Getting Started part II, recommend some Fish for my setup!

[dmac]

Some of you will remember me as the gungho newbie who bucked the advice and bought 3 african cichlids (2 zebras and a lab) for my 30 gallon tall...........Well you'll be happy to know that I found a LFS to take them. I am planning on going with more sensible fish for my setup....


Can you guys recommend some possible combinations of fish that would allow me:

a few angelfish (I like them a lot)
2 algea eater/catfish type fish
a snail
4 or 5 other assorted fish
----------------------------

Is it possible to get all of the above? Also, please recommend any mix you think would work well.

THanks!

 

[JustOneMore20]

There isn't much room in a 30g tall, so I'd just go with one angel. They get pretty tall. I suggest:

1 angel
6-8 cories
8 tetras or rasboras
3 ottos (if you have any algae)

Only having 1 angel will allow more space for schooling fish.

 

[dmac]

I just got back from dropping off the cichlids at the LFS....The guy was showing me some of the fish to consider.....he says that the clown loaches and Angelica catfish will grow very slowly so I could put them in the tank, but I am leery about the fact that they max out at 10-12" and I would not be able to move them to a larger tank later.......I'll probably go with a cory cat or 2 instead and play it safe this time.

Anyway he was pointing out a lot of compatible fish with Angels.

 

[joannde]

Loaches like to be in groups (I'd say 3 min) so don't do them !

Cories are you best bet - they're extremely entertaining and great little clean up guys to get all the food that drops to the bottom of the tank. I have panda cories and they are by far my fav fish out of anything I"ve kept. Since panda cories only get to 2" you can easily do a group of 3 (which I'd say is the minimum - they like to be in groups).

There are some smaller loaches that are also fine; yo-yo loaches seem to have alot of fans and they're also pretty comical (if you feel that fish "playing dead" is funny ! LOL).

With angels you want to watch out for fin nippers (tiger barbs and such come to mind). Do a search on all terms for "angel compatible" and see what's come up in past posts to get some other ideas if the ones suggested here (past and future) don't "do it" for you.

Its great that you're researching first and not always trusting the LFS - you're gonna do great

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If you decide you prefer loaches over cories, then look at striped loaches. They have a lot of character as well, stay small, and prefer to be in groups of 3 or more. Could even do yoyo's, but they get a little bigger than the striped loaches.

For tetras, rummy nose tetras would work great. They are small, and you can put in a few more than some of the other tetras. Plus they look cool.

 

[dmac]

Anyone know anything about silver dollars?

Also, know anything about African Feather Fin catfish?