to the store.
-If i get one male and one female will the eventually mate?
-how do you sex them?

 

[coldmachineUK]

It's nearly impossible to sex angels, unfortunately. The best you might be able to do is specifically ask the LFS to order in a pair. I know with my saulosi they're claiming to be able to do that (I'm getting 4 pairs...I actually asked for 6 females and 2 males, but she swore blind that she'd order me pairs in and overruled what I was wanting ).

If you get a kuhli loach you'd need a couple or more and you'd never see them anyway. Good for 'tilling' any sand substrate though...but you're better with cories IMHO

In terms of stocking: you'd be ok with those numbers I reckon, but I'm guessing you will be stocking gradually right? So, you can always stop at a point where you're thinking "anymore and I just know there's gonna be a problem!". If I was you I might leave off the gourami if I had reservations, since it's only one fish and not as important as maintaining schooling quantities or pairs etc.
I might also opt for either rams, or angels, but perhaps not both. But, these are just some ideas/options for if you are worried about stocking problems.

 

[WaterPond]

Yeah, which one of these fish would i be best off adding first once the tank is cycled, seeing as how i am adding gradually.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Probably the scissortails: they're real hardy. The ones my friend kept were rescued from someone she knew who was keeping them in a bucket of cold water feeding them bread. Can you believe that?! They were COVERED in ich as well. Terrible. But, three of the four survived, and now have a happy home so it worked out better for them.

Long story short: scissortails

 

[WaterPond]

ok, thanks. I feel in love with them at my LFS, they just have a mesmorizing movemnt!

 

[Skyrmir]

Coldmachine is right, the only way to sex an angel is to watch them lay eggs. The males are generally bigger and have a larger hump in the front, but it's not enough that you can really tell until they pair up. If your fish store can order you pairs then your all set, if not your best bet is to get 4-6, wait for a pair and give the rest back.

If you do try it yourself, keep an eye out for aggression. Once a pair forms they get pretty mean to other angels, and a 75 is really only enough room for one mated pair once they start getting territorial. If there's large plant cover you might get away with two pairs, but it'd be chancey at best.

As for the guppy thing, it's been a while since I had guppies myself, but I do know in a lot of smaller fish, they'll get a bent spine with old age, and in general the breeding stock from fish stores is pretty weak. They've been inbred a LOT to get the colors that people like. So they tend to get infirm with age, and guppies don't live all that long to start with.

 

[WaterPond]

I think i will ditch the angel idea. What about rainbows?

 

[hc8719]

#2 you should have put the female guppy with a group on non-females much sooner, i cant see why you didnt.

and i have to go against gheitman, i have 4 columbian tetras, nothing great, they just hover on the bottom, and in my opinion are much uglier in person

 

[WaterPond]

#2 you should have put the female guppy with a group on non-females much sooner, i cant see why you didnt.

I'm sorrry, i don't understand what you mean.

and i have to go against gheitman, i have 4 columbian tetras, nothing great, they just hover on the bottom, and in my opinion are much uglier in person

I have seen them at my LFS and they didn't really strike me as a "pretty" fish. They are nice in a way but i don't know, i guess i jsut don't like them. They almsot look too unnatural.


ANYBODY, do you have any experience with turquoise rainbows. I saw them at my LFS the other day and am not considering them insead ogf the angles. What do you think about them. Any good sited for info about them?

 

[hc8719]

I'm sorrry, i don't understand what you mean.

if you noticed she was getting worse, why didnt you seperate her sooner, and put her in a group of female only guppies.

though i dont know how long it would have taken me to notice one in a bunch of guppies

 

[WaterPond]

she used to be in a big bucket, but now she is in a tank. I souldent see it then. I feel so sorry for her and if i had noticed i would have never let it get this far. I love all my feeder guppies. She is now in a 10gal tank(she is retired for sure). I feel really horrible about this!

 

[krap101]

i read somewhere that the angle of the fins is a possible way to determine gender? like males (or females dont remember) have a right angle going from the base of the tail to the dorsal to the mouth. or something of the like

 

[WaterPond]

for angels i am guessing. I have decied to skip angels. Anybody have experience with farowella(twig catfish) or turquose rainbowfish

 

[coldmachineUK]

I think hc8719 has a twig catfish if I'm remembering right from another thread, so he might have some ideas.
Don't beat yourself up over your feeder guppy: it's a shame, yes, but you weren't to know at the time. People who've been keeping fish for 50 years still learn I'd hate to think there wasn't anything left to surprise me: it's what makes keeping fish exciting

 

[WaterPond]

i have totally changes my stocking. I am going with a twig catfish because i can't afford a clown pleco(25bucks at my LFS while twigs are only 8bucks). I really want angles still but i will wait on them. I beleive my LFS sells already mated pairs of altum angles(wild strain) but i doubt i can afford them

 

[krap101]

thats the exact opposite. here the clowns are about 7$ while the whiptail (twig) are closer to 30$

 

[WaterPond]

wow, thats crazy. Walmart carries whitalis where i live