To Angel Or Not To Angel!?

[confused mermaid]

So I finally went through all my cycling hell and I have my 46 gallon tank running nice and smooth and chemically sound now. (Except for the stupid PH which I can't seem to get below 8.0 no matter what I do) I have 5 glass cats, 3 dwarf gourami, 1 glass fish, 2 upsidedown catfish, 1 bristlenosed pleco (just love him ) 2 kuhli loaches, 3 marbled loaches (FINALLY FOUND EM) and a male betta (yes, he gets along great) In order to make my tank complete, I was thinking of pushing my luck and getting two small angel fish. I know there are a lot of people that have kept them with bettas and had mixed results. I was looking at koi angels this weekend. They look peaceful? Is there a certain kind of angel that would be better to try than others? There are so many posts and sites that say they keep two angels fine. There are others that say to get no less than 5. Some say they are agressive when they get bigger and some say they have never had any problems with them. HELP!!!!

And if the majority opinion is that angels would not be good in this situation, can someone suggest another fish that would work better? All of my current fish stay relatively small. So for my last two fish I would like medium sized fish (at least six inches when mature) Colorful if possible. Most of my fish (except for the betta and gourami) are some form of brown or white. So it doesn't have to be a rainbow fish or anything...but a little color would be nice. I have been racking my brain for about a two months straight now since I started the cycling trying to figure this out. Any and all advise would be greatly appreciated because I have a headache.

Thanks

 

[Ghipsi]

I don't see any problem with getting a couple of Angels, I have kept small numbers of angels in community tanks with no problems. Look for angelfish breeders if you can as they will be a lot cheaper than the shops.
Lisa

 

[mike os]

as above.

where are you,? i have loads atm

 

[afishdude]

Tolak can help you with angelfish questions. He is a breeder around chicago.

 

[confused mermaid]

as above.

where are you,? i have loads atm

I'm here I'm here, I stopped checking cuz I didn't think anyone would answer. I kinda have resigned myself to the fact that it can't be done Everything I have read suggests that the angels and betta will have fin wars. Although many people say that they are suprised that I have a male betta in a community tank to begin with. I have read where some have TWO males in a tank (I would never try that) and I have read where people have kept betta's and angels successfully...I'd be kinda nervous to try it. My betta is so happy in the big tank (used to be in a 10 gal) and seems so happy with his tankmates, I couldn't possibly put him back in a small tank. But I would love to talk to anyone that breeds them and get their opinion.

Thanks for answering guys....if you have any more advice please bring it

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Nope not a good idea to mix Angels and Bettas.

 

[confused mermaid]

Just as an addition to my confustion....I went down to the local specialized store I just found and drilled the two employees there for about half hour and they both insisted that if my betta is not aggressive (which he doesn't seem to be) I will have no problem adding two angels in with him. They claim the angels won't even pay attention to him

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Just as an addition to my confustion....I went down to the local specialized store I just found and drilled the two employees there for about half hour and they both insisted that if my betta is not aggressive (which he doesn't seem to be) I will have no problem adding two angels in with him. They claim the angels won't even pay attention to him

The LFS will try to sell anything to you. Not a good idea to mix them. If you really want to, set up another tank (preferably a 5 gallon) and if you mix them and find get torn then you can separate the Betta into his own tank.

 

[Tolak]

Fish have differing temperament within a species much like any other animal. You can have a litter of puppies, one may grow up to be more dominant and aggressive, one may be rather docile and non-confrontational. Angels are very much like this. You may get a couple that get along with each other just fine, and do not bother the betta. You may get one, or both, that are really aggressive. Looks can be deceiving, angels are cichlids.

There is no doubt in my mind that a full grown angel would do a real number on a betta, two could be a disaster. Could does not mean will, as they may be pretty laid back, and the betta may be as well.

I would find a shop that would be willing ti take the angels back, or perhaps trade them in the event the plan goes south. From the start, set up the tank with some tall plants & decorations, making as much of a natural divider as possible. Angels key their territory off of objects in the tank, the decorations define territory.

An actual divider at the very least, and preferably a spare tank to house any aggressors or agressees (is that a word?) would be in the best interest of the fish. You may have to split them up fast, and it would take some watching over.

Stocking is never written in stone. I've seen some stranger combinations that shouldn't work, but do, a large oscar with a few adult angels in a 75 gallon comes to mind. I've kept multiple angel pairs with unpaired fish in a 65, this shouldn't work. I've also kept a pair with a couple of unpaired angels in a 29, this shouldn't work either. It all depends on how aggressive the individual fish is.

If the angels don't work out, you may want to look into some of the dwarf cichlids, cacatouides are particularly colorful, a larger male will hit near 5", and they stay more towards the bottom half of the tank, well out of the way of the betta.

 

[Joller]

i put a female betta in with angels once, i had a spare tank ready incase anything started to happen between them. but they seemed to get along alright, the angels stressed her a bit but not too much as she had hiding places. but then one day i came home and she had been eaten
i would imagine it would be worse with a male fighter as they have much longer fins that catch they eye.

 

[indigoj]

On the flip side I know someone who had a betta kill an angel.

Good luck if you try it, sounds like it could work or not lol.

 

[Glenbo1981]

Must of been a small angel^^ or a fry lol

 

[confused mermaid]

Many many thanks guys.....I guess as much as I love the angels, I shouldn't try it. Grape (the purple betta) was there first and we like him and my son would be upset if something were to happen. I can't imagine he would be happy going back to a small tank after he spent all this time in the larger one. well, back to the drawing board it is...Now I've been looking at the black knife fish LOL. Or I might check into some larger gouramis or those other chichlids Tolek was speaking of.

 

[Glenbo1981]

Black Knife fish can grow to 2ft in length! they are amazing but you need a 5ft tank minimum for these guys.

Gouramis are a no no with Bettas as they will fight to the death and almost all Cichlids will shred the Bettas fins with maybe the exception of Rams or Apistos.

 

[confused mermaid]

Black Knife fish can grow to 2ft in length! they are amazing but you need a 5ft tank minimum for these guys.

Gouramis are a no no with Bettas as they will fight to the death and almost all Cichlids will shred the Bettas fins with maybe the exception of Rams or Apistos.

Yeah, I noticed that they get big. Guess I'll wait for my bigger set up for that. I have gouramis in my tank already and them and the betta pay absolutely no attention to each other. I never realized how difficult it is to get fish! Anyone else have any suggestons for a peaceful larger fish?