wanna start a new angelfish tank, advice please!!!

[Guest]

hi im new to this board so hello everyone!!
i have a 10 and 15gal with a betta, neon tetras, a molly, cory cats, and gouramis and i used to have otos and guppies.
Im interested in getting a new tank to keep angels and maybe blue rams in a comunity well planted tank. I think i can only keep between 30-40 gals. what do you guys think of this, hey BTW what is the angelfish that is white with black stripes. Im thinking of a show type tank like a hex, or pent. or is regular better???
Anyways what are some good tankmates and what setup am i looking at and what prices am i looking at

thanks guys any help is good.

 

[Allivymar]

Hiya aquafishy and welcome to Aquariumadvice

Yay! Angelfish; my favs *grin*

I'd go with as large an tank as possible; you want a minimum of 10g each for every adult angel. I'd also look at a tall regular show tank as opposed to a long tank to accomodate their long fins.

You might want to look at a school of corys for the angel/ram tank as well; they make great tankmates for em, and provide a service (cleaning the bottom of foods missed by the angels/rams). Maybe a few otos as well for algae cleanup, but I wouldn't purchase them until the tank is mature and has algae growth.

Theres a number of angel breeds which sorta fit your description. I'm thinking you mean the silver angel, which has a silvery body with regular black stripes. Take a cruise thru this site to see if thats the one you mean: http://www.aquaworldnet.org/test/phenotypes/index.htm

As for prices; hard to say. Depends on what type of tank, what filter, substrate, decor, etc. And also depends on whether you purchase angels from a lfs or a breeder. Do know there is apparently a disease called angelfish plague making the rounds at the lfs...be VERY careful if thats where you'll be buying fish.

Also do know rams have very short life spans; average is only a year. Angels live a lot longer.

 

[Guest]

ok

hey, thanks alot,
looks like you know your stuff lol
when i get angels say i get 3 can i get like say, 1 silver, one marble one other???? are other speicies compatable, and wil they breed?
i will probably get 2 or 3 depending on if i get 30-40 gals.
what do you keep in your angel tanks...any pics of your angel tanks
just want ideas

thx

 

[Allivymar]

All angelfish are interbreedable; the phenotypes don't matter (kinda like all dogs can breed). As for breeding them, do know there is no guarantee you'll get a male and a female in a group of 3. Angelfish can't be sexed just be looking at em; only way to be sure is to see their breeding tubes when they mate, so its impossible to be sure you've got the right mix when you buy them unless you buy a breeding pair that have already bred. The angelfish gurus recommend a minimum of 6 to be sure you have at least a male and a female, and then removing the others once you're sure. If you want more info on angelfish breeding, do check out this webpage; its by one of the angelfish gurus and chock full of info: http://www.angelsplus.com/breeding.htm . He also sells some of the healthiest fish out there; they aren't cheap and you'll have to pay shipping,but if you are looking to breed its the way to go. Since I don't plan on breedin my guys, I got them all from different lfs (and one from a friend).

As for my guys, I have quite a mix; I wanted all diff types I have: 2 standard fin golds (they were pity purchases - I saved em from the local Petsmart, otherwise I'd only have one), one smoky superveil combtail (my first angel and about 2 yrs old), one standard fin black lace, one gold marble pearlscale superveil combtail and a standard fin silver (wild type) thats I just got and is in QT atm. I have some pics of em in my gallery here, and you see more pics at: http://www.myaquaria.com/gallery/album01

I also have in that tank a large 8 inch pleco, 3 clown loaches and one yoyo loach (looking for a buddy or 2 for him). The angels are the main focus for that tank, hence the reason I don't have too many other fish in there. Plus, the fish I chose will all get really big (I'll have to get rid of the plec in a year or so *sob*), so even tho I don't have a lot of fish in there I am actually somewhat overstocked.

You may want to peruse the rest of the angelsplus website I gave you. He also has a great write up on the different phenotypes with good pics; this way you can get an idea of what sort of angelfish appeals to you since there are so many colors and patterns.

 

[captainGregor]

Allivymar,
I wanted to see if you would advise on a fish I have decided to have with angels:
(55G showtank)
3 clown loaches 3 yoyo loaches for lower stratum
4 small angels
5 red velvet swordtails.

Do you think it is underpopulated?
please advise

 

[Allivymar]

Actually, considering the size of your crew once they are mature, nope; your tank isn't underpopulated at all. Figure the clowns will top out around 12 inches, the yoyos around 6 inches, the angels 3-6 inches NOT including their fins and the swords 4-5 inches. Obviously this won't happen overnight; the loaches especially will take a number of years before they reach adult size, but you'll have some big guys in there. You're gonna need that room! You could likely add a few more fish (another angel or two, or a small algae eater like a bristlenose) but you'll have to be diligent about water care; I do water changes with complete gravel vacs every week.

Also, unless you go all male or all female, your swords will likely breed. The loaches and angels should keep populations in check, but I'll bet one or 2 per brood will survive and you may wind up with more swords then you planned on

 

[captainGregor]

Thanks Alli

I have researched a lot about the clowns. Just as you advised, it will probably take them at least 10 years to grow large. Maybe and hopefully at that time I will have a larger tank to move them to. As for swordtails, maybe they need to be replaced by some non-livebearing fish, I will see. By the way, I had 3 otos (moved from a small acrylic tank) and one of them went to forefathers yesterday, poor guy. The other two are doing ok, so if I have algae they should be happy. As far as bristlenose pleco - maybe, they are cool dudes. How does yours share the bottom with the clowns? What is the size of that tank? I am doing maintentance vigorously, with 20-30 % water changes and vacuuming weekly. I am planning to introduce some Java fern and Java moss to the lava rock and driftwood, to make it look better

 

[Allivymar]

I've a 55g to house the crew. I don't have a bristlenose tho. Unfortunately, when I went to buy an algae eater (before I had a clue!) I didn't do any research and just took what the lfs gave me. They gave me a liposarcus pardalis, which is a close relation to the common pleco, and gets just as big (2 feet long!). Right now he's 8 inches; when he reaches a foot long I'm going to have to get rid of him as I cannot have a larger tank in this apt He shares the bottom of the tank with the clowns, the yoyo and the angels (yep, even they get into the act) reluctantly LOL Seems everyone in the tank LOVES the algae wafers I bought for him, and they all fight over em. He gets a little cranky when they steal the wafers out from underneath his nose Other then that, no probs at all.

Also, you may know this from your research, but just in case let me warn you clown loaches can be VERY tetchy. They are all wild caught and don't always handle the moves well. Combine that with the fact many come in with internal and external parasites and you can see why they can be somewhat difficult to keep initially. I find, if the clowns get thru the 3 week QT period, they usually do ok. If they are gonna have problems or keel over, its usually during the QT period. I lost one during that time. And because of the parasites they may be bringing with them QT is a must; the longer the better.

 

[captainGregor]

Thank you, I did not know that at all. What about the yoyos? same story? had you have to start this setup what order would you have introduced the crew to the tank and over what period. I am planning to get wallmart 10 gallon combo setup for QT/hospital tank. thanks!