Angel Tank?

[Devilscharming]

My Aquarium is a 60 gallon US, and its dimensions are:
48-1/4"L
12-3/4"W
57-3/4"H

I really love Angels, and would love nothing more than a relatively peaceful community tank. Thank you guys again for all your help on the cycling process, its going along nicely and now I'm getting all excited for fishes! I really have no idea what to put in an angel tank, as I've read so much that contradicts all the rest of what I've read. I've been told and researched everything from adding cory cats, to being able to put a betta in there with them in that size tank, to barbs (though I thought they could get nippy). I'd like a tank that's active on different layers and the idea of several schooling fish without huge variation doesn't bother me so long as everyone is happy and fishy and everything. So...yeah. Help! I need your expertise again!

Also as a side note, I am a little shaky as far as how to add the fish at the end of cycling, and the water change. I know you do a 90 percent when your filter and bacteria can take the ammonia and nitrates down from 4ppm ammonia to 0 on both counts. What I'm unsure of, is the timing involved with changing out the huge amount of water, not letting the bacteria die and adding the fish. Call me paranoid, but I'm almost as attached to these little invisible bacteria's as I am to the soon to be fish, and after all this hard work I can't stand the thought of starting over for doing something stupid XD.

Thanks so much guys. This community is awesome for the record.

Dar

 

[The Duke]

Hi devilscharming. Just remember to add the angels a few at a time and not all at once or you may get a high amount of waste all in one go. I might be wrong but angels usually pair off, not sure they are a "group" fish. Other members here might be able to confirm this.

 

[onidrase]

not all barbs are nippy, but definitely avoid tiger barbs. Odessa barbs are a good choice, as are roseline barbs.

IME there are no schooling fish that really stick to one part of the water, they kind of wander all over the place, except for hatchetfish which just kinda float on the top til something spooks them, then they fly all over, injure themselves, the like, not my favorite fish out there. IMO it looks a lot better to have one big school of a single species than a bunch of little ones all over the place.

The bacteria is not nearly as fragile as people on here make it out to be, it can last several hours if not several days, but it's good to do the big water change and add the fish on the same day, of course.

Hi devilscharming. Just remember to add the angels a few at a time and not all at once or you may get a high amount of waste all in one go. I might be wrong but angels usually pair off, not sure they are a "group" fish. Other members here might be able to confirm this.

Angels are group fish, people tend to keep them alone, in a pair, or in a group of 6 or more, usually more.

adding all the angels is also a good idea, as you need to keep them in groups in order to disperse aggression while they establish a pecking order, and it'll keep a few from establishing a territory before the others get into the tank.

It's better to add all of them at once after a fishless cycle, as fish don't produce 4ppm of ammonia a day, there will be plenty of bacteria to cope with the new fish. People tend to add their entire stock after doing a fishless cycle with no issues.

 

[Devilscharming]

Okay, so try to add all the angels at once. Got it, and do it on the same day as the water change.

What kind of fish work best with angels to have the fullest looking tank? I'd rather have it understocked than overstocked and I'm not certain of what kinds of numbers I should have with say...six angels. Should I just have the six angels and nothing else? Or would I be able to still have a few different schooling critters in there?

 

[The Duke]

Hmm, not sure adding high numbers of fish all at once is a good idea. However, I am quite happy to be informed otherwise I used to have three angels in the same tank and two paired off and the other one was left on its own. They never schooled once.

 

[samorkel]

Okay, so try to add all the angels at once. Got it, and do it on the same day as the water change.

What kind of fish work best with angels to have the fullest looking tank? I'd rather have it understocked than overstocked and I'm not certain of what kinds of numbers I should have with say...six angels. Should I just have the six angels and nothing else? Or would I be able to still have a few different schooling critters in there?

As long as the angels are still young when you get them you could get some tetra's with them such as rummynoses. I have had success with roseline barbs with angels before and they are a very cool fish to watch since they are colourful and move around alot

 

[Devilscharming]

I think I am still a little confused.

I've read that one angel will be too lonely in a tank. Two to five you run the risk of them fighting and killing one another. Is six the magic number? If so, in a sixty gallon tank, is having six angels okay? Could I have more? And if they pair off will they still try and commit fishy homicide with six?

I really want my tank to work, so I'm trying to be super careful about not throwing little Hatfields and McCoys in there together. I'd love to have some corys and the tetras sound fun so long as they get big enough to not fit in the hungry Angel's mouth. What are the numbers I should look at to make things happy, and should I rethink the mixture I put in? I'm reading so many conflicting things its making my head hurt a little.

 

[The Duke]

Tetras are always a good choice, loads of varieties. However, black widow tetras tend to be a bit nippy and might harass the angels. I have some x-ray tetras which are very placid. If you get tetras they like to be in a group, 8-10 preferably. Have you thought about rams? They are good for the bottom of your tank alongside cories cleaning up all the leftover food. A cheap alternative are platies which add a lot of colour!!

 

[onidrase]

Tetras are always a good choice, loads of varieties. However, black widow tetras tend to be a bit nippy and might harass the angels. I have some x-ray tetras which are very placid. If you get tetras they like to be in a group, 8-10 preferably. Have you thought about rams? They are good for the bottom of your tank alongside cories cleaning up all the leftover food. A cheap alternative are platies which add a lot of colour!!

black skirt tetras are fine IME.I had a groupf of 9 with my angel before and the angel picked on them more than they picked on it.

Only tetras I can think of that are no-nos are serpaes, buenos aires, and silver tips. And serpaes may potentially even be okay.

I think I am still a little confused.

I've read that one angel will be too lonely in a tank. Two to five you run the risk of them fighting and killing one another. Is six the magic number? If so, in a sixty gallon tank, is having six angels okay? Could I have more? And if they pair off will they still try and commit fishy homicide with six?

I really want my tank to work, so I'm trying to be super careful about not throwing little Hatfields and McCoys in there together. I'd love to have some corys and the tetras sound fun so long as they get big enough to not fit in the hungry Angel's mouth. What are the numbers I should look at to make things happy, and should I rethink the mixture I put in? I'm reading so many conflicting things its making my head hurt a little.

6-8 would be fine. 6 being ideal, 8 being high end angel with maybe a few other types of fish. Try not to worry about them pairing.

 

[OldMan47]

Hello Devilscharming. I just read through this and I think you have mistyped one of your numbers. 57.75 inches is almost 5 feet deep. My guess is about 18 inches, just like my 60. That is deep enough to place a few angels and let them grow up. Once mature, some will pair off and the others will no longer be welcomed in the tank. That tank is too small for 2 angel pairs.
For tank mates that school, how about some nice rummynose tetras or glowlight tetras. In general I avoid barbs because, as a group they all tend to be a bit too nippy for a peaceful tank. If you are using cories as cleanup crew, definitely use groups of at least 5 of the same species. They can be kept as singles or pairs but larger groups really bring out their playful nature.

 

[TekFish]

You could get some cory cats or maybe bristlenose catfish.
They would however need somewhere to hide.