Angelfish Tank Environment

[lukestanislaus]

Do angelfish mind a sparsely planted tank with only wood, rocks and gravel? They are currently in a tank that has a lot of surface plants and lots of cover but is signifcantly lower volume and tank height, they are about 3 inches long

ALSO: how do angels do with other south american cichlids like: oscar (small size, like buying at 1-2inch, for a few months), festivum cichlids? im thinking of a semi temporary solution for the next few months and those are the potencial tankmates im thinking about

 

[Tolak]

I keep most of my angels in taller tanks with no substrate, the only decorations are a couple silk plants & perhaps a small piece of driftwood. The plants & wood are usually on their side, this provides cover for the group of corys in most every tank.

You want a tank with a minimum water depth of 16", more depth is better for angels. Oscars are a no go with angels, they will get much larger than the angel, and are much more aggressive. This will result in some really beat up, if not dead angels.

Festivums would work, provided the angels don't pair up. Angels can get very aggressive when they pair & spawn, like most any cichlid. Anyone dealing with NW cichlids should keep an extra tank, or at the very least a divider handy.

 

[lukestanislaus]

the oscar will rip up the anegls even if the oscar is only 1-2 inches long atm and the angels (there are 2) are closer to 3inches? keep in mind this is only a temporary solution for about 2-3 months. how big could i expect a 2inch oscar to be in 3 months? the tank is 75gallons btw and 18inch high, probably has about 16-17 inches of water atm

 

[Tolak]

The tank size is fine for angels. In a few months the oscar that is 2" could easily be a 3" oscar, perhaps a little bigger. All cichlids are individuals, depending on the temperment of the oscar it could be fine, or it could start ripping up fins from the beginning.