Is this a good deal?

[JCL1212]

Hey,

I'm new to this forum but not to the fish world.
I've been recently looking for a new tank and at Petco, they had a 26 gallon bow front with hood,filter,heater, and stand all for $210. Does that sound like a good deal?

I have 1 marble angelfish but would love to have a community. What fish should I get? How about more angelfish?


Thanks in advance.

 

[mariners]

Well i would say that is a little expensive but if its a good hood, filter, etc. it might not be. Find out what they are first,

you have 1 marble angelfish, well what size tank is it in? i can't recommend more fish unless u tell what size tank.

oh and welcome to the tank!

 

[JCL1212]

It's All-glass bow front, all-glass hood, tetratec filter (the newer, bulkier one) tetratec tube that fits into the fiter, and the all-glass stand.

When I was referring to the marble, it's in a 10 gallon tank by itself but I want him to live with others in the 26 gallon if I was going to buy it.

 

[Lotus]

Those bowfront setups are attractive, but you usually pay more for that... and the matching stands are pretty expensive. That whole setup isn't a bad price, though.

If you want an angel and a community, or more angels, you will have to get a bigger tank. Maybe you want to look into a 46g bowfront or a 50 or 55g tank.

Angelfish can be a little tricky in terms of tankmates. You don't want anything too small, as they may get eaten, but you don't want anything too aggressive, as there will be fights. Lager tetras, livebearers and some barbs will be OK with angels.

 

[JCL1212]

So like 4 angelfish in a 26G is really a big stretch? I think I might prefer a various assortment of fish. Btw, my marble isn't the size of my palm but it's definitely bigger than a quarter.

I don't know how to describe my marble. It's killed other angelfish but has been bossed by a gourami... The gourami was miniture compared to the Angelfish but boy it did quite a good job of ripping fins apart. I had nearly used my entire bottle of melafix by the time I gave the gourami away.

 

[Lotus]

Angelfish get to a good 6" fin to fin when grown, and sometimes a little bigger. Most people say that one is the maximum in a 25 or 26g tank, simply because they need a lot of room. Some say that you should have either one angel or 6, to minimize fighting etc. I hear two angels just isn't a good idea, unless they are a mated pair. We have 4 angels in a 50g now, but they are still young. We may need to separate them later into another tank. Given plenty of room and good food, angels grow very fast. We have had ours for 2 months, and they have grown from quarter size to about 2" in diameter, and about 4" fin to fin.

You might want to look at a 55g setup if you really like angels, and they're not usually a lot more than the setup you're looking at. The Walmart kit is about $170, but you might find one with a nicer stand for a little more.

 

[JCL1212]

So I shouldn't have a community with the 1 angelfish in the 26 gallon.

I don't have the room to have a big tank. 30 gallon at most if I can fit it. I live in an apartment, btw.

 

[Lotus]

Yes, you can do that, just don't get any more angelfish for that tank

 

[JCL1212]

Good. So like how many in general should I have with the Angelfish. The angelfish should be about 1.4 inches in length.

 

[Lotus]

It really all depends on what kind of fish you want. Don't get neons or other small tetras, or other tiny fish, as they may become angel snacks. Larger tetras should be OK. Hatchetfish are a popular tankmate for angels. I have platies in with my angelfish, and they do OK, swordtails would probably work too. Are there any other fish you particularly want?

I would say you could get another six 2" fish (adult size), and a couple of bottom feeders (nothing that gets over a few inches).

 

[JCL1212]

Are bottom feeders like cat fish or like plecos? I don't like plecos after they get hungry and start attacking the fish. Seems to work quite fine.

 

[1979camaro]

most of the commonly available plecos will generally going to grow too large for a 26 anyway...i would look into corydoras catfish personally...there are a lot of different varieties...I would get five of the same type and have that be that...the beautiful thing about angels is that they come from a region which is very diverse in freshwater life...can easily make a biotope (thats me, pushing for biotopes again....) with some nice mid sized tetras (rummynose's come to mind, but there are many others...probably something with a little color to ocntrast with the blac/silver) or perhaps even a pair of rams or kribinsesis you could have a stunning display.

K

 

[AndyL]

Guessing by what you've said, instead of going for the 26g bowfront, head over to walmart and take a look at their 37g setup with stand. They're pretty cheap (AGA brand, so they are good quality).

The 37 is probably the least used, but best size aquarium out there, it is basically a taller version of the 29.

Andy

 

[JCL1212]

This is a funny thing to say but the nearest Walmart doesn't have a fish section. I don't know why maybe it's just small but it doesn't have one. And I don't know any others in the area. Besides, the Walmart is right next PetSmart followed by Petco 1/2 a mile away.



Just wondeirng, what would you guys expect at $210?

 

[Balloon Fish]

is your walmart an old walmart? the older walmarts don't have fish sections the new ones that say supercenter or something which is like all of the walmarts they have fish we have about 5 walmarts in my city no need to worry about not having a walmart here

 

[JCL1212]

This is going to make you laugh. My closest Walmart is brand new. Just opened in April or May of this year. I don't think it has a supercenter slapped on it's title outside. Could that be it?

 

[JCL1212]

Well, what do you know, I went to Petco today to buy it....only to see that it was plumped to a whopping $270.00! My wife said she liked it a lot but at $270, no. So I stormed to the manager demanding what happened to the $210 price I saw a couple days ago. He claimed that that price was not advertised. I either misread or somebody was fooling around with a pen and wrote it down (some of their prices are hand written).


So, I'm gonna wait on that $270 price tag and shop around at PetSmart and there's another fish place called Ocean Gallery. Hope they have better prices.



Edit: I called PetSmart and quoted at $329.95 & Ocean Gallery at about $300. So I guess Petco's is cheap.