Angelfish compatibility

[Biggen]

Hey guys,

I am starting to think ahead about what new fish I can get for both my home 29 gallon tank and my store 40 gallon tank. I was thinking about possibly getting some Angel's for both when the time is right.

First off, I don't know much about Angelfish. Can I keep one or do they need to be in pairs or do they need to be in schools? Also, is a 29 gallon tank large enough for an Angel? From what I have read so far, Angel's seem to be a great community fish. However, will they eat my Zebra Danios? I know they will go after Tetra's but the Danios are bigger than most of those tiny Tetra fish. Also, is there a "better" Angel fish to get than another Angel (i.e. Common Angel vs. Marbel Angel). There seems to be so many varieties that it would look cool to mix 2 or 3 varieties within a tank? Can you even do this or do you need to stick with one particular species?

I have been trying to find out all this information on my own but am still a little sketchy.

Oh and I decided to just use the "suck" routine when changing the water from the tank. It seems to work fine as long as I can suck the water over the top of the tank and get it out of my mouth before it comes rushing out...

 

[Guest]

In a 29, you could keep 2-3 Angels, In a 40, 4-5. However, if/when they form a breeding pair, they will be agressive toward the other angels. Mine are only mildly aggro, but it's also a 90 gallon tank. Iv'e heard they will sometimes beat the non paired angels to death.
Mine live with zebra dannios, no problem at all.

Angels are ok with larger tetras, just not little ones like neons or cardinals.

My suggestion would be to put Angels in only 1 of the tanks, that way if there is aggro behavior, you can move the picked on fish to the other tank.

Also, all angels (except Altum Angels, which are very uncommon in the trade, and cost $$$) are varities of the same species, dont think any one kind is more apt to behave different from the others. I have 3 angels, all very different varieties, get along fine.

 

[justDIY]

angelfish are great!

I have one, bought it when it was the size of a nickel, it is now over 7" from top fin to bottom fin

it lives in my 29 gallon, and with all the plants / other fish, there isn't room for any more angels

your 40 would probably be able to hold two or three, depending on how much other stuff is in there

someone on these forums was talking about a "koi" angelfish that was white and orange ... very neat, I'd never seen any like that at any Michigan pet shops ... I did see some that were all black with 'gold' stripes .. very cool looking too ... you can probably mix the speices/breeds as long as you're not interested in breeding.

As far as compatibilty with other fish, don't get anything smaller than a guppy ... my angel has eaten plenty of molly fry, platy fry, 12 neon tetra!! (ouch) and a few guppies

 

[Biggen]

Thx for the advice guys. I may just go ahead and get two Angels for the 40 gallon tank when it has completed its cycle. I don't want to fill the tank up with one particular kind of fish. I want a lot of variety. What if I get two Males or two females, though, when I purchase them? Will they still get along together. Obviously they won't be able to mate, but two of the same sexes won't beat up on each other, will they?

I put in 7 Zebra Danios yesterday to start the cycle on my 40 gallon. Lost one sometime last night . Hopefully the other 6 will tough it out. I was considering leaving the dead fish in so that when it decomposes, it will would help the cycle along, however, it looks kind of tacky lying on its side under my Anubas... I'll pluck it out later as the store is too busy right now.

 

[Guest]

What if I get two Males or two females, though, when I purchase them? Will they still get along together. Obviously they won't be able to mate, but two of the same sexes won't beat up on each other, will they?

Good question. You won't be able to tell what sex they are when purchasing. I think 2 of the same sex will be ok, but I'm new to angel fish (6-8 months) so I really don't know. I just read 2 books about angels (not very good books), and they never mentioned how 2 of the same sex would relate, other than to say 2 females will attempt to spawn sometimes with no male present. Hopefully someone else will chime in here with some experiences from their tanks.

 

[Zic]

Man, I would take the dead fish out. Your tank will cycle with the live fish in it just fine. Angels live fine with Zebra Danios, I have one Angelfish and two Zebra Danios (amongst other fish) in a ten gallon tank. My angel sometimes nips at the other fish, but I think this is because I have too many fish crammed into too small of a tank. I just can't help myself, though!

 

[TankGirl]

I have four angels in a 55-gal with cardinal tetras (I know, I know) white cloud mountain minnows and some black skirt tetras, which are relatively large as tetras go. While the angels were relativley young, up to about silver dollar (US currency) size everyone got along just wonderfully. Now all of the other fish hide, all of the time. I have had no deaths and I see no aggression on the part of the angels, but they are getting big now and they continue to behave normally. All of the other fish hide behind plants and in caves and such, even the white clouds, which are top-dwellers. My angels so far all like to swim together in a school, but this will likely change. You will have to just watch and see how it goes. They are cichlids, so expect some aggression, but many have kept them in a community tank. If you just want a varied community tank I would just get one single angel and some other larger-sized schooling fish. Good luck!

 

[ghettorigged]

I also have 2 angels in a 50gal with neons, bloodfins, lemons, and flames (about 30 fish all together). The angels have never eaten any of my other fish and are really amazing. When I bought them , they were the size of quarters. Now the one is HUGE and the other is slightly smaller but has much prettier fins. I think you are really going to like having them! My angels eat a LOT! If I put one of those tubflux or brine shrimp cubes on the glass, they will come gobble it up in seconds. I had to resort to feeding them larger whole shrimp so that the other fish could eat the smaller stuff.

PS: I was told to buy angels in pairs so that they won't fight. Then again, everyone told me my neons were going to be their dinner and THAT didn't happen. Good luck!

 

[Biggen]

I can't quite decide if I want to get two Angels or just one. I just don't want them to get too territorial since one of my tanks is a 40 tall and is limited in length (same length as a 29 just a foot higher). I wonder if one would be better for me. Again I am looking for the greatest variety but I want the fish to be happy as well.

But then I hear people who have paired Angels who love them... The only "monkey wrench" that I see could get thrown in with two is what if I get two of the same sex? I wonder if it even matters.

 

[ghettorigged]

I don't think you can tell what the sex is when they are small. I just guess they are happier if they are a pair. You know, kinda like you if you didn't have a girlfriend you would prolly at least rather have a friend to hang out with than be alone!

 

[TankGirl]

I think two would be fine. If you have more than two and you get a pair, then the pair might beat up the third when spawning, but I don't think you will have trouble with two, of whatever gender. The tall tank is really the best kind for angels, due to their lateral compression and tall finnage. Go for it!