Newbie Advice

[mswatd]

Hello all....new to the aquarium community but so far, my family is loving it! We have a 55g freshwater system. It is two months old and so far, here are our fish:
3 - red eye tetra
3 - Odessa barb
3 - white skirt tetra
3 - lemon tetra
1 - flag fish
3 - Colombian tetra
All fish are very healthy and happy as a community. I started with three flag fish but two were "nipped" until they died. I was planning to replace them but in the two weeks since, the lone survivor is fairing very well. We are EXTREMELY happy with our tank and it appears as though our fish are two. Here's our question....We would like to add a few angelfish (my wife's request) but have been told they may get nipped because of the long fins. However, I am not witnessing any aggressive behavior amongst any of the remaining fish toward one another. Would we be safe ? Recommendations? Any experts want to recommend very pretty fish? Thanks in advance.

 

[azmodan]

Hello all....new to the aquarium community but so far, my family is loving it! We have a 55g freshwater system. It is two months old and so far, here are our fish:
3 - red eye tetra
3 - Odessa barb
3 - white skirt tetra
3 - lemon tetra
1 - flag fish
3 - Colombian tetra
All fish are very healthy and happy as a community. I started with three flag fish but two were "nipped" until they died. I was planning to replace them but in the two weeks since, the lone survivor is fairing very well. We are EXTREMELY happy with our tank and it appears as though our fish are two. Here's our question....We would like to add a few angelfish (my wife's request) but have been told they may get nipped because of the long fins. However, I am not witnessing any aggressive behavior amongst any of the remaining fish toward one another. Would we be safe ? Recommendations? Any experts want to recommend very pretty fish? Thanks in advance.

Hi and welcome to AA!

Sounds like you're off to a good start. After 2 months can I safely assume your tank is fully cycled and your water parameters are good? The tetras and barbs you have are all schooling fish that need large groups in order to feel safe and act naturally. Often when their groups are small they'll respond by being a bit rambunctious and aggressive and can sometimes get nippy. Personally I'd return a couple groups of the tetras/barbs and then focus on bumping up the numbers of the ones you keep. Some of the fish you have are known for being a bit nippy in general so getting angelfish could work but could also not work depending on what fish you end up keeping. Some other colorful alternatives would include German blue rams, Bolivian rams, various apistogramma types such as cacatuoides or borellii, rainbow fish such as boesmani, praecox, turquoise, etc, and so forth. Before adding anything however I'd research the needs of these fish and then maybe adjust your tank to start building around them. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding any of this! Good luck!

 

[mswatd]

Thank you

Thanks for the advice. From what I've read, it appears as though the red eyes and white skirts would the two groups who might get nippy. The water is tested weekly and today's test showed a big spike in nitrite but my local fish store said it's normal as the tank is completing cycle. I'm going to treat with Prime every third day and retest in a week. If still high, a water change is next step. I'm learning a lot in a very little time and I'm enjoying it tremendously. I'll take your advice and see what I can find to get a few angels in there - Happy Wife, Happy Life!!!

 

[azmodan]

Yup, just remember that anytime you see more than .5 ammonia or nitrites you should be doing a big water change or else your fish are suffering.


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