I'm a rebel! Serpae Tertas and Angel

[SpeedEuphoria]

Hey I got 4 Serpae Tetras and an Angel yesterday for my 55G. I did basic reading before buying and many passed the Serpaes off as community fish.

Then after purchasing them and putting in my tank, I did the real research. I must not have learned

Anyway a couple sites/ many people say that Serpaes and Angels are a no-no. Especially a veil tail angel. Serpaes are known to be fin-nippers.

Well I rescued the Angel from Petco, I had an itch to look at fish and they were in a tank with Longfin Danios and being picked on, so I felt I had to save one.

The serpae tetras, they had 2 tanks with them, 1 with the "high fin"(longer fins) and the other with standard fins. The long fins were mostly all torn up, they were kept with platys, so it must have been from eachother. I got 4 standard fins.

The Angel is at least quarter sized body, 2"long and more tallness depending on the fins. It is not very active at all. I turned off my Koralia #1 PH to help, but it still stays near the very top in a corner or by the heater. So far the other fish leave it alone, I have only seen fishlooking at its fins for awhile then turn away, only 1 rainbow has niped 1 time. So far I find the Rainbows to be more nippy at each other then the Serpaes are, the rainbows have chased the Serpaes more then the opposite. I know the Angel can move fast if it wants to, but for the most part it moves very slow even when eating bloodworms.

This is my 55G, I have added lots of fish in the last week, and have fed this tank more than ever(wow is it fun to watch the rainbows eat!!, like dive bombers but opposite, lol). I tested the water and ammonia/nitrite are still 0, nitrates have risen to 40pppm. I plan to do a WC today, then not dose KNO3 till its necessary(around 5ppm, keep it between 5-10ppm).

So far there are some that keep this combo succesfully, one guy has 20 Serpaes and 5 Angels in a 100G w/o issues, and there are others. Then many that seem to have issues.

Here's me doing things against the grain again, lol. Wish me luck(famous last words)

I have been watching very closely and will continue to, I will update this thread with info.

 

[haykay]

thanks! it will be great if they work out together for you!

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Well the Angel did not last, it seemed to be doing slightly better, but it was not. It was really in sad shape when I got it, I witnessed slight nipping, nothing major. The Angel then was pretty much a goner, laying on the bottom. I took it back to Petco, still barely alive. I got 5 more Serpae Tetras. While I was at Petco I witnessed 1st hand the inacuracy of the test strips, I tested my water before bringing it in as they required me to bring some, they told me my PH was like 6.4, I laughed and said its the same tap/city water that they use and its allways tests ~8.0 on my API test kit. They also said my nitrite was .1, and my test allways shows blue or 0ppm, I dont fathom how that stupid strip could be accurate down to .1ppm, LOL.

They had new Angels then and they all looked great compared to the ones they had when I got mine. I decided to not get another at this time. I'm not sure if I will get another Angel or not?

I'm planning to get a pair of Rams, then I'll consider getting another Angel(large) to finish my tank.

 

[haykay]

sorry it didn't work out for you. was probably just a bad stok though! chin up and let us know what you decide

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Yes it was deff in very poor shape when I got it.

I've been pondering the for the last day or so, and was at Petco again today looking between the standard Angels and the Gourami's.

They had 2 mostly black Angels that looked OK, one better than the other, so I bit the bullet and got it.

Will keep you posted, so far this one swims much much better than the last one, but the Serpae's are interested in it.

I will keep a close eye on the Angel's finage.

If this doesnt work out, I will prob end up with a Gourami or 2.

 

[black hills tj]

If you are in a situation where you feel like you are/need to "rescue" a fish, it is most likely a bad choice to purchase it.

 

[rob28]

i just picked up 2 blue guoramis today and they crack me up!!

all they do is swim around feeling EVERYTHING with their lil tentacles/whiskers.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

If you are in a situation where you feel like you are/need to "rescue" a fish, it is most likely a bad choice to purchase it.

Yeah already established that. The new Angel is in good shape now so any fin nipage will be easy to spot.

I thought about getting 2 Angels, but most say to keep 1 or 3-4 or more. I was thinking it could spread some of the Serpae's attention, but I didnt want to press my luck.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Just got back from Petco, I took all of the Serpae Tetra's back and got another Angel. I did not want to deal with the stress from the serpae's.

Also I have finally gotten contact back from a seller that has the fish I have been anticipating for months now(basically since I set my 55G up). So I should be finally getting my Peacock Gudgeons soon.
Peacock Gudgeon - Tateurndina Ocellicauda


So this thread is officially dead