Angelfish Stocking Question

[FishyDan]

Hi i plan to have well planted tank and want to keep the following, will the angelfish eat the shrimp?

2 angelfish

10 harlequin rasbora

8 cherry shrimp

p.s my tank is 33 gallons

 

[Corleone]

It should work, as long as the tank is 18 inches tall. The shrimp would probably end up as snacks sooner or later, but in a well enough planted tank, they could well survive, you just might not see them often.

 

[waterdrop]

I'll bet the rasboras will never notice that the shrimp are there, but for the angels? Emm, delicious shrimp snack! (Sorry, just exaggerating!) Whether the angels will eat the shrimp is really an unknown and can come down to the unpredictable personalities of the angels themselves. There is a greater chance they will leave them alone if you introduce young angels into the tank later after the shrimp have already been established.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[ox5477]

I agree with waterdrop. Angels are cichlids and can be predatory towards smaller fish/inverts. If the angels grow up with them then they may have a chance to not see them as food, but when they are adults, who knows. If they are kept well fed then you should have no worry about them trying to eat a shrimp.

Ox

 

[FishyDan]

cool thanks guys

it was always my intention to get the shrimp and rasboras first then introduce some young angels later

 

[Spishkey]

can you keep more than two angels together? like a group of them? i have two but want more. would they fight?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yum yum dinner, sorry but IME angels will definatley have a pop at cherry shrimp. if it's v heavily planted some will stay alive but you'll never see them.

yes you can keep a group of angels assuming the tank is big enough. bear in mind that if two decide they want to breed the rest fo the angels will be bullied away from them.

 

[waterdrop]

Interesting MW, how many angels do you suppose could be kept in a 33, wondering of factors other than the overstocking guidelines...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

4 but it's risky.

wouldn't every keep a group of 3 cos if 2 pair up the other will be relentlessly bullied, with 4 the agression is dissapated a bit.

really does depend on the character of the individual fish, one of those things where you just have to made an educated decision, if you wanna try it then do but have a plan B in place.

 

[Spishkey]

how many in a 400+ litre?? does the inch of fish per gallon work for angels because they need height too???

 

[Miss Wiggle]

allow 5 gallons of water for each angel when working out stocking.


if you've got the space then a bigger group is better as it spreads out agression, could comfortably fit 6/8 and have room for some shoals and other fish in a 400l

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, interesting, I believe the idea of only adding in pairs makes a lot of sense based on my memory of their behaviours. Although a single angel can get along by itself (a one, or a leftout of a three, whatever), I think it would seem happier and less stressed if it had a chance to glide about the aquarium as a pair. Its almost as if, for angels, even if they are not behaving as a breeding pair, they relax in a pairing situation kind of like shoaling fish relax at some minimum shoal size, wouldn't you say?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Yes, interesting, I believe the idea of only adding in pairs makes a lot of sense based on my memory of their behaviours. Although a single angel can get along by itself (a one, or a leftout of a three, whatever), I think it would seem happier and less stressed if it had a chance to glide about the aquarium as a pair. Its almost as if, for angels, even if they are not behaving as a breeding pair, they relax in a pairing situation kind of like shoaling fish relax at some minimum shoal size, wouldn't you say?

~~waterdrop~~

i think you're in danger of personifying there!

It just makes sense to add in pairs because that way whatever pairs form you won't ever have just 1 angel left out which is the dangerous thing.

I can't say I've noticed any difference in behaviour between keeping a single angel or a pair of un-paired (what a terrible way of expressing that!) angels.

 

[FishyDan]

so all shrimp are a no no then with angels miss wiggle?

thats a shame i wanted some shrimp to act as a clean up crew

 

[Miss Wiggle]

so all shrimp are a no no then with angels miss wiggle?

thats a shame i wanted some shrimp to act as a clean up crew

you can try the slightly larger amano shrimp, providing there is adequate cover and you get the angels small and the shrimp big it should be OK. But cherries will most likley be eaten as will smaller amano shrimp