Neons And Angelfish?

[stargirly1208]

i know neons are food for angelfish in the wild but i only have one neon left after having 4 and i wanted to get more, but now that my angels are bigger, i'm a little worried they might start to want to eat them. right now they're not bothering the one lonely survivor but i don't want to waste my money if they're just going to eat them in the long run. so should i get more? or just wait until the last one dies?

 

[keith67]

Did your angel fish eat the last 3 ? and ive seen a topic on this somewhere on this forum lol

 

[randallhart]

They will in due time eat all neons. So I guess I advice you to waste your money on anymore.

EDIT: Not waste your money. Thanks Keith.

 

[keith67]

They will in due time eat all neons. So I guess I advice you to waste your money on anymore.

think he meant NOT to waste your money

 

[Heather.]

I have had my angelfish with neons for 3year now.. and never have they ate them!!!

 

[rdd1952]

As angels get larger, they become more likely to eat smaller fish. They swallow their prey whole so they have to be big enough to swallow them. An angel that was bought very young and the size of a quarter will probably take several years before he is big enough to eat neons. How large are you angels?

 

[confusion]

I have some very big angels in with some smaller fish - no neons - but swordtails that are quite young - maybe .5", and they have never given them a look. The angels could easily eat them, if they wanted to. I believe that a lot of people read that angels eat neons in the wild, and therefore assumed the same will happen in an aquarium. Certainly, if you put a wild angel in a tank with neons, it'll clean up, and likewise if you don't feed the fish for a long time, they will probably go into survival mode, but for the most part, angels seem pretty lazy, and if they're given food the don't have to chase, they seem to prefer that.

I have lots of angels in lots of tanks, and it's pretty consistant behavior.

 

[Heather.]

I agree confusion .. If my angels wanted they could gobble up my neons when ever they wanted.. But they know when their food is coming to them, the minute I step in front of the tank they are come straight over and start dancing about..

 

[Straydum]

this is probably the 3rd time i've seen threads asking on neons and angels. for the preivous 2 i said "your neons are so dead". i'd say the same for here

 

[vic]

Angels are real picky eaters. They only eat things that fit it their mouth. The neons are doomed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vic

 

[ceejay123]

Hello This my first post on this site so bear with me.

I have not kept an aquarium for 17 years as space could not be found in the houses we lived in during those years. However a few weeks ago I persuaded "Our Peg" to clear the sideboard of the ornaments and replaced said junk with a brand new Juwel tank and am very happy (6 weeks later) with our new hobby which has rekindled my love of Tropicals and hope my final years on this planet will be full of interest for my long lost friends!
This Neon/Angel fish debate is interesting in that i don't remember it being an issue 20 years ago. I had all manner of fish in a community tank and they all seemed to get on OK.
When this new tank was 2 weeks "old" i introduced a few fish, Guppies of course, and a week later a couple of other fish. Then on 4 weeks in went 10 Neon Tetras. Since then other community fish have been introduced and to date there have been just two fatalities a Gourami and a Neon.
The fish seem happy but are continually hungry and whenever i go near the tank they congregate in the corner waiting to be fed.
This is a long winded way of coming to the point but I'm there now so-- Two days ago i bought 3 small Angels , about the size of a 10p piece, as i always loved 'em and even had a pair which bred and raised young!
Now we all know neons are a shoal fish but in a community tank and with them having been bred in captivity they don't seem to do much "shoaling" but my 9 neons did!!
As soon as the Angels were put in the Neons closed ranks and stayed together for about 36 hours. Now they have reverted to wandering about the tank in pairs etc etc.
The shoal was tight and very noticeable so maybe there is a basic instinct with Neons to be wary of angels even when bred in captivity.
Am I right or had I drunk too much Stella..Chris

 

[bubblesburst80]

I have a baby angel in a tank with 5 black neons, and it will be a LONG time before he/she is big enough to consider eating them.
I also have colombian redfin tetras and i dont think they'd even be on the menu due to their size. They are stunning fish and could be considered as a replacement to your neons.
Good luck with whatever you decide to buy

xXx

 

[rdd1952]

Now we all know neons are a shoal fish but in a community tank and with them having been bred in captivity they don't seem to do much "shoaling" but my 9 neons did!!
As soon as the Angels were put in the Neons closed ranks and stayed together for about 36 hours. Now they have reverted to wandering about the tank in pairs etc etc.
The shoal was tight and very noticeable so maybe there is a basic instinct with Neons to be wary of angels even when bred in captivity.

First, hello and welcome to the forum. I think you will find a lot of good information here. A lot has changed in the fishkeeping hobby in the last 20 years. As you probably know if you've browsed the site, it has gotten much more technical and advanced.

As you mentioned, fish in community aquariums rarely shoal. Its their way method of protection, the old "safety in numbers" thing. I guess that even though the neons have never seen a angel, it's their instinct to be leary of angels (maybe just any fish bigger than them) so they started to shoal. Once they no longer felt threatened, they went about their way.

I dont know if the angels will eventually attack the neons or not. I have 4 angels in with 9 black phantom tetras and the angels never bother them (only each other). The tetras are too big for them to swallow simply because of their body style but if the desire to eat one was there, I'm sure they would go after them until they decided that they couldn't do it.

My feeling is that mixing them is at least risky. The younger they are when put together, I think the better and there probably wouldn't be any problems but introducing juvie neons into a tank of mature angels would probably be asking for trouble.