Rams, Angels, and tetras

[Talvari]

Im obsessing about my stock list for my 46 gallon tank, badly. It has an Aqua Clear 70 filter.. It has driftwood, red slate stone, and it will be pretty well planted with low-light needs plants.

I know I want some Bolivian Rams (2-3) as well as some Cardinal Tetras (10-12).

I keep agonizing over whether I can get away with a single Angelfish or not. Ive heard yes AND no...

And I still dont know what other kind of school I want in the tank. I want to find some type of schooling fish that I dont see everyday at work. I was thinking maybe some Black Neon tetra to contrast the bright colors of the cardinals?

What do you guys think about adding an Angel? And what other schooling fish would you suggest?

 

[richpowell1989]

All I have in my 46 gallon is 2 rams 3 saimese algae eaters and 1 dwarf gourami that's it

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I would get a single bolivian or a pair. A trio is just not good with most fish IMO. You could definitely get an angel, just watch out for aggression as it matures, there's no telling.

I would definitely think cardinals and black neons would look good together. So would cardinals and glowlights, cardinals and rummynoses, or if you wanted to change it up, glowlights and black neons

 

[Talvari]

Okay, thanks for the tip on the bolivians. I was mostly thinking three so I would nearly be guaranteed to get a male and a female. If the third one didnt work out, I have a couple friends with aquariums I could give it to, or I could sell it back to a LFS.

The more I think about, the more I like the idea of the Angel, the two rams, the cardinals and the black neons.... Particularly with all the green from the plants.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

I dont think i would go with black neons... They are a smaller type of tetra and if i dropped one in with my angelfish it would be eatin in a day. My glowlights have never been touched my the angel, so cardinals and glowlights would be an awesome combo.

2 rams
7-10 glowlights
7-10 cardnals
1 angelfish
Bottomfeeders

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Black neons, glow lights and cardinals all max out to two inches, so they should be angel-safe.

There's a lot of different types of angels out there, what kind were you thinking on getting?

 

[Talvari]

Ill be getting all of the schooling fish before I get the rams or the angels, if that helps. The angels Im looking at getting start off at only about an inch an a half, so they definitely wont be able to eat the tetras at that size.

Honestly, I am not really sure what kind of angel I want yet. I saw a really pretty one at work the other day... Really incredibly long dorsal, anal, and ventral fins. He was completely black up top and as you went towards his belly, the black gave way to strips with a silver undertone. Just beautiful.

I was tempted to snap him up then, but I really want to wait to get my plants in and everything settled so I dont have to disturb everyone.


ETA: I found a picture of what he looked like. Maybe you can give me a name? He was darker than this and the stripes were a bit more pronounced...

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Looks like a cross between a black angelfish:

And a chocolate angelfish:

Photos courtesy of aquariumwiki.com

 

[ejaramillo01]

Black neons, glow lights and cardinals all max out to two inches, so they should be angel-safe.

There's a lot of different types of angels out there, what kind were you thinking on getting?

I agree with Bruin that the tetras shloud be Angel safe... as long as you introduced an SMALL Angel... if the Angel grows in the prescence of the tetras, your chances to succed are better... Once the Angel gets big enough, there will be always a risk for the tetras.... but starting with a juvenile , small Angel will increase your chances..

IMO

 

[richpowell1989]

I started with a small angel and he has got used to my neons so he don't even take any notice of them he has never ate one

 

[severum mama]

Black neons grow larger than most people realize. That said, I once had a large adult angel eat a 1.5 inch cory. You just never know.

 

[richpowell1989]

Black neons grow larger than most people realize. That said, I once had a large adult angel eat a 1.5 inch cory. You just never know.

Wow how big was he ?