Can I temporarily put angelfish in a 10 gallon?

[biofish]

Hello all!
So my pinoy angelfish I got a couple months ago, who never quite thrived in my tank compared to my locally bred angels, passed and I was thinking of buying a new angelfish or two but the quarantine tank I have is only a 10 gallon.

Since my current angels that I bought in July have grown quite a bit, I wouldn’t feel comfortable buying smaller babies as I did originally. So I’d be getting ones closer to adulthood.

Or, I’d be really open to buying a third female Pearl gourami (or other type of FEMALE gourami but I know that mixing labyrinth or whatever that organ is called fish is risky. I don’t have any male gourami and not gonna get any) or a baby red bristlenose. Would any of those be okay for a couple weeks in a 10 gallon to QT?

 

[Aqua67]

If those two angels you acquired in July have grown, it is possible they have paired up and that is why you found the newest addition deceased. The other two fish may not have let him thrive. The bristlenose could be a better addition provided you will have some driftwood and caves.

What size is this aquarium?

 

[Byron]

As for the tank size, it depends on just how big the angelfish is/are, as this is only a quarantine. However, there are other issues to consider. If you already have angelfish, do not add any more. This is just asking for trouble. This species is a shoaling fish and they develop an hierarchy fairly quickly. A relatively mature angelfish (whether one or more) is hopefully "settled" where it/they are. Intruders will not likely be welcomed.

If you do buy more, remember it is a shoaler so that means a group of five or more, and this can have issues going forward.

Another female Pearl should be OK. But stay with the Pearl species.

 

[biofish]

Ah darn. That stinks about the angelfish but it would track. The pinoy was always hiding and staying low in the tank. I never saw the harassment but I know that doesn’t mean much.

So right now I have 4 angels, 2 female gourami, a lot of Cory catfish and guppies in a 55 gallon. But yeah I really need to remove the guppies but they are just so healthy in that tank and grow so big…

My angels right now are about about 4-5 inches including their long top and bottom fins

But the biggest one is starting to get yellow tint to their scales which I read was a sign of maturity.

Which means I really gotta get the guppies outta dodge

But yeah. I have under the recommended shoal numbers so if I got say 3 angels for example to kinda spread the potential aggression, would that work? Or should I just not even try

 

[anewbie]

Angels are a bit unpredictable. Also sex matters a lot. Males will bully a bit but once there is a clear alpha they will mostly get along. Females are more incline to kill and a lot depends on the attitude of the one you have. I've had some more docile females that sort of said 'this is my area stay out and you can hang around' and others that said 'naw your just not acceptable - bye bye'. I suppose with a large enough aquarium you can avoid that issue but it would take at least 6 feet and probably 8+ feet.
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As for your specific question; you can keep dime size angels in a 10 for a month or two and quarter size for maybe a week. If you keep a growing angel in a 10 too long it can suffer. I'm not quite sure if it becomes a runt or if the runt is genetic but i see more runs forming when angels are kept in a tank too small. I usually grow out my angles in a 29 till they are around a quarter and then move them into a 100+ unless there is a problem with them then i leave them in the 29 for observation. I know a lot of folks use a 55 for grow out.

Anyway for a week or so a 10 is ok for a quarter and longer if a dime but i wouldn't push it if they are larger. While angels don't move a lot if they have a need they can fly and flying in a 10 is pretty painful.

 

[Byron]

But yeah. I have under the recommended shoal numbers so if I got say 3 angels for example to kinda spread the potential aggression, would that work? Or should I just not even try

No, please do not do this. The angelfish at the size you give are very well developed into this group and tank. If they are getting along, do not rock the boat, as you could end up with dead angelfish literally overnight. Yes, it is true that sometimes something like this may seem to work, but this is not normal for the species, nor is it guaranteed to last.

 

[biofish]

No more angels. Got it. My sister is livid. Wish me luck.

And the guppies have been air lifted to safety.

So after chasing my fish around the tank: my angel fish are approx 2.5 inches, 3 inches, 4.5 inches, and 5 inches. All bodies are the same size expect for fin length.

Brats.

 

[anewbie]

In all honestly i once added 4 young (quarter size) to an existing group of 6 and it worked out well but the 4 new ones were 3 males and a female and existing group was 5 males and 1 very well behaved female; however there have been other times when adding new angels didn't work out so well so playing it safe it well safer but it does work out fine sometime (the 6 i added were actually off springs from 2 of the group of 6 but they were removed at wriggler stage so i'm not sure that mattered).

 

[biofish]

Would it be okay if I added in a school of smaller fish? Since they’re smaller I could get small schools to quarantine at a time.

Now that the guppies are gone the tank feels pretty sleepy.

I went out scouting for fish yesterday but weirdly enough, a lot of the fish at my usual places were looking pretty sickly and had a mind boggling amount of dead fish. Over head a few employees poop talking about LA’s source water which is probably the reason.

How about cherry barbs to add some color to the tank? I like being able to differentiate the genders and the ladies not looking super dull like some fish species have. And they are slightly bigger so I wouldn’t have to worry about a few “mysteriously” vanishing… *looks at angels*

I love neon tetras but I think those are too small… *looks at angels*

I’ve tried glow danios with my guppies but those 6 guys are monster fin nippers so now they are all in a glo fish danio only tank so they can be terrors to each other

 

[Byron]

Tankmates fgor angelfish must be carefully selected. Generally speaking, small linear fish (like the neon tetra) should be avoided; mature angelfish can easily eat them, I had it occur years ago. Disk-shaped fish fare better, and these tend to prefer the lower half of the tank (the angels above), and they are not "active" so no issues there. Angelfish are very sedate, and tankmates must be similar. The Rosy Tetra group is a good choice, there are several species. Just avoid the nippers like the Serpae Tetra. Substrate fish are usually fine, cories would do well if you have a sand substrate.

 

[Archerfish]

Personally, I would turn it into a scalare species tank. And, when (if) you have a mated pair, find good homes for all of the other fish and enjoy an amazing experience!

 

[biofish]

Hello! I just wanted to ask a quick question possible tankmates and didn’t wanna make a new thread LOL

So my 55 gallon:
4 angelfish
2 female Pearl gourami
3 albino cories
2 unknown shrimp (they’re orange)
2 baby albino BN

The tank is quite heavily planted and I never really see the shrimp or the BN.

And I wanted y’all’s opinion on these tank makes to try and add some color to the tank:
Looking for maybe a single pair of kribs or a pair of electric blue rams or just a single one of either. I know they take the same space so I don’t think I could handle both.

(I have more albino cories in another tank. Just gotta scoop them out)

 

[Byron]

Cichlid species should never be combined (there are some exceptions, but I am here concentrating on the angelfish as the major cichlid in this tank) do forget the kribs and rams. (Rams also need it much warmer than the cories could tolerate long-term.) You are probably going to have enough to haqndle, depending upon the genders of the angelfish.

Agree on more cories, they need that for better health.

The Pearl Gourami and angelfish is not advisable, this somewhat also depends upon gender, and the individuals.

 

[anewbie]

Hello! I just wanted to ask a quick question possible tankmates and didn’t wanna make a new thread LOL

So my 55 gallon:
4 angelfish
2 female Pearl gourami
3 albino cories
2 unknown shrimp (they’re orange)
2 baby albino BN

The tank is quite heavily planted and I never really see the shrimp or the BN.

And I wanted y’all’s opinion on these tank makes to try and add some color to the tank:
Looking for maybe a single pair of kribs or a pair of electric blue rams or just a single one of either. I know they take the same space so I don’t think I could handle both.

(I have more albino cories in another tank. Just gotta scoop them out)

Should have at least 6 and 10 is better for the cories; of course if you have 3 left over from an older aquarium and you don't want more that is fine. With 4 angels you will likely run into issues when they reach adult age - if they are 4 males it will probably work out just fine; if they are 4 females it is hard to predict; if you have m/m/m/f it will probably work; other combinations are less likely to work. Keeping 4 until they reach maturity is fine just be aware you might need to remove a couple at a later time.

Angels and rams will probably work but never guarantee; so some risk. You should never mix african and sa cichild as they don't know how to talk to each other and miscommunications can cause increase aggression.

 

[biofish]

I’m aware

so far they’re playing nice. It’s actually the pearls that keep messing with each other. But all in all the two species keep to themselves. The pearls like to stick to the tall plants and the angels like hanging in the open tank areas. But when they cross paths they mostly just ignore each other.

One angel has started slightly chasing the other three, but not sure if it’s personality or gender caused though. If you scroll up, or go to my thread “gendering angels” it’s the white black and yellow splotchy one.

I have a ragtag tank of cories of when I first started fish keeping and didn’t know different colors were different species so I’ll probably just move them all to the 55.

My cories used to thrive before LA switched to the aquifer now they struggle.