Angels

[mattlee]

i have made my mind up after alot of thought and decided to go for angels as my centre piece fish in my 240L tank i have been looking around loads of lfs and found some really nice examples for sale but i am unsure if different types will mix and get on and i have heard that koi angels are very sensitive....
i will describe the ones i am thinking of getting (sorry if its very vague)
-1 was silvery white almost pearlescent with a gold/orange from its head to its dorsal fin, its dorsal fin was almost like a redish snake skin effect/ leopard print type..... and it was a medium/large size and looked amazing.
-1 was silvery grey with an almost map like effect all over it again was medium/large size.
-1 was white with black speckles and an orange head, they also has some with yellow heads....
-1 was a brown with stripes going vertically along its sides.
-1 was i think a platinum angel, totally white/pearly

i am looking at getting maybe 3 and these were the ones we liked best, will any of the above get on together?
any advice given is much appreciated, thanks, Matt

 

[Verminator89]

People would be able to tell you for sure if you had the scientific names, or even common names. Going by descriptions can be misleading and open to different interpretations by each member.

 

[Joller]

most of the time angelfish will get on fine together provided they are roughly the same size. The angels you described are probably all pterophyllum scalare, and i find that angelfish aren't overly hard to keep.

 

[mattlee]

People would be able to tell you for sure if you had the scientific names, or even common names. Going by descriptions can be misleading and open to different interpretations by each member.

sorry dont have scientific names they were just all in lfs tanks labelled as angelfish!!!! i know my descriptions may be vary poor but thats all i can go on for now

most of the time angelfish will get on fine together provided they are roughly the same size. The angels you described are probably all pterophyllum scalare, and i find that angelfish aren't overly hard to keep.

they were all very similar sizes. i read on tinternet that koi angels are really sensitive and harder to keep, i think that the ones with black speckles over white and orange/yellow heads are koi are they not

 

[Verminator89]

Yes those are indeed Koi Angels.

 

[mattlee]

Yes those are indeed Koi Angels.

are these harder to keep than others as i have read?

 

[trojannemo]

if the store only labels them as "angelfish" then what you are getting are Pterophyllum scalare, and domestic (tank-raised) ones at that. otherwise they would label them as "wild","altums", etc. and charge more.

with that in mind, the coloration doesn't change anything about the fish. they will all be just as hardy as any other. some strains tend to be more aggressive, such as double dark blacks are said to be. the only thing to concern yourself with about angelfish is the size of your tank and the other fish in it. if the other fish are peaceful, and the tank is long and TALL enough, then you'll probably have NO problem keeping angels. they will fight, but no harm will come from that unless they are in too small a tank during spawning...

good luck and just get the ones that you like most. Kois are not my thing, but i guess they are pretty in their own way. just keep in mind as they age they tend to lose the orange, and bright lights will also make the pigments in their skin wash out...thats why breeders keep kois in unlit or dimly lit tanks...

 

[mattlee]

if the store only labels them as "angelfish" then what you are getting are Pterophyllum scalare, and domestic (tank-raised) ones at that. otherwise they would label them as "wild","altums", etc. and charge more.

with that in mind, the coloration doesn't change anything about the fish. they will all be just as hardy as any other. some strains tend to be more aggressive, such as double dark blacks are said to be. the only thing to concern yourself with about angelfish is the size of your tank and the other fish in it. if the other fish are peaceful, and the tank is long and TALL enough, then you'll probably have NO problem keeping angels. they will fight, but no harm will come from that unless they are in too small a tank during spawning...

good luck and just get the ones that you like most. Kois are not my thing, but i guess they are pretty in their own way. just keep in mind as they age they tend to lose the orange, and bright lights will also make the pigments in their skin wash out...thats why breeders keep kois in unlit or dimly lit tanks...

the fish i have been looking at were priced between £10 and £15 each and all were of medium/large size. my tank is 4ft long and 18 inches high so i think it just meets the requirements, i have not seen any lfs label angels other than angels here in the uk but maybe i wasnt looking enough at the labels.... i will ask before i buy.
many thanks, Matt