AngelFish Question

[Hamsnacks]

Recently had BN Pleco babies in my community tank, after about 2 weeks I finally started to see some come out of their cave only to be eventually eaten by my 2 Adult Angelfish. The Angelfish are the latest addition to the community, the rest of the fish being Barbs and Tetras.

After witnessing the deaths I have a question lol, are my Cardinal Tetras and Ottos safe?
I did not think I had an issue as the Angels really kept to themselves and I have some guppies in the tank that don't get chased around at all, I would have assumed the Plecos were safe as well.

Opinions?

 

[Colin_T]

It depends on the angelfish. Some angels are fine with everything and some will eat anything. Neon and cardinal tetras are small, slender and brightly coloured so they are easy to see and swallow. Black phantom, diamond and other tetras that are higher bodied are less likely to be eaten because they won't fit in the mouth as easily.

Otocinclus can be taken by other fish but I doubt an angelfish would try.

Baby bristlenose are much smaller than Otos and cardinals so will be taken by most fish. If you have lots of wood on the bottom or cover it with Java Moss, more babies will survive. And keeping the angelfish well fed will reduce the chance of them eating other fish in the tank.

 

[Jeremy180]

Aside from the imminent danger of being eaten by the angelfish, there is practically no overlap in the temperature range, with neons preferring it under 79°F, and Angelfish needing it over 78°F, preferably over 80°F

Angelfish usually get anywhere from 4 to 6 inches, depending a lot on age and water quality, so yes, a big one can can easily eat a Neon Tetra.
They are ambush predators of very small fish and invertebrates in nature, hiding in wait among water plants.

I would not house a full sized angel with any fish under 1.5", or 3.5cm, nor with any slim bodied fish under 2", or 5cm, like Cardinals or Glowlights.

Just because it works for some does not make it a safe arrangement.

I have seen many reports of Full grown angels attempting to eat pygmy cories and choking on the spines, and I personally saw a very big angel chase a small Otolincus all over an eight foot display at the pet store, obviously attempting to eat it.

 

[Cichlid4life]

the fry are barely 1 cm long, the angelfish is about 3-5 inches or 8-12 cm, with their mouths big enough to easily chew 1-2mm pellets, a 9-10mm fry is not too big, they can be eaten whole or half eaten by the angel fish and they will die, the angel fish will take time to chew the baby plecos, but to get them in the mouth is not so hard.

 

[Jeremy180]

Doh, just realized that I somehow misread and assumed that Hamsnacks was keeping neons instead of Cardinals, guess that's what I get for replying at 2:00 am!


OH well, despite that, I still stand by everything else I said in my previous post.

 

[Cichlid4life]

Doh, just realized that I somehow misread and assumed that Hamsnacks was keeping neons instead of Cardinals, guess that's what I get for replying at 2:00 am!


OH well, despite that, I still stand by everything else I said in my previous post.

if you read this part of your message:

I would not house a full sized angel with any fish under 1.5", or 3.5cm, nor with any slim bodied fish under 2", or 5cm, like Cardinals or Glowlights.

and if you go back a paragraph and you read both paragraphs it seems like you said it as a neon is not hard at all, and a cardinal or Glolight may be an easy little snack for an angel fish to eat too.

 

[NickAu]

Here's a golden rule for fish that are not vegetarian, If it swims and fits in their mouth they will eat it if they can catch it.

I have seen my Bumblebee gobies take shrimp and Endler fry that are so big I wonder how the heck they manage to swallow it.

 

[Hamsnacks]

Yeah I've been watching their behavior ever since that day and I think I should be fine, they show no signs of aggression to any other fish. They could have easily attacked the Cardinals and the guppies that I forgot were in there as well. But they stay to themselves.
And I actually have a colony of shrimp in the Java Ferns that are still going strong.

So I think I should be good for now, thinking about it now, yeah they were definitely smaller than even my smallest guppy, but I did find 2 that are hiding in the driftwood so that's good lol.

@Jeremy180 based on my research Angelfish should do fine at 78,79, with some saying that they've had success breading them at colder temperatures, haven't found a website that said it's preferred over 80.

 

[Cichlid4life]

Here's a golden rule for fish that are not vegetarian, If it swims and fits in their mouth they will eat it if they can catch it.

I have seen my Bumblebee gobies take shrimp and Endler fry that are so big I wonder how the heck they manage to swallow it.

using magic i think.

Yeah I've been watching their behavior ever since that day and I think I should be fine, they show no signs of aggression to any other fish. They could have easily attacked the Cardinals and the guppies that I forgot were in there as well. But they stay to themselves.
And I actually have a colony of shrimp in the Java Ferns that are still going strong.

So I think I should be good for now, thinking about it now, yeah they were definitely smaller than even my smallest guppy, but I did find 2 that are hiding in the driftwood so that's good lol.

@Jeremy180 based on my research Angelfish should do fine at 78,79, with some saying that they've had success breading them at colder temperatures, haven't found a website that said it's preferred over 80.

But have any of the websites say that the angelfish are goldfish?

 

[Byron]

@Jeremy180[/USER] based on my research Angelfish should do fine at 78,79, with some saying that they've had success breading them at colder temperatures, haven't found a website that said it's preferred over 80.

The confusion over the preferred temperature for angelfish likely stems from not understanding a difference between wild and commercially-raised angelfish. Wild caught angelfish must have warm temperatures, comparable to discus, with 80F (27C) absolute minimum and preferably above this. Commercially-raised angelfish will do fine at less warm temperatures around 78F (25-26C).

The majority of common angelfish (Pterophylum scalare) will be commercially raised unless your dealer obtains wild caught fish direct from an exporter/importer. All varieties (lace, black, gold, marble, blushing, etc) were developed from this species and do not occur naturally so they obviously are commercial fish. The two other species less commonly seen, P. altum and P. leopoldi, will always be wild caught unless you obtain them direct from a local breeder.