*Angel fish Tank mates recommendation!!

[JaygoExotics]

hello everyone I’ve got a 55gallon with two angels and two bristle nose pleco what should I get in here as tank mates just wondering what your recommendations are I want something cool with a bit of personality ,peace

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the general hardness (GH) and pH of your water?

How big are the angelfish?

Do you have any driftwood for the bristlenose?

Is the tank heavily planted or how is it decorated?

 

[JaygoExotics]

Oh I want looking for this type of response I know what I’m doing etc just wanted you guys recommendations I appreciate your reply but I almost feel like I’m being schooled every time I post here’

 

[Essjay]

The thing is we can't suggest any fish until we know the water parameters. You have told us the tank volume, though not the dimensions, but no responsible fish keeper would suggest fish without knowing the hardness and pH.

 

[cliffstips]

Oh I want looking for this type of response I know what I’m doing etc just wanted you guys recommendations I appreciate your reply but I almost feel like I’m being schooled every time I post here’

I keep a community tank with Angel's. Bosemani rainbows clown loaches and a group of gold barbs. They all get along well

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[JaygoExotics]

Yes I understand that but of course I’d do my own research into that fish I just wanted suggestions and maybe what you guys have found best therefore leaving me with not much research to do as you’ve trial and errored it but it’s a planted tank not heavily just got a amazon sword plant the hardness of my water is usually 7-8 ppm101 and also the angles are around 3moths old so still juveniles

 

[JaygoExotics]

I keep a community tank with Angel's. Bosemani rainbows clown loaches and a group of gold barbs. They all get along well

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Well this is what I wanted to hear how many barbs do you have and does it have to be a specific type as I’ve hesrd barbs are fin nippers

 

[cliffstips]

Well this is what I wanted to hear how many barbs do you have and does it have to be a specific type as I’ve hesrd barbs are fin nippers

In my experience the small gold barbs in groups of 4 or 5 stick together and don't bother the angels at all. Cherry barbs / Panda barbs / Denison barbs are also fine. Really only the tiger barbs and all it's variation have the reputation for fin nipping.

Again always keep them in groups of 4 or more and they tend to stay together and ignore other tank mates

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[Jeremy180]

Hello, everyone is not asking for your parameters to "school you" it's just that the more information we have, the better advice we can be given. Your current fish can be healthy in anything from extremely soft to slightly hard water, narrowing it down helps us to help you.
EDIT: by the way, a school of hatchet fish aren't much in terms of personality, but are quite compatible with your current fish, and are interesting in thier own right as a small oddball fish.

 

[Byron]

Barbs in general are active swimming fish, and these should never be combined with sedate fish like angelfish. And barbs should be in larger groups than four or five.

Fish naturally interact among their own species in some manner, and each species will react with other species in some way. Individual fish can vary from the expected norm when it comes to behaviours; this can be caused by environmental factors (water parameters, water conditions, thee aquascape, tank size, numbers of the species if it is a shoaling species, light, water flow, etc) or just the individuality of the fish. It is always wisest to accept the norm for a species and assume it will be the case, as it usually is.

Water parameters are a factor to be known before any of us can responsibly suggest possible tankmates. I have very soft water, and my options for tankmates for angelfish would be "X" but for someone with moderately hard water that would still be OK for the angelfish, the tankmates I might consider could be out of the question. And vice versa.

If members do not have all the data, they cannot provide reliable information so you do yourself a disservice.

 

[cliffstips]

Barbs in general are active swimming fish, and these should never be combined with sedate fish like angelfish. And barbs should be in larger groups than four or five.

This is not true for the gold or cherry barbs
In groups of 4 or 5 they stay to themselves usually near the bottom of the tank and have never bothered my Angel's.

Fish naturally interact among their own species in some manner, and each species will react with other species in some way. Individual fish can vary from the expected norm when it comes to behaviours; this can be caused by environmental factors (water parameters, water conditions, thee aquascape, tank size, numbers of the species if it is a shoaling species, light, water flow, etc) or just the individuality of the fish. It is always wisest to accept the norm for a species and assume it will be the case, as it usually is.

Mixing other more lively fish with Angel's is a great way to get them to be more social.

Water parameters are a factor to be known before any of us can responsibly suggest possible tankmates. I have very soft water, and my options for tankmates for angelfish would be "X" but for someone with moderately hard water that would still be OK for the angelfish, the tankmates I might consider could be out of the question. And vice versa.

If members do not have all the data, they cannot provide reliable information so you do yourself a disservice.

Although this is true, most modern tank raised fish you get in your local shops will generally do fine in normal declorinated tap water.
Mostly everything in your local shops are tank raised or come from farm's in Florida.

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[Byron]

This is not true for the gold or cherry barbs
In groups of 4 or 5 they stay to themselves usually near the bottom of the tank and have never bothered my Angel's.

I did say "barbs in general" are more active.

The shoaling issue is inaccurate. Shoals should be at minimum six (some species need more), but preferably more, if you care about the fish. While six neon tewtra for example may manage, eight or nine will be in better health, and 12 will be better yet. No one has found the magic number, and never will, but we do know that the more the better.

The number for shoaling species has been a subject of misunderstanding for some time, but a scientific study a couple of years ago proved what many of us have long held, that the more fish in the group the better. That study found that in groups less than six, aggression was increased; normally semi-aggressive fish (like angelfish) became more aggressive, and peaceful fish became mildly aggressive. The assumption why this is so is that the fish are programmed to expect large groups in order to function normally, and when they are forced into artificial environments where this is denied them, they react to the frustration via aggression. It is not surprising; many animals, including humans, do much the same.

Fish can experience stress without external signs, for some time, before it may become too much. Providing what fish expect is always going to mean healthier and "happier" fish, which should be the aim of all of us.

Mixing other more lively fish with Angel's is a great way to get them to be more social.

This is a mistaken view, according to the science. You are not going to alter what is programmed into the species' DNA.