Angelfish: What To Go For?

[Zante]

I am considering re-homing my discus and replacing them with angelfish, but I need some advice:

The current setup is:
400 litres
Water column is about 2 feet
Length is 4 feet
50 litre sump
216w T5 lighting
CO2 injection
Patch of vallisneria Tigris
Two amazon swords
One ozelot amazon sword
One tiger lily
Big log of bogwood that forms an arch

Population is
5 discus
Approx 35 tetras (cardinals and rummynoses)
2 BN plecs
9 otos
2 rams

The discus are the ones I am considering replacing with angels.
Water is very soft. I have an RO unit.
Last time I measured I had
Ph 6.5
Gh 3
Kh 5

Now the question is:
Which angels to go for? I'm looking to get something simpler than discus, and less time consuming.

I have been suggested altum, and I can get tank-bred ones, but I read somewhere that they are ad difficult as discus. Also since they are much taller, would a 2 foot water column be enough?

What about leopoldii? I only heard about them and know they are a bit smaller than scalare.

The LFS is in touch with a person that "is very big on angels, and can get you anything, wild, F1, tank bred, altum, scalare, Peruvian, anything. He's the angel man", so apparently availability is not an issue.

One thing I won't compromise on: I want them wild-looking. No black or albinos, no koi and suchlike. They have to be not necessarily wild, actually I would prefer tank bred by far, but they have to be wild looking.

 

[mattlee]

i have a group of wild peru red spotted 'altum' scalare angels and they are second to none. take a look in my journal in the new world section and you should find them. not true altums but sold as altum scalare.

with soft water and low ph you could even go for true altums but they are much more expensive. although there are a group of 10 on AC at the minute for £250

if you want more colour in the tank then some of the man made colour forms may be of more interest to you but personally i dont think you can beat the wild striped angels. extra colour can be added with other fish if required....

i would get to the bottom of your discus issues first though before adding any new fish and especially selling them on so others dont get any issues with them.

 

[Zante]

i have a group of wild peru red spotted 'altum' scalare angels and they are second to none. take a look in my journal in the new world section and you should find them. not true altums but sold as altum scalare.

I will definitely have a look

with soft water and low ph you could even go for true altums but they are much more expensive. although there are a group of 10 on AC at the minute for £250

I have been advised on F1 altum, I was just looking for more info and a second opinion

if you want more colour in the tank then some of the man made colour forms may be of more interest to you but personally i dont think you can beat the wild striped angels. extra colour can be added with other fish if required....

As I said, I won't compromise on colour, it will HAVE to be wild-looking

i would get to the bottom of your discus issues first though before adding any new fish and especially selling them on so others dont get any issues with them.

Absolutely. I will not pass them on until they are back to full health, and might not pass them on at all. At the moment I am just investigating what's out there angel-wise. Might decide to keep the discus after all, but I want to make an informed decision.

 

[mattlee]

F1 fish are normally easier to keep as they are born and raised in tank conditions where wild fish can take a long time to get use to their new world and be very skittish. i know many people that have kept wild altums successfully and many that have struggled with them but they are given the same conditions as discus so cant really see them being easier to keep if this is your goal. also a 2ft tall tank should be ok for them.

i also have a group of 4 F1 Leopoldi angels, these do stay smaller than scalare and are sometimes called dwarf angels but they arent really dwarf just a bit smaller... these angels have a slightly down facing mouth compared to the upturned altum and some wild types and the forward facing mouth of the scalare. mine are stunning fish and are growing into real good specimins. most you see for sale will be tank bred but they arent often available at lfs unless special ordered as they do cost more than the scalare species available. im actually thinking of selling my 4 leopoldi as they are currently in with my rays and im not sure how long they are safe for!!!!! i would add them in with the wilds but having 8 wilds in a 5ft tank is enough tbh, 12 angels would be awesome but packed im affraid.

if your after a tank that you can just leave then i would stay away from altums, especially if your not feeling the upkeep of discus. scalare or leopoldi would be more suitable. if your looking for wild type then the striped zebra scalare is probably the cheapest wild looking angel that will be easiest to keep. leopoldi are a bit more expensive at about £15-20 each depending on size unless you get real small juvi fish and the wilds will set you back anything from £20-30 each again depending on size. true altums vary so much in price and ive seen them at a smallish size for £60+, as i said there is a guy selling 10 for £250 on AC which is a great deal and they are a mix of wild and F1.

 

[Zante]

Thank you, this is just the kind of info I was after.