Best angelfish?

[Shark_Bait]

Hey everyone. I want to introduce some angelfish to my tank. Let me know what ypu believe the best kind/color/sex/and number to get. My tank is 55 gal. Thanks my friends!!!

 

[mfdrookie516]

either 6 juvies or a pair of whatever you like best. who cares what we like, it's your tank, you're the one who needs to be happy with them. I would stay away from the altums though, they get really big... JMO

That said, veiltails are my favorites.

 

[rich311k]

Get what ever you like, I would start with 6 little ones as well. I prefer blacks and kois but that is my taste.

 

[jimenezlee]

I keep mostly angelfish, what are your goals and what else do you have in your tank. Are you hoping to breed them or just enjoy them?

 

[Shark_Bait]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I would love to try breeding but I don't believe I have the right equipment to do so. I have my 55 with 4 dwarf gouramis swordtail and an upside down catfish and a 10 gal qt. I wouldn't mind just their presence for enjoyment

 

[xfactor6699]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I would love to try breeding but I don't believe I have the right equipment to do so. I have my 55 with 4 dwarf gouramis swordtail and an upside down catfish and a 10 gal qt. I wouldn't mind just their presence for enjoyment

U might have a problem with the dwarfs nipping the angels if their going to be in the same tank

 

[huma-huma]

I have 3 veiltail angels in my 20g along with guppies,glofish,barbs,2 tetras, and a german blue ram... best to get the angels small because it'll decrease the risk of any aggression... oh and my angels live peacefully...not a single problem. But I second the advice on getting what you like...just keep an eye on them for a few days...esp. their main fins..other fish sometimes like to nip at them

 

[spoonman]

I had 7 angels in a 84 gallon community tank. When they were small they were fine. When they matured and 2 of them paired up, they killed off the other 5. No guarentees, but that is what happened in my tank.

 

[Shark_Bait]

Ya I definatey don't want a massacre. hmmm....this is something to ponder

 

[jetajockey]

I'd just get a smaller group. I have a LFS that has nearly full grown angels and I just mixed and matched till I got a good group.

 

[meegosh]

I think a pair would look nice complimented with some dither fish like cardinals, rummynose, etc.

You have a lot of real estate to work with in the 55g. As the others said, you are the one who is going to have to look at them everyday - get something YOU like!

 

[jimenezlee]

I'll agree then, if you wanted to breed and make some money then I'd recommend something specific. Otherwise get only 2 or 3. If you get more the chances of there being males and females increases. Around 7 months of age they will be ready to breed and they will then get very aggressive towards other tank mates. This can be curbed somewhat with either a divider, plenty of places to hide or just plain fast tank mates. I had kissing gouramis with my angels at some point, had to give them away because the gourami kept nipping at the angels and trying to eat their slime coat.

 

[Mogurako]

I like the blue and platinum angles.

 

[Shark_Bait]

im trying to pick up a 10 gal and 20 gal with all accessories for 60$. if i succeed i might think about breeding the angels.

 

[jimenezlee]

Yep, you have the right idea. Its very rewarding and relatively easy to breed them. I have a 55g planted tank, 30 gal (20 tall would work too) for the breeding pair and a 10 gal to grow them to pea size. Since the only other fish I keep in my 55g are algae eaters, the babies go right there to grow to salable size. They give me beautiful sights of a school of baby angelfish moving through the tall vallisneria vegetation.

 

[Shark_Bait]

I wish i knew enough to have a planted tank. seems like a good deal of knowledge is needed and i don't know the 1st thing about planted tanks.

 

[jimenezlee]

I'm learning about it myself, I just got my plants in Feb. It really doesn't seem to be as difficult as I thought at the beginning, the main thing is the lighting. I really didn't have much luck with my plants until I got good lights for it. Its only been three weeks since I got a T5, 4x56w fixture, for a total of 216 watts and I see a world of a difference. I had the standard hoods with 2x17W T8 that came with my tank and those were doing nothing for me. I had even built a DIY CO2 system (~$2 total cost) and still wasn't helping much.

Now I got the lights running for about 10 hours a day, the DIY CO2 and I just dose the Fluorish Complete 2x a week and the plants are doing great; all kinds of new growth everywhere.

If you are lucky to have the tank where there is natural light you wouldn't even need the expensive light fixture. (I actually got a really good price on eBay for mine ~$110)

 

[Shark_Bait]

Natural light is non-existant for me. My tank is in my finished bedroom in my basement. That's why i thought i could NEVER get plants because they would need that natural light to survive.

 

[jimenezlee]

Nope, they will do just fine with the right lights. This is what the lights did for me, before and after. I took these pictures right around dusk, so don't be confused by the walls looking lighter in the picture with the old lights, look at how much brighter the plants look with the new lights. They're loving the fixture.

 

[Shark_Bait]

very nice, i can see the difference!