Angels or Rainbows?

[lemurstampeed33]

Angels or Rainbows?
I'm starting a planted 55, and can't decide Rainbows or Angels, thoughts?


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[elephantnose]

I personally love angels. They got some really sick strains now. I have platinums. Colbolt blues are awesome.


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[toddnbecka]

Angels would be better suited to a 55 than rainbows, they aren't as active.

[Luananeko]

Depends on the rainbow... Threadfin Rainbows and all the other smaller species would have plenty of space in a 55. You could always do both, a pair of angels and a school of rainbows.

[lemurstampeed33]

What about like 5 or 6 angels


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[toddnbecka]

Either keep a pair or keep 10-12, 6 won't work in the long run. Angels are cichlids, territorial fish, and in a 4' tank you can either keep a mating pair or a large enough group to spread around the conspecific aggression to keep one or two fish from getting trashed.

[lemurstampeed33]

So how many should I get?


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[Mebbid]

I would do a pair of angels and a school of rainbows. Either praecox or boesemani.

[Luananeko]

Originally Posted by toddnbecka

Either keep a pair or keep 10-12, 6 won't work in the long run. Angels are cichlids, territorial fish, and in a 4' tank you can either keep a mating pair or a large enough group to spread around the conspecific aggression to keep one or two fish from getting trashed.

10-12 in a 55 gallon? That may work for juvies, but that seems like way too many once they reach adults... I'm no angel expert though.

[Andy Sager]

I'm curious as to why you need our opinions as to what YOU should keep? I only kept fish that I liked and I wanted to experience keeping. THAT'S all that really matters. ( BTW I have kept many varieties of fishes, because I wanted to )
Whichever you choose, set up the tank appropriately for that specie. No, not all Rainbowfish will do well in a 55, but some will. Yes, if you have a larger number of Angelfish and 2 of them decide to pair off, there will be some fighting going on in the tank and you will be better off either keeping the pair by themselves or removing the pair from the rest of the fish. Lowering the number of Angelfish reduces the chances of creating pairs, but it's not a guarantee. Sometimes people get lucky ( or unlucky depending on the outcome you want) when they get just 2 fish.
The main thing is to choose the fish YOU like and treat them appropriately. If you can't make up your mind, I suggest you get nothing until you do. This way, you will have what YOU want to keep and enjoy having. It would be a shame if you kept something that someone else wanted you or suggested you keep and it turned out you didn't really like. You just need to learn about the fish before you get them to make sure they are an appropriate fit for your setup.

So the big question is " Which do YOU like, Angels, Rainbows or both? "

Hope this helps

[toddnbecka]

Originally Posted by Mebbid

I would do a pair of angels and a school of rainbows. Either praecox or boesemani.

I tried keeping praecox in a 55, even with the recommended sex ratio they still tore up fins and eventually killed each other. Not quite the peaceful schooling fish behavior I was expecting, more like some cichlids. Never kept boesemani, but praecox are supposed to be one of the less troublesome species.

I know 10-12 angels in a 55 seems like a lot, but I've seen tanks full of adults more crowded than that, and they all looked great. Keeping the water temp on the low end of their requirements will make them much less likely to pair off and curb their territorial behavior. Malawi mbuna are usually stocked even more densely, no problems as long as you keep up the water quality.

You could start with twice that many small juvies and thin them out as they grow, keeping the ones you like best.

[Mebbid]

My experience with praecox was the exact opposite. 10 of them in a 55g and there wasn't a single ounce of aggression. It's likely you got a single bully fish that took it out on the others.

[tadpole1567]

I've got 6 angels and they do fine. I am fixin to down size now though that I have a breeding pair.

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