Angelfish Compatibility Query

[SouthernCross]

I've been involved in a fairly lengthy conversation in another section of the forum which eventually led to my possible future stocking plans - some doubts about angelfish led to me posting in this forum in the hope that some long-time keepers of angels can offer me concrete advice. I'd mainly been consulting this compatibility chart as well as individual species descriptions on various websites, but it seems there's a lot of discrepancies out there!

My tank is 36"x14"x18". Currently it only has in it
1x flame dwarf gourami
3x platies
2x bronze cories

I had hoped to possibly continue to stock with 2 or 3 more dwarf gouramis, a few guppies, and 6-10 of some kind of shoaling fish, and a single angel. However I'm having some doubts about the angel. I'm unsure how aggressive it might be, especially in terms of being territorial with the gouramis, and someone told me sometimes angels are known for attacking guppies despite the chart above saying they are compatible?

My decision on the angel will affect what kind of shoalers I'll get - i.e. if I can safely have an angel I won't get something like neons! Don't want them eaten! So would think more like rummynose tetras or something else. Suggestions?

I've also heard (don't know if this is true?) that if you get a tiny baby angel to raise they are usually are ok, especially with anything that was in thet tank already when you got the angel, and thereafter they generally only attack new fish if at all...I don't know whether I'd like to take the risk though. Any truth in this? My LFS has a tankful of tiny coin-sized angels - I would start with a baby. Is there a variation of the angelfish that stays smaller than most?

I'd love some advice from people who have kept angels who could tell me whether it's a good idea to keep a single angel in with this list of potential tankmates. I am in no rush to go out and buy fish - I'm trying to do some research first to make sure I don't make a mistake I'll regret later.

Thanks

 

[lol]

I've been involved in a fairly lengthy conversation in another section of the forum which eventually led to my possible future stocking plans - some doubts about angelfish led to me posting in this forum in the hope that some long-time keepers of angels can offer me concrete advice. I'd mainly been consulting this compatibility chart as well as individual species descriptions on various websites, but it seems there's a lot of discrepancies out there!

My tank is 36"x14"x18". Currently it only has in it
1x flame dwarf gourami
3x platies
2x bronze cories

I had hoped to possibly continue to stock with 2 or 3 more dwarf gouramis, a few guppies, and 6-10 of some kind of shoaling fish, and a single angel. However I'm having some doubts about the angel. I'm unsure how aggressive it might be, especially in terms of being territorial with the gouramis, and someone told me sometimes angels are known for attacking guppies despite the chart above saying they are compatible?

My decision on the angel will affect what kind of shoalers I'll get - i.e. if I can safely have an angel I won't get something like neons! Don't want them eaten! So would think more like rummynose tetras or something else. Suggestions?

I've also heard (don't know if this is true?) that if you get a tiny baby angel to raise they are usually are ok, especially with anything that was in thet tank already when you got the angel, and thereafter they generally only attack new fish if at all...I don't know whether I'd like to take the risk though. Any truth in this? My LFS has a tankful of tiny coin-sized angels - I would start with a baby. Is there a variation of the angelfish that stays smaller than most?

I'd love some advice from people who have kept angels who could tell me whether it's a good idea to keep a single angel in with this list of potential tankmates. I am in no rush to go out and buy fish - I'm trying to do some research first to make sure I don't make a mistake I'll regret later.

Thanks

I'm a complete novice, only had my tank for 2 weeks but it is an established one - I bought it second hand from the paper classifieds. It has 2 deep angel fish, one male, one female, who are both about 10cm from nose to tail, but the male has much longer fins and tail etc. The man who I bought this tank from has had them for 2 years, along with a small group of glowlight tetras. There are 3 living very happily in there now, though he did say there were 5 or 6 at one stage... Still, the only agressive fish in there is the bottom feeder, who apparently was once v calm, now picks on the others. Found out he's a chinese algae eater this morning - he may have to go...

But like I say - I'm a complete novice, I'm relying on what I've been told, and what I've seen in the last couple of weeks!

 

[Tolak]

I’ve kept angels with gouramis without a problem, though it was in a 55 with several angels & gouramis. There were no aggression issues between the two species even though a couple of the angels paired. If you like the look of neons you may want to consider cardinal tetras, they look similar to neons but grow a little larger, making them less likely to be looked at as food.

I’ve kept a larger angel with guppys. I had an adult black that was in a 20 gallon to heal up from getting torn up pretty bad by a pair, after he was healing nicely I got a trio of guppys from a friend, and added them to the tank. There were no aggression issues, the angel couldn’t care less. Angel aggression is an individual thing, some are peaceful with other tank mates, and others seem very aggressive.

There really is no variety of angels that stays small, though some will grow larger than others. This again is a more individual thing, and can’t be predicted.

Best bet is to start with a small angel, and let it grow with the tank mates. There is no guarantee, but the odds are better at success.

 

[stargirly1208]

i just recently got 2 angels and i have a dwarf gourami in my tank and they seem to get along fine so far. at first the gourami was mock nipping the angels, i think just because she was afraid, but they seems to be okay now. i also have 2 brilliant rasboras in my tank, and thinking about getting more like this because the angels don't bother them at all, in fact they're too fast even if the angels wanted to get them. guppies, i would say would be a no-no just because they have tempting, pretty fins for them to nip on. my roommate had angels once, and her platies actually picked on the angels, not the other way around. i think if you wanted schooling fish, maybe some type of tetra or rasbora would be fine. maybe glolites if you like those.

 

[SouthernCross]

Thankyou for your responses

Well, it seems to be a bit pot-luck in what kind of temperament your individual fish has!

Is it true that a pair is more likely to be aggressive than a solitary angels? Do single angels do fine on their own? I have no interest in trying to breed them, just wondering about whether a single angel would be okay on its own or if its best to keep them in pairs...don't want to get one and have it be unhappy...

 

[stargirly1208]

Thankyou for your responses

Well, it seems to be a bit pot-luck in what kind of temperament your individual fish has!

Is it true that a pair is more likely to be aggressive than a solitary angels? Do single angels do fine on their own? I have no interest in trying to breed them, just wondering about whether a single angel would be okay on its own or if its best to keep them in pairs...don't want to get one and have it be unhappy...

i like to keep my fishies in pairs if i can. i just think they're happier with their own species, unless they're aggressive. my angels seem to hang out together most of the time.