angelfish compatibility?

[mdrew]

Hey there,

I just bought a 55 gallon kit and we have decided that angelfish are the way to go since we love how responsive they are to stimuli from outside their tank (we figure that we'll enjoy that more in addition to the entertainment for my watching cats lol).

I would love to get a variety of sizes of angelfish and some guppies also. Are guppies compatible with angelfish? Are all angelfish compatible with each other? Can you suggest other breeds that are compatible with angelfish and are also very responsive to outside stimuli? We are looking for striking colouration.

Thank you so much for imparting your wisdom to this enthusiastic newbie

 

[bassbonediva]

Yes, guppies are compatible with angels. I would only recommend two angels for a 55gal, especially if you want anything else in the tank. If you go with a pair, I'd start out with five or six juveniles and watch for two of them to pair off (hang around each other all the time, fight with everyone else except each other...that sort of thing). If you decide to go with just a single angel (as I have done in my 55gal), you greatly open up the options of fish you can have. A pair of bolivian rams would work well and add a great splash of color along the bottom of the tank. They are also very interactive with people.

 

[kenny1tothe6]

Hmm...A while back[meaning 2 years ago], I bought some diamond tetras for my 55gal with 2 angelfish and hitchhiking with them was a 2" female guppy. I planned for the guppy to go into the 29gal, but she escaped the bag while I let the diamonds out and the second she escaped, my "zebra" angelfish, Doom, ate her. So, like most smaller fish, I wouldn't recommend them with angels even though they *MIGHT* be fine while the angels are growing[angels are cichlids and can be aggressive to other fish].

This is how big they can get too:

That's Doom and I've had her for 3 years, now.

 

[mdrew]

i'm clearly an incredible newb, but at the pet shop there were 10+ marble angels in one approx 25gal tank and they all seemed to get along fine. are they just young? do all angels grow larger?

 

[bassbonediva]

Yes, all angels reach at least 6" in length and 10" from top to bottom. Also, pet shops are not the best places to study true fish behavior. They are purely transitional places with the fish barely staying there a week, and oftentimes less. That is not nearly long enough for the fish to become comfortable, establish territory, and display their true behavior. I have had my angelfish, Caius, for nearly four months and he will sometimes STILL be startled when I come up to the tank. My German blue ram took almost a month to get to the point where he wouldn't run and hide every time I came within 10 feet of the tank.

 

[mdrew]

wow i had no idea, clearly i have much learning to do!

which freshwater fish are most sociable/friendly/compatible?

 

[misterking]

wow i had no idea, clearly i have much learning to do!

which freshwater fish are most sociable/friendly/compatible?

That's a very broad question.. There are plenty of fish that work with angels. Corydoras, most tetras (not including the smallest varieties), platies etc get along just fine. Tetras I'd reccommend would include black skirt (black widow) tetras, bentos tetras, rummynose tetras, pristella tetras, the list goes on.

In terms of numbers of angels, I'd get 2 or 4 for a 55, never an odd number (particularly in average-sized tanks) as a lone angel will be targetted and bullied if the other two pair off.

All angels reach the same size, they're all essentially the same fish, just different colours.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

You could do more then two Angel's in a 55 depending on the filter, IMO. I have 6 in in mine now plus some Corie's and Oto's and a pleco. If the guppies can fin in the moth of the Angel, they will be food, so you may not want to go that small. Why not just Angels?

 

[mdrew]

First of all thank you again for all the amazing help!!!

You could do more then two Angel's in a 55 depending on the filter, IMO. I have 6 in in mine now plus some Corie's and Oto's and a pleco. If the guppies can fin in the moth of the Angel, they will be food, so you may not want to go that small. Why not just Angels?

FIRST OF ALL THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE AMAZING HELP!!!

I bought the 55gal tank for my live-in boyfriend less than a week ago and since we have visited the stores 3 times (hahaha) and each time he has marvelled at the angelfishs' responsiveness. he loved running his fingers along the tanks and seeing them intently follow but if this behaviour is left at the store than it will surely dissapoint him. Perhaps all you geniuses (not sarcastic though it sounds that way lol) could help us design a tank around your recomendations and his wishlist? He would like...

1. minimum 2-3 larger fish and a buch of smaller varieties
2. responsiveness to outside stimuli / friendly / not scardey cats
3. a variety of bright colouration.
4. some nice true green plants

A demanding list i know but i'm sure that asking you guys will do me much better than another 50 hrs reading conflicting articles on the web lol

THANK YOU!!!!
(should I be starting a new topic for this question?)

 

[bassbonediva]

My angel is very responsive to me, but hides from just about everyone else. He is a bit of a ham when he sees me and immediately thinks that he's going to be fed.

I would say a pair of angels with a school of rummynose tetras (about 10) and a group of platies (again, about 10...either all female or one male and the rest female), and some cories for the bottom (any variety you want EXCEPT "emerald green cories," which aren't actually cories at all, but are actually brochis and get HUGE) would make an active, interesting, colorful and "friendly" tank.

As for plants, sword plants, water wisteria, water sprite, java fern, java moss, anacharis, anubias, and crypts make great low-light starter plants.

 

[mdrew]

Just brilliant! thank you so much for your recommendations! your angel sounds adorable

 

[misterking]

I would say a pair of angels with a school of rummynose tetras (about 10) and a group of platies (again, about 10...either all female or one male and the rest female), and some cories for the bottom (any variety you want EXCEPT "emerald green cories," which aren't actually cories at all, but are actually brochis and get HUGE) would make an active, interesting, colorful and "friendly" tank.

As for plants, sword plants, water wisteria, water sprite, java fern, java moss, anacharis, anubias, and crypts make great low-light starter plants.

This would work very well, and I'd pretty much do the same, except I'd bump up to 4 angels, just because I think you have the space and you said you'd prefer more than 3.

 

[nanu156]

Yeah you can do WAYYY more then 2-3 angels in a 55.... Have been having this fight on another thread. They grow to about palm sized generally, some get slightly bigger.

10" is a stretch!!! Even the sites that say they CAN grow to large sizes say around 6" for most varities. 10" is the size of a dinner plate! 6" is the size of a salad plate....

I would say in a 55 you could do 10 full sized angels and some smaller swimming filler fish, or start with 15 or so quarter sized angels and wait for them to grow out (some will inevitably die)


Im not huge into plants, tend to buy what i can get a good deal on so im not your gal on that one.
Don't get a common pleco!!!!! DONT DONT DONT. people getting new tanks tend to get stuck with one or two and then they get into the whole huge poop making monstrocity that is the comon pleco. Get a bushy, get a rubber, get a clown, get a fancy one. BUT DONT GET A COMMONN ONE. Ask the pet store what the biggest pleco they have is, (my guess is he will be about 10-12") then double that!!!! "sail fin" Marble etc are all pet store names for common plecos that have prettier colors.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

Yes don't get a common pleco! That is great advice!

I do not agree that you should start with 15 angels however planning on some of them dying. I never buy fish and plan on some of them dying. I have had 7 Angels in my 55 with 3 of them being small juvi's. I did not plan to keep them there forever, but I got a deal on 3 at once at an auction. Any who, once the tank is cycled you could do up to 6 in a 55 depending on what else you have in the tank, the filtration and your water change schedule. To make it easy, I would only do 4 however.

 

[aakaakaak]

The common "grow out" pleco that went back to my LFS (not from me) is between 19-24 inches long. I would imagine at that size you could either find someone with a 150+ gallon tank, or fillet it out and beer batter deep fry it.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

I would imagine at that size you could either find someone with a 150+ gallon tank, or fillet it out and beer batter deep fry it.

My wife made the same joke when I rescued the one from craigslist! LOL

 

[aakaakaak]

Hey, it's essentially a catfish, right?

TBH, I'd be more interested in the 4-foot long red-tailed catfish at one of the LFS around town.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

How much are they asking for that one?

 

[aakaakaak]

It's in a display pond with a 4 foot diameter ray, several other catfish and I "think" a few oscars. I could be mistaken on some of the oscars though. There's a bunch of stuff in it, but not for sale. Just like their ocelot and monkey (capuchian?) are not for sale.

The other pond has a bunch of 6-12 inch koi for sale though. I'm not sure on their price. I'm more a little fishy kind of guy.

 

[nanu156]

Yeah they eat plecos in South America. They are catfish. If you find a redtail in a store that is that big they usually aren't real costly. 25 bucks maybe. There is a pet store here who has a big'on too. Same with pacus channel cats and big oscars. The store is generally happy to be rid of them.

The one in my avatar pic is a gold nugget, if you Google image him you will see a guy with one gutted and ready to eat....