Adding Angels

[BLUE FIN]

I am looking to add 5 fairly young Angel fish (approx 1" in length) to my community tank (see my sig) would they make a good addition or not? TIA

 

[Alien Anna]

Definitely not 5 angelfish - that's far too many. Angelfish are cichlids and like most cichlids, are territorial. Better get a singleton or a pair.

Be aware that angelfish eat neons as part of their natural diet.

Ideally you need at least one more clown loach, since they are schooling fish. I'm worried about the algae eater as Chinese Algae Eaters are very large, very vicious and very territorial, which does cut down your choices for other fish quite considerably.

Post this question to the New World Cichlid section for further advice on angels.

 

[BLUE FIN]

That's a shame Anna as some have turned up for a very good price and they are Sooooo pretty but i guess i shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, ok 2 Angels it is With regards to the clown loach i have 2 more coming tomorrow morning as i bought the last 2 on monday just gone Lastly the algae eater is quite small (about 2" max) and TBH i don't know if he is a Chinese version or any other version he was sold to me as a passive fish one which would be ideal for my tank

 

[Lateral Line]

Does your algae eater look like AquaNut's one in the first picture from this thread?

That is a Chinese Algae Eater, and sadly...

>>> was sold to me as a passive fish one which would be ideal for my tank

... that is often the case, however, they really are not good community fish, especially with largish "flat sided" fish like angels which they will "graze" rather like the side of the tank.

*** EDIT ***

My spelling has deteriorated markedly since I left England!

 

[juanveldez]

hey blue fin, I am going to agree with anna to a point. if you want to get a pair it is best to buy 5 or 6 angels and let them do thier thing. once you do have a pair keep it and send all the others packing.

 

[AquaNut]

I don't want to be the rain on the parade, but you definitely don't have room for ANY angels! If I read correctly, it's a 25 gallon tank, right? One pair of angels, all alone, requires that much space, if not more (I wouldn't personally keep angels in a tank that size, but many do). I speak from experience on this; I have a pair of angels in a 33 gallon tank and am now shopping for a much larger tank to move another community to so that those angels can move into my 45 gallon tank, as the 33 is too small for them.

As for getting more clown loaches, do you have plans to upgrade to a much larger tank in the very near future? If you do, by all means, get some angelfish, but you'll need to triple your tank size in the next few months to accomodate all those clowns and the angels.

Edit: Oh! Also, in a tank that small, your neons have much less of a chance of escaping the angels who will, eventually, eat them.

 

[BLUE FIN]

Does your algae eater look like AquaNut's one in the first picture from this thread?

Well kind of, mine is more of a silver colour not gold but general features are very similar. I will find out what it is from my LFS tomorrow.

hey blue fin, I am going to agree with anna to a point. if you want to get a pair it is best to buy 5 or 6 angels and let them do thier thing. once you do have a pair keep it and send all the others packing.

Hmmm not sure about this option

you definitely don't have room for ANY angels!

My LFS has said there is plenty of room?

As for getting more clown loaches, do you have plans to upgrade to a much larger tank in the very near future?

Oh yes, already have a 45 gal(approx) ready to be cycled once i have finished building the custom housing for it

 

[FanOFish]

Best as I can tell....the advice your receive from a LFS is usually for the now. The more knowledgeble people on this board think about the future...

With that said, you probably do have room in your tank right now for 1" angel fish that aren't big enough to eat your tetras...(The Now)

If everything goes well, your angel fish will grow, your tetras will become food and you will need to either get rid of some anglels and clowns or get more tanks..(The Future)

So, you need to think about what you are going to want to do in the future...if you think you only want a single tank then you probably should follow Anna's advice.t :alien

 

[BLUE FIN]

Many Thanks for all the replies I have now decided to put all the clown loaches into the new 45 gal tank along with 2 angels and let them grow and grow and hopefully enjoy themselves

One last thing that has annoyed me slightly is the fact that i have found out that clown loaches can grow to over a foot in length and my LFS didn't tell me this! Anyway they will have the 45gal tank all to themselves...well apart from the 2 angels

 

[DizBjOhN104]

yeah i think that 5 angel fish in a 45g is just way to much, it will over grow out that
tank srry

 

[Morrgan]

yeah i think that 5 angel fish in a 45g is just way to much, it will over grow out that

This is true, but if you want a couple then getting 5-6 young angels is the best bet. Hopefully two of them will become a couple, and then you can keep those 2 and sell the rest before they outgrow the tank.

Good thing you're moving the clown loaches into the bigger tank, they'll definitely need it (if not more). Still, clown loaches also like to have many friends around them. They're pretty fish, but providing enough space for them is the problem.