fish & other questions

[goheels1]

1-i currently have one angelfish in my tank. i want to add one more. i've read that you should have only one or more than three. however, lfs said it's ok to pair since their sex is not known. which is true? i only want one more. any opinions?

2- i'm also looking into getting one clown loach. was wondering if anyone out there had any success with just one. also, are they ich prone? and yes, i know they get large and i already have the ID shark but not sure how long i will keep the shark.

3-hope this don't sound silly but i wonder if my fish are afraid of the dark? reason i say; there has been a cpl times where i didn't have my timer set for the tank lights to come on and when i came home to my pitch black, dark house, some of the fish were sitting at the bottom of the tank almost motionless. i even thought my angel was dead b/c it was lying on its side. once i turned on some lights, w/in a few mins, they were all swimming happily. i'm curious about this. i don't leave the tank lights on much b/c i heard too much light can cause algae to grow. i see a little bit already. i now have the timer set to come on for about 4 hrs during the night...but also leave a small room light on as well.

4-i've seen some on this forum talk about water hardness and have a number showing the level. how do you determine this? i haven't seen any test kits for that or am i overlooking it?

 

[epond83]

1- not sure about this, but a lot of people at fish stores don't know what they are talking about and just want you to buy stuff.

2- again not sure about them in groups but yes they get big, might be a good idea to look into getting a bigger tank so you can keep the fish you want in the numbers that are best for them.

3- Your fish are not afraid of the dark lol most are more comfortable in darker enviroments, which is why dimming the lights with the addtion of a new fish to the tank is a good idea. If they usually get feed when the light comes on this could explain there suddent excitment or just the fact the the lights being on they need to be more aware of danger.

4- there are test kets for kh and Gh. With just about anything that can be tested consistancy is much more important then anything else. Some fish are more sensitve then others but for the most part most tap water is safe for fish (with condtions to remove chlorine) As long as the water going in the tank has the same paramaters as teh water going in (minus nitrogen compounds) then you are fine. I have heard of tap water changing parameters from summer to winter but that is in farming communities usually, where I live we have about 5ppm nitrates... i assume from framing firtilizers.

 

[MissFishy]

With your size tank you could probably get another angel. However, if you came in to see it lying on its side, my question would be what are the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels in your tank? This could be a sign of ammonia poisoning.

Fish aren't afraid of the dark, but when they sleep, depending on the fish type, they can sink to the bottom and hold still.

 

[IndianMaidn]

I had just two angels in a 55 gal. aquarium with other fish and had no problem. The angels paired up but never spawned if they were m/f. I also have just one lone clown loach in the aquarium. I have always just had one. They say they are better in a group, but I beg to differ. Just make sure they have a cave or somewhere to hide, they do that most of the time. They always come out after "lights out".

 

[misterking]

ID sharks are not suitable for aquariums, they're a type of pangasius catfish, a family that includes the HUGE mekong catfish, and therefore gives an idea to just how big these fish can get, a lot bigger than your tank. I'd suggest taking this back to the store.

You could probably get another angel, they need to be kept either singly or in even numbered groups.

Personally I think you see more intreresting behaviour from clown loaches when kept in groups, but they can grow potentially large. I had a group of 3 and found them hilarious - they will shock you one day when you turn the lights on to see them apparently dead lieing on their sides, but don't worry, this is how they sleep. I've found an average size of 4 or 5 inches for clown loaches in aquaria, and so you might be fine with a few, just be prepared because in the wild they're known to reach a foot.

 

[goheels1]

i really want one more fish in my tank and really like to have another angel. however, someone suggested a pearl gourami or gold severum. was told if i go with the pearl gourami, i need floating plants. any suggestions on what type of floating plant to get? i prefer something extremely simple to care for. i probably will go w/ another angel though. just hope i don't end up with babies in my tank.

misterking, you are not the only on this forum who has told me to return the ID shark. even some of my friends want me to get rid of it. it's too late to return it. i purchased it at Petsmart. they have a 14 day return policy which i'm a month over that. the local 'all' fish store hates the ID shark and I know they wont take it. they said they refuse to sell them. guess i'm stuck with it. i'm a lil irritated with it anyway. when i feed the other fish, it will not come and eat. it stays hidden in a cave and i always have to drop a pellet in the cave. so annoying...idk, maybe it's their nature.

 

[unwritten law]

If you were to add another angel I'd get at least two more... I think adding one would seem like an invasion of the first territory. Hornwort is a great easy floating plant.

 

[misterking]

Personally I'd get 3 more, if they paired the odd one out would be terrorized, happened to me once when I had two pairs and the female of one died, had to split the tank in two to avoid my marble being bullied to death.

I wouldn't suggest a severum, probably a bit big long-term and not the best "community" fish.

Pearl gouramis are lovely fish, and rather than for breeding purposes floating plants help to make them feel quite secure, because as gourami's go this type are pretty shy. If you were to get one singly I wouldn't be surprised if it spent most of its time hiding, so I'd look for single male and group of females if you personally can tell the difference.

And the thing with angelfish breeding is, it's actually quite rare to successfully yield a brood in a community tank, as soon as they're free swimming they get eaten by the other fish unfortunately. They will continually try though if you get a male/female pair and their breeding behaviour is quite fascinating.

 

[goheels1]

thanks all. will update my signature line once i decide what to get. also going to look into that hornwort plant.