Beginner Tank With Angels

[S Herbert]

Hi,

As posted before i am having problems with species selection. I would really like to keep angels. Can anyone suggest number of angels and other species to go with the angels (the more colourful the better) bearing in mind i am a beginner, we are not interested in breeding, but just want a fairly peaceful tank. We have fairly hard water which i realise is better for malawis but we are really keen to keep angels. We are willing to do the research and take the time and effort to get it right. We are buying a 200L 50G tank. any help much appreciated.
Thanks
Sarah

 

[vancouver]

Angels are one of the more difficult fish to find tankmates for, as their demeanor can be different from fish to fish...... I had a 55g tank with gouramis, angels, white skirts, and a few other types of tetras. The 1.5'' angels nipped the fins of all the fish in the tank. I got so sick of angels, and haven't had any since!

I'm guessing you're planning on a group?.. It might be a good idea to buy siblings and hope they aren't mean to each other. Keyhole cichlids might work.. They are a bottom-middle dwelling fish, and if you give them some cave-type places to hide, might be OK in steering clear of the angels if they turn out to be meanies.

Festivum cichlids might also work. They are top dwelling fish like angels, but have a similar demeanor, so they might be ok together.

Hope I helped in some way or another

 

[ferco]

hi there, i have heard that angels are better in groups than smaller groups... like 4 is better than 3 as they will pair and gang up... i think it really comes down to how much space you have... the more 'teritory' they have the less likely they are to attack each other... i think that is how it works???
This may help...

 

[kubora666]

i have a real mean angel in with south american cichlids like severums firemouths and silver dollars, also juwel cichlids. hes fine he was a mega agressive one though, he is a p. scalare.

 

[bleechme]

These fish can get pretty aggresive, although they are called "Angels" But I'd reconmend you to get unrelated fish even though you are not planing to breed them, as time goes on, they are gonna want to, and as you raise them, sooner or later you might get the feeling that you want to breed them as you get to know the species better. So therefore, I think you should try your best to chose a few from different stores or from different tanks. make sure they all are around the same size or the smaller ones will probably get punked around.