A couple more fish, but what?

[Swimmer32]

I currently have 6 x Black Phantoms, 6 x Zebra Danios, 3 Pearl Gouramis and a Bristlenose in my 175l tank.

What I want is maybe a cory (probably Albino) for the bottom, and a centrepiece fish (or maybe 2?) to finish everything off. I'm thinking of some type of Angel fish.

Now I know that Cory's are mainly schooling fish, but would just one of them really be that unhappy?

Also, do you think the Angels would be suitable for my tank?

If not, what else could you suggest as a centrepiece fish, given my tank size, fish population and fish type?

[rich311k]

I think angels would be ok. You have room at the bottom for a shoal of cories.

[justrelax]

i think angels would be sweet! a couple koi angels in particular. they would be a nice splash of color with what you currently have.

[Swimmer32]

Originally Posted by rich311k

I think angels would be ok. You have room at the bottom for a shoal of cories.

I don't really want a whole shoal though. Maybe a couple at most. Would they be happy as a couple?

I really want the remaining amount of fish I can have in the tank to be free swimming, and want to be the focus of the tank.

My concern with the Angel fish is that I've read they view smaller fish as food.

Would the Tetras and Danios be safe?

[Tostada]

Personally I'm a little skeptical of people saying cories need to be kept in schools of 5+. I've got pandas, and they're adorable, and sometimes they pile up on each other in the corner or line up in a row, but for the most part they're just each doing their own thing. They don't exactly school.

My biggest concern would be the initial shock of being moved, especialy on small cories. When I got mine, they were all very small. They seemed to become acclimated and start eating in the order of how big they were. The largest one was really active after just a few days. The smallest one never ate and mostly just sat still and died after a week. Talking to people at the LFS, they've had massive losses with the smaller cories and few with larger ones.

I've never heard of cories doing much actual schooling like rasboras or tetras would, but getting a larger group should make them more comfortable. If you're just going to get one, I'd at least make sure it's a nearly full-grown one.

Originally Posted by Swimmer32

I don't really want a whole shoal though. Maybe a couple at most. Would they be happy as a couple?

I really want the remaining amount of fish I can have in the tank to be free swimming, and want to be the focus of the tank.

My concern with the Angel fish is that I've read they view smaller fish as food.

Would the Tetras and Danios be safe?

I don't think two cories would be any big problem ... but they do disappear from time to time and just lay in the back and hide, so if you want them to be visible you'll probably end up wanting 3 or 4.

I doubt you'd have to worry too much about any of the Hyphessobrycon tetras (Lemon/Phandom/Flame/Serpae) being eaten by an angel ... they're pretty tough, and I can't think of when I've seen anybody have problems with them. And the danios are a lot zippier than the angel, too, and I would actually be more concerned with the danios nipping at the angels.

Then again, there seem to be a lot of people around here who have experience with angry angels, so I don't know.

[Swimmer32]

Originally Posted by Tostada

... and I would actually be more concerned with the danios nipping at the angels.

Then again, there seem to be a lot of people around here who have experience with angry angels, so I don't know.

Actually, you may be right.

I've seen the Danios try to nip at the whiskers of the Gouramis.

I think I might go for two Corys so they at least have eachother.

As for the Angels, I may give that some more thought.

What else do you have in your tank?

[Tostada]

My main tank is a 30 hex with 1 betta, 1 gold gourami, 4 swords, 7 rasboras, 5 panda corys, 4 ottos, some ghost shrimp and MTS. That works pretty well for a hex because the rasboras stay around the upper middle and the swords stay around the lower middle.

[debbieg]

From my experience, an angel would be great in your tank, but my first choice is always rainbows. My largest turquoise rainbow is definitely a centerpiece fish. Anyway, I've never had a problem with angels when I only have one. I have had angels that wanted to nip, rather badly, at other angels.

[MSU Fan]

Originally Posted by debbieg

but my first choice is always rainbows.

I'm with debbieg on this one. A beautiful boesemani, turqouise, or australian would make a fantastic addition to your tank, and you wouldn't have to worry about nipping since rainbows are extremely peaceful. IMO!