Advice please

[Rox-e]

Hi Everyone,

I have just renovated my tank, and went to the fish shop to get sme large eye catching fish.
The pet shop guy recomended and sold me 1x large Angel, 1x large silver dollar and 1x large gold severum, i am only kinda new at this, just wanted your advice, do you think these 3 guys are going to be ok together? any advice to keep them happy?

Cheers

 

[disucs buff]

severum might get sorta aggressive to the angel, keep your eye on them and see what happens.

 

[Erised]

No
Silver Dollars are shoaling fish, and should be kept in groups of at least 6. The severum might indeed get aggressive, however can also be ok. Really depends on the fish.

Also, what size aquarium do you have? Silver dollars need at least 40G, preferable 55G or bigger. Angels need to be kept in a tank thats at least 18" high.

 

[Zenn]

Ok very strange, because angel do better in pairs, i would advise you in gettin another if you can, because angels do get down when they are alone, i had one on its own and it went down hill and died because it had no company (very true) thats why i bought three the second time around and they are thriving and have become my prides of the tank, i also thought silver dollars should be kept in two or more, i dont know much about severum

Its very strange because the shop keeper recommended these fish, but you only bought one of each, when angels would be better recommended in twos or more, silver dollar i think are the same... Is the store well established?

editted: someone beat me to it V.v"

 

[Rox-e]

Yes the stores very popular,

My tanks got 510 printed on it, but not sure of how many gallons it takes, its ober 18" tall i know that, i am to scared to add another angel and silver dollar, as i don't want to overcrowd the tank, but then i don't want them to get lonely.
They seem happy, mind you i only intorduced them in there, yesterday, but they are all eating etc, would it be possibble to add a much smaller angel and silver dollar?

 

[Erised]

Can you give the complete measurements of your tank? That way we can figure out how many gallons it is for you, and see if you'd be ok upping the shoals

Silver dollars really should be kept in shoals of at least 5 I'm afraid. They simply wont feel comfortable around the tank when kept in less. They're really shy and timid fish.

Also, with angels I find its best to add the same size, seeing as different sizes can cause aggression towards eachother.

 

[rdd1952]

What size tank do you have? You probably need a minimum of 55 gallons. Angels can get to about 6" long but maybe more imprtantly is their fins can get to 12" to 18" so you need a deep tank. The Silver Dollars and Severums both get to about 8". Silver Dollars are also schooling fish so you need at least 3. Here are a few comments from profiles on the gold severum and silver dollar.

Gold Severum - Maintenance

The Severum tank should be fairly large, a standard 55 Gal is perfect and there must be places of refuge. These can be rock caves, large pieces of driftwood or even inverted flowerpots. Heros' like Most large species of Cichlids will dig up the substrate material, so it is best to have the plants in pots or securely fastened to the substrate. The severum like the Discus is a shy fish and should be kept with fish of similar habits. Water temperature should be between 72 and 79F. Feeding is no problem as they will accept flake, frozen and of course live. Basically the requirements of the Severum are typical of all cichlids, keeping in mind their similarity to the other large shy Cichlids.

Silver Dollar - Maintenance

The Silver Dollars require a large tank, a standard 55 or 40 gallon would be fine. The tank should have no live plants as this species is mainly vegetarian in habit. The substrate should be dark in color with subdued lighting. They are schooling fish and will always be shy and skittish in a small tank, so give them as much room as possible. The diet should primarily include plant material, particularly Romaine Lettuce, along with the various live foods. Water quality is not critical and the temperature should be kept in the upper Seventies to low Eighties.

 

[Zenn]

Yes Erised, is right about the angels, adding the same size will mean that they are more formidable to with stand aggressive behavior from angels their own size, where as smaller one tend to be more fragile and so cant stand up o the powerful bites of a larger angel, plus also the angel you just bought will probably of gained its territory now and so when adding another angel you will need to observe them closely, because if the angel you already got doesnt like the new one, he will never stop attacking it, thats when the receipt comes in handy because then you can play with the angels to see which one fits best and gets along

But we will need your dimentions mate, the silver dollars are worring, because the amount that has been said you need, and then you have this aggressive fish as well, and another fish that has human like emotions, and thes are big fish, it worring what infomation you got from your store guy

 

[Rox-e]

going to find out how many gallons it is, ringing the pet shop now, am really pi**** off with pet shop man, grrr that annoys me, especially how much money i spent with him.
Maybe us new zealanders need some training!!

 

[Erised]

Unfortunatly, a lot of people have this experience with petshops. I hope you can get it all sorted

 

[Rox-e]

It is 75 litres, if that makes any sense, so the piet shop tells me, its an aquaone 510 brand tank.
My fish are already pretty large!
So what do yahs reckon?

 

[Erised]

Oh dear, thats not good ... 75 litres is equal to 20 Gallons ... way too small for silver dollars. I think you're best off returning your silver dollar to the shop, and ask for a full refund. If you're sure its at least 18" high however, you can buy another angel.

I dont know anything about the serverum, but I believe they need a bigger tank than that as well, sorry.

 

[Synirr]

I dont know anything about the serverum, but I believe they need a bigger tank than that as well, sorry.

Yes indeed.

 

[Rox-e]

Any recommendations on what larger fish i could have in there?
We had guppys and neons but they just weren't doing the trick, the larger ones seem so much better to look at, if i have to i will take them back and get your recommendation.

Thanks Again

 

[Erised]

How about a shoal of congo tetras? Click here! <-- that will give you information + picture

They're bigger than your average fish, and look very pretty. I am however not sure if they'll go with angels ... I do think so though

I'd say:
5 congo tetras
2 angels
3 bigger sized corydoras (not sure which get biggest, but some get to a fair size!)

--Edit--
Thought I'd add that with this you'd be slightly overstocked, but good filtration + regular water changes (2 times 15% a week) you should be fine