Angelfish Questions

[mancin]

Thanks so much. I'll be looking at angelfish with rams then I think. I can indeed keep different types of rams together, yes?

IMO it would depend on if you have a pair or not. Bolivians and German Blue Rams will both spawn on an open, flat surface, so if you have at least one pair, all of the others are going to be bullied a bit. I think some have kept same-sex Rams to avoid this, but I'm pretty sure I have 2 male Bolivians right now and they are NOT the best of friends. Bolivian Rams are quite hard to sex when they are juvenile, so it can be a bit of a toss up. I've gotten pretty good at sexing the GBRs (at least in person), but can't seem to keep them alive in my tank.

If you do get bottom dwellers and the Rams spawn, they will probably be beaten up a bit. Also, if you want Cories I think you have to stick with Sterbai or Adolf as they can tolerate warmer temps (both Angels and Rams like their water warm and many Cories like their water a bit cooler). Cories do like to be in groups, so you'd probably want at least 4 of those. I think Cories prefer a mature tank, but I don't remember for sure. While I had my Ram pair I had a BN Pleco and he got along just fine.

What about this:

4 - 6 Angels
2 Rams
4 - 6 Cories

You may also want to look at a small group of dither fish, but large enough that the Angels won't eat them.

I can't remember what kind of substrate you are going to have (I think another post said sand?) but the Rams and Cories will appreciate sand.

Hope this helps!

 

[TigerIssey]

I have had 1 breeding pair of angels along with 2 other angels (going by a guess that Tolak described earlier from behaviour etc, they may be a pair also, but the one I believe is female is still smaller than the others), along with these I have 2 full sized male rams and 2 smaller females.

The only problems I have enccountered in the last 6-8 months the tank has been stocked like this is when the breeding pair of angels laid eggs. The angels then took over 3/4 of the 55g as their territory, I did not have to divide the tank as I have amazon swords that define their territory, but was prepared to do so if necessary. My L260's cave is underneath where they laid there eggs, I lost the fry at the wiggling stage, presumably to the L260's and possibly to my BN's aswell.

Each male ram has half the tank as territory and the two females who are not breeding size yet swim around the tank as they have not yet decided on a partner. The females will occasionally have a go at each other but nothing serious. This may change once they get to breeding age, not exactly sure as this is the first time I have kept more than one pair in a tank.

EDIT put 22 males instead of 2 Doh

 

[Winterlily]

Thanks Mancin and TigerIssey! The info from both of you is great and helps a whole lot.

Mancin, yes, I will be using sand as substrate. Do I remember right that cories need to be kept in groups of at least 4? And, if, for example, I have 2 rams, do they need to be the same type (like, could I have one Bolivian and one German Blue)?

 

[mancin]

Do I remember right that cories need to be kept in groups of at least 4? And, if, for example, I have 2 rams, do they need to be the same type (like, could I have one Bolivian and one German Blue)?

Yep, I'd get at least 4 of the Cories. As far as the Rams go, you could probably keep one of each but IMO 2 of the same type of Ram would be more attractive. But, that's my opinion.

 

[meguro]

Decide on which rams you want to keep before choosing your corys as well. I'd actually go for 6-9 corys rather than 4 in a 55g tank (depending on what your other bottom dwellers are).

 

[Winterlily]

Decide on which rams you want to keep before choosing your corys as well. I'd actually go for 6-9 corys rather than 4 in a 55g tank (depending on what your other bottom dwellers are).

Please explain the difference in choice of cory depending on choice of ram? I don't want to make a stocking mistake like that! Also, should I mix corys with another bottom-dweller or stick with corys only? Thanks!

 

[seffieuk]

Really useful thread and to Tina (TigerIssy) for pointing it out to me

seffie x