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7chanaa

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Hi I have a new 190l Juwell tank which has been running for a week. I am looking to have Angels eventually.

My little boy would like some “big fish”. What could I start the tank up with and what would be suitable with Angels?

Thanks
 
Starting with the angelfish. This is a shoaling species and when kept as a group there needs to be at least five angelfish or some will inevitably get picked on to the point of death if a male is present. This requires a more spacious tank to allow them their hierarchy and territories. A "pair' is possible but only if they have selected each other and bonded; inevitably that will mean spawning, and this could be trouble for the other fish (non-angels) if any are present. So that leaves a solitary angelfish. I am not someone who likes to recommend keeping a species in a situation that is completely unnatural to the fish, but a single angelfish is your only option except for a bonded pair.

Moving to the other fish, this will depend upon the angelfish issue. Tankmates are possible but must be very carefully selected, avoiding any small fish likely to be eaten and any fin nippers; and with sedate long-fin angelfish in the tank, many other otherwise peaceful fish can become fin nippers.

"Big fish" needs to be qualified. The tank space is not all that large, to the fish. If the angelfish is forgotten, you could look at some of the medium gourami, like the beautiful Pearl Gourami; you could have a small group. This fish will grow to 4-5 inches which is a fair size but they are very sedate, not active swimmers, so their need for more space is not an issue like it would be for active fish.

You will need to cycle this tank before adding fish, unless you have live plants that are showing signs of growth. There are articles on cycling in that section of the forum. Cycling can take from 2 to 8 weeks normally (except with plants).
 
Thank you for your information. I would eventually upgrade my aquarium to a bigger one in the future.

If I was to go down the pairing route of two Angels. What examples of fish would be suitable as everywhere I search show no actual examples of fish?

Thanks
 
I would eventually upgrade my aquarium to a bigger one in the future.

Please do not fall into this trap. So many times other members have said this, and down the road it often never happens. Circumstances change, and meanwhile the fish have suffered. We do not recommend this road. I learned (the hard way) a maxim several years ago which I never break: I will never acquire any fish for which I do not now have the proper home to keep it for its life. This is only humane and fair to the fish. We are dealing in this hobby with living creatures that have specific needs, and they must always come first.
 
Byron is right. Stock your tank according to THAT tank. Always buy the biggest tank you can afford and fit in and then select fish for that.

People buy pleco and catfish or rainbow shark not realising that these can grow really big in the space of a year or 2. A 2 inch juvenile pleco can very quickly become 6 inch or more.

Gourami are a great shout for a more "substantial" fish. Pearl gourami or honey gourami are very attractive in their own right and they would probably go nicely with a school of harlequin rasbora.
 
To give an example of how fast fish grow, I had a bristlenose pleco a long time ago in a 70gal, he was around 2 inches,and 2 weeks later he doubled in size. Has anyone else's fish grown that fast? My parents thought he was a fish on steroids lol
 
Those cute 2 inch fish sure can grow fast.

This video was taken at my LFS, those fish are rescues that out grew their tanks.
 
I was stunned when I saw how big an Oscar can get. I'd seen a few juveniles at the fish store and thought they looked nice, a bit bigger than many angels and gouramis.

Then I saw some older ones and they were huge. It was like looking at a tropical koi carp
 

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