what should i get?

[memnon]

hello


i am puzzeled in what kind of tetras i should get for my new 4ft fish tank that i will soon be getting is their any suggestions of tetras that won't nipp angels

any help is apreciated

memnon

 

[The-Wolf]

rummy nose, golden, neon, cardinal to name but a few

 

[yvez9]

wouldn't angels eat the neons?

 

[TorPeteO]

I was going to say...the Neons wouldn't nip the angels, but the angels might nip (or completely eat) the neons. I've heard on this site that neon tetras constitute part of angelfish's natural diet, and so you've got to excercise extreme caution if you're going to mix the two.

One strategy I've heard of is to have the neons in FIRST, and allow them to grow pretty large. Then, add a young angel, so that the neons are already established in the tank and are too big for the angel to eat. The angel, in theory, will get used to the neons as tankmates rather than food.

If you add neons after adding an angel, the neons would probably be so disoriented when they're placed in the tank that the angel would have an easy meal.

 

[memnon]

hello again thanks for answering

just another question would

dimond tetras nip the fins of the angels?

and would the angels have the dimonds for dinner?

memnon

 

[sylvia]

I don't think diamonds would nip angels but make sure they are in a shoal of 6 or more and you need a large enough tank to house them with the angels.

Diamonds mature slowly so make sure they are over 1.5" before adding young angels. The angels won't eat them though (unless your tetras are very young and your angels fully grown).

Might I suggest black phantoms as an alternative? They are the wrong shape for the angels to view them as food and grow too big to be eaten. At the same time, the males will display to one another which is fun to watch and you may see them change color from pale grey to coal black instantly. They have characters too; something you don't realy find much of in most other smallish tetras. They are also very hardy and won't bother your angels.

Another fish I have had great succes keeping with angels is the scissortail rasbora. Very few people seem to consider this fish but they are good schoolers and do make wonderful tankmates for angels.