Angelfish in 40 gallon community tank?

[Obsessed with fish]

Could I put angel fish into a 40 gallon tank. am thinking about sizing up from 25 gallon. If I do size up there will be 7 neon tetras, 5 Cory catfish and 2 honey gouramis in the tank (the fish from my old tank) my water is soft and I have a low ph.

 

[Colin_T]

what are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)

 

[Obsessed with fish]

what are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)

I will find out in just a sec

 

[Obsessed with fish]

what are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)

122 X 38 X 45 cm

 

[Colin_T]

The tank is big enough for angelfish so you could have a group of 6 angels. I would increase the number of neon tetras to 15-20 and add another 5 Corydoras.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

The tank is big enough for angelfish so you could have a group of 6 angels. I would increase the number of neon tetras to 15-20 and add another 5 Corydoras.

If it happens I will do this, if it does happen it won't be for ages tho, thanks for your help!

 

[BigJfish12]

I believe that you want to make sure the neon tetras are added to the tank before the angels so the angels don't see them as food.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I believe that you want to make sure the neon tetras are added to the tank before the angels so the angels don't see them as food.

I will make sure the neons are added first, ty

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I would advise against it. In my experience, angelfish need a lot of space to live together. The trouble is that they are aggressive and territorial, but also extremely social. It's a weird combination. I have five fully grown angelfish in my 150 gallon and they get along great because they have plenty of room to get away from each other before conflicts get out of hand. The tank is also well planted and has lots of driftwood to hide in.

I kept a group in a 30 gallon once, and as they grew up I had to rehome all but one of them. The dominant individuals constantly picked on the others, who had nowhere to escape. The one I kept stayed healthy, but he acted bored (at risk of anthropomorphizing). I don't think I'd keep a group of angels in anything smaller than a 75 gallon tank again, and I wouldn't want to keep one alone.

Predation on neons is a real issue. If you get the angels as babies and they grow up with the neons, it can work. But it might not. Some angels are more predatory than others. I like to keep angels with the chunkier-bodied tetras, like rosies, phantoms, lemons. They are too tall to fit in the angels' mouths. Angelfish are intelligent enough to figure this out pretty quickly, and then they leave the tetras alone.

 

[Byron]

I very rarely take a different stance from Colin, but here I must. This tank is not sufficient space for mature angelfish. The height is 45cm/17 inches, and the vertical fin span of a mature angelfish is 8-9 inches. That leaves the poor fish with precious little space. And this is just one angelfish. This tank is no anywhere sufficient for a group of five or more, and with angelfish it is either one, or a bonded pair, or a group. You also have gourami, and these and cichlids should not be combined.

Add to this physical space problems, the behaviour WhistlingBadger noted is very real. Also, never put small linear fish in with angels.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I would advise against it. In my experience, angelfish need a lot of space to live together. The trouble is that they are aggressive and territorial, but also extremely social. It's a weird combination. I have five fully grown angelfish in my 150 gallon and they get along great because they have plenty of room to get away from each other before conflicts get out of hand. The tank is also well planted and has lots of driftwood to hide in.

I kept a group in a 30 gallon once, and as they grew up I had to rehome all but one of them. The dominant individuals constantly picked on the others, who had nowhere to escape. The one I kept stayed healthy, but he acted bored (at risk of anthropomorphizing). I don't think I'd keep a group of angels in anything smaller than a 75 gallon tank again, and I wouldn't want to keep one alone.

Predation on neons is a real issue. If you get the angels as babies and they grow up with the neons, it can work. But it might not. Some angels are more predatory than others. I like to keep angels with the chunkier-bodied tetras, like rosies, phantoms, lemons. They are too tall to fit in the angels' mouths. Angelfish are intelligent enough to figure this out pretty quickly, and then they leave the tetras alone.

OK, noted. I might not get angels then, thankyou

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I very rarely take a different stance from Colin, but here I must. This tank is not sufficient space for mature angelfish. The height is 45cm/17 inches, and the vertical fin span of a mature angelfish is 8-9 inches. That leaves the poor fish with precious little space. And this is just one angelfish. This tank is no anywhere sufficient for a group of five or more, and with angelfish it is either one, or a bonded pair, or a group. You also have gourami, and these and cichlids should not be combined.

Add to this physical space problems, the behaviour WhistlingBadger noted is very real. Also, never put small linear fish in with angels.

OK no angels, thankyou!

 

[Colin_T]

I very rarely take a different stance from Colin, but here I must. This tank is not sufficient space for mature angelfish. The height is 45cm/17 inches, and the vertical fin span of a mature angelfish is 8-9 inches. That leaves the poor fish with precious little space. And this is just one angelfish. This tank is no anywhere sufficient for a group of five or more, and with angelfish it is either one, or a bonded pair, or a group. You also have gourami, and these and cichlids should not be combined.

Can you give us a run down on angelfish in aquariums?
eg: minimum tank size, numbers.

 

[Fishmanic]

Mature Angels would eat the neons as a snack. I speak from experience.

 

[Colin_T]

Mature Angels would eat the neons as a snack. I speak from experience.

That depends on whether they are wild caught or if the angels are small and grown up with the neons. Wild caught fish are much more likely to eat small fish compared to captive bed fish. If the angelfish are young when added to the tank with neons, and they grow up together, the angels are much less inclined to eating them.