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Aquastrategist

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Nov 14, 2012
Messages
210
Hi, I have a 50 gallon tank with 1 angel, 6 cories, and 6 assorted rainbows ( turqouisr and boesemans) I am looking to add a pair of salmon red and then cap it off with an algae eater. What would be the best for my tank? Nothing that harms plants, so I was thinking otos. How many could I add? 6-8?
 
By Salmon Red do you mean Salmon Red Rainbowfish? If so they prefer a group and a group of adults need a very large tank (150 or so gallons). Red Rainbowfish, Glossolepis incisus, Salmon Red Rainbowfish

Otos would be good, 6-8 sounds like a decent number. Do you have algae now or just want the Otos? Otos prefer diatoms, they don't eat every type of algae and diet can be supplemented with algae or veggie wafers and fresh blanched veggies; they also eat biofilm and other things in the tank that we can't see. I have some too; they can be hard to feed as some won't take fish food (mine do now but it took them a while).
 
So I guess a no on the rainbows, and I dont have algae yet but I have algae wafers already, so if I were to add 6-8 ottos would you say im overstocked?
 
I'd say you could do the hatchets as they have a low bio-load. How old is the tank? Reason I'm asking is Oto's seem to do much better in mature tanks.
 
Otos are excellent cleaners. They prefer to be in groups. In nature theycoexist with cories and enjoy their company in my aquarium. They are small and do not add much to the bioload.
I supplement their diet with algae wafers.
 
My tank is about 2 months old. Im considering gerting 2 more angels instead of hatchets today, but not sure. Should I get two more angels or six hachets?
My stock is 6 cories, 6 juvenile rainbows and 1 angel.
 
You could do either but when the 3 angels mature and if two pair off you "may" have to rehome the 3rd. With your size tank and stock you could actually do both hatchets and two angels. I do have to ask tho, is your tank fully cycled? What are you ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?
 
Do you know the gender of the angel you have now? I wouldn't get an odd number. Two of the same gender will likely fight; if you get a male and female they may pair off (but they'll be aggressive to other fish as they mate) and if they don't pair off one could kill the other. Personally I'd leave the one angelfish and get the hatches and some Otos.
 
You could do either but when the 3 angels mature and if two pair off you "may" have to rehome the 3rd. With your size tank and stock you could actually do both hatchets and two angels. I do have to ask tho, is your tank fully cycled? What are you ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?

Good point too. The tank is fairly new and even if cycled adding fish is going to cause some toxin spikes. I'd add them slowly, test water daily, do extra water changes as needed and when ammonia and nitrite read 0 consistently for at least a week, then you can add more (e.g. try 3 hatchets, then 3 more, then a few otos, then a few more otos).
 
Ive been doing water changes every other to three days, my tank is cycled and all my readings have been fine; no spikes. So it seems like a no on the angels but yes too otos and hachets?
 
I plan on going to mt lfs at 12:30 today. Im thinking 6 Otos and 10 Hachets. Is thay number ok?
 
Figured id throw in a pic so you can get an idea of how crowded and planted it is..... I have floating plants for the hachets.

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I respectfully disagree on the angels. I've been keeping angels for over 30 years and have kept them in all types of numbers. If you have two same sexed adult angels they aren't going to fight to the death. In fact they can co-exsist just fine unless kept in a tank that is just too small for them. Even with three angels you can end up with all the same sex and it can still work out fine. Angels tend to have very individual personalities and the only time I have have issues over the years is with some large adult males which got too dominantly aggressively. But the key word is "some". There is absolutely no reason you can't have more than one angel IMO. I've kept 3 together in a tank many times. So what it boils down to is this.... if you like them and want them then get them. Then wait and see how things go as they mature. Many fish hobbiest buy don't work out well in their tanks as time goes by and they rehome them BUT how are you ever going to know if you don't try. Personally I love angels, always have and always will.
 
Nice tank, could you add an Amazon Sword? That would finish breaking up the tanks line of sight as it grew big.
 
I plan on going to mt lfs at 12:30 today. Im thinking 6 Otos and 10 Hachets. Is thay number ok?

That would be okay but I think you should let the tank mature a couple more months before adding Oto's. They can be very sensitive fish and don't always acclimate well.
 
Just made a mistake. Got this 1 Angel, decided to take it slow.( got it at my lfs)

ForumRunner_20130112_132011.jpg

I then went to petsmart too get an amazon sword. They had none, so I got a plant called Gold Ribbon (Dracaena Variegatus). Found out it will rot if fully submerged, here it is next to my tank.

ForumRunner_20130112_132420.jpg
Do you think it will be able to grow to the surface before it dies?
 
I seriously doubt it will make it that long. I wish they would quit selling bog plants in tubes. Don't worry about getting a sword right away, just mentioned having one would be nice to put in. If you happen to run across one tho you can pick it up.

That looks to be a good sized angel or does the picture just make it look that way? Something else, if you want to get a 3rd angel you need to do so soon. I should have also told you that adding angels all at the same time works best so the angels all go in without having a set territory.
 
Yeah, I got the angel that size so it would be similar to the size of my current angel, I dont plan on adding more. Next week I will probably add some hachets. Thanks for all the help.
 
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