Fish Mix

[FanOFish]

I have a 42gal. hex tank, fully cycled with only 10 neon tetras. My plan is to add a small group of angelfish, and three small clown loaches.

Yesterday, my daughter and I went to a couple fish stores and she really seemed to like the bright colors of the swordtails. I really never considered mixing platys or swordtails but the bright yellows and silvery white colors are pretty.

Would a few of these mix with the angelfish, tetras, and clowns?

 

[Fishy Jon]

I don't see why not the only thing you have to worry about is getting a breeder net because any fish will eat baby fish. Do not get any fish big enough to swollow the neon tetra or they will eat them. So basically you just have to make sure the fish you buy are not big enough to eat the other fish. The only other concern is the angel. Usually they are good community fish, but I Just recently bought one that almost bit another fish to death. Hope this helps

Jon

 

[canis_lupus]

i don't think u can have the angels.....i don't remeber but i think they need a lot of space and a tall tank (something like 30 gals a fish, but i don't remember ) and they r agressive, swordtails and platies would do really well 2 gether

 

[canis_lupus]

wait i just found a pic with swords and angels so maybe someone else can help u
<a href="http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11736"> angel</a>
*hope the link works )

 

[cheirodon]

Many moons ago, I had a tank with 16 cardinals, 2 loaches, and 4 guppys, among others. I had a small angel fish in there too, and it did ok, but was too aggresive, so I finally exchanged him for a cory (Since he was small, the aggresiveness was more of a nuissance than a real problem).

Now, I recently read somewhere, that cardinals, or neons, are the usual diet of angel fish?
Maybe somebody here can tell u wether this is true.

Other than that, you should be fine

 

[mrV]

First 42 us gal is too little for angels or clown loaches. Did you noticed that clowns are 30cm (usually over 20 cm in tank) long, ~12 inches (in tank, ~8inches). Clown is shoal fish, so it needs friends and tank, that is at least 150cm long (60inhes), 2m is better (79 inches).

Angels aren't actually shoal fishes. They live in shoal when they are youth/youngs. But when they grow they form couples. 42 us gal is too little for shoal of angels. If your tank is high enough, you can try to find angel couple, but it's difficult to find.

Yes, you cannot mix neons and angels together. Angels, when they are big anough, they'll probably eat neons. Cardinals are too in danger, because they go in angels mouth. If you're going to keep small fishes with angels, you should consider to buy fishes that are rather higher than "flater". Then they don't go in angels mouth. There isn't enough room...

FanOFish, you cannot mix fishes that live in basic/hard water with fishes that live in acidic/soft water.

 

[Starfish]

Try not to put neons with angels, angels are known for eating them, and like already mentioned, neons are the angels food in the wild.

 

[FanOFish]

Thanks for all the great advise...although I think I must take it all with a grain of salt. I don't ever plan to be as serious about fish as most people on this board are. The thought of 42gal. not being big enough for 2 little clown loaches makes no sense to me because although I understand they can live to be 8 in. long it would take years I'm sure.

I just looked at angel fish, the ones i like are about the size of a US quarter with fins. There is no way they could eat a neon. Now, if they grew to be as big as I've seen some...well then bon apitite...

An aquarium for me is a room decoration. New fish will come and go I'm sure because there isn't a shortage that I can see. Now, I want to learn some basics of course, I don't want to buy a couple Oscars to mix with guppies or anything like that but in your basic community tank I don't see a problem with small angelfish, clown loaches, tetras,etc. If they were to live a whole year.... major bonus.

If by chance one or two live to get too big...i'm sure I can trade them in for smaller ones....or start over with a whole different group of fish...you know, change the look.

I don't see myself naming them or petting them or any of the other activities that I have red about on this forum. They are fish for goodness sake.

Bottom line, I want an attractive tank, i don't want to over populate, I don't want to mix fish that will attack each other and I want my tank water safe....other than that...I say find the fish you like to look at and buy them.....

 

[mrV]

... If they were to live a whole year.... If by chance one or two live to get too big...

Didn't you know, that fishes aren't just decorations? They need to be taken care too. Fishes live many years, goldfishes decades, most small tetras etc 5-10 years. Some plecos 20 years even more.. Some fishes over 100 years.. etc...

So there is no chance or IF.. They'll grow and they'll live many years. If you're not taking fishkeeping seriously, it's probably better to buy plastic fishes.

Sorry being rude, but fishes are living creatures too. They belongs to vertebrate family, they have good nervous system and they are actually quite smart - if you have seen latest researches.

Tank isn't just a piece of decoration, it's small "jar" of nature. However, badly kept tank isn't either very nice, looks awful. It doesn't either "work". And for most of us (like for me too) tanks are pieces of my residence.

I want an attractive tank,

Well, who doesn't? But you need to think about whole situation. It's not just attractive, colour fishes.

If you now have those neontetras (only 10?), you need to buy more neons. 20 more and there is a shoal. If you still want some more, think about bottom fishes - if only you have sand or at least rounded substrate (not sharp edges). Like corydoras sp.. Tank can be very attractive when having only a one big fish shoal. So, not only fishes, but plants, rocks etc...

 

[Fishy Jon]

I agree with all of the above. You can't just have the fish for looks. It's a whole hobby. If your not going to take care of them then buy plastic fishes like mrv said. sorry if i'm being rude, but you have to buy fish that will do good together. If you buy the angel it will grow big and probably eat all your little neons. Its not right just to have your fishtankanywhere and by the way your talkin not even feed them. they are just like us and need to be taken care of.

 

[Alien Anna]

I'm sorry FanOFish, but I can't understand your attitude to your fish at all. You don't sound like much of a fan of fish to me

Just FYI, angelfish eat neons in the wild, so putting angelfish in a tank with their natural prey sounds a bit daft to me. YMMV.

 

[freshmike]

I agree with A.A. Very sour attitude. Sorry but that's about all I have to say to you.

 

[FanOFish]

Well the responses I received are about what I expected, very emotional but I'm not sure my posting was really read. I specifically said that I wanted to have a healthy tank...even did the fishless cycling! Introduced 10 neon tetras, just like everyone said....buy them in groups.

Now I thought of small (key word being small) angel fish..do you think they will eat the tetras? When they get big sure but nobody tells me how long that takes..are we talking months, years what?

As far as my comment about a living piece of furniture. It is! why would they make the nice oak stands, the oak trim on the tanks, etc. So the outside looks nice as the inside.

You see, there is really no room on this forum for someone that just wants to have some fish. I don't want 10 tanks, I want 1 tank, and I want it to have nice looking fish that get along...that was the advise I was seeking. Pardon me for possibly disagreeing with an expert!

Someone said it is possible for neons to live 6-8 years...well do you think the majority of the people reading this forum have neons for that long? If I didn't care about the fish and only wanted nice looking aquarium I could have filled it with whatever fish I wanted the day I brought it home and simply replaced them as they died..there's not a shortage you know. That is not what I said in my note and not what I will do, I guess I should just read, learn, and be sure I don't ruffle the feathers from my friends across the pond.

 

[Alien Anna]

FanOFish,
I'm glad your "animated furniture" attitude isn't expressed in the way you treat your fish and that you still work hard to give them a decent home. I'm not knocking you for that. It's just that some of the things you said sounded really callous and I'm not used to reading stuff like that on the fish forums.

Someone said it is possible for neons to live 6-8 years...well do you think the majority of the people reading this forum have neons for that long?

I don't have neons, but I have an 8 year old cardinal tetra and a 2.5 year old pencilfish (they're only supposed to live 18 months - 2 years).

If I didn't care about the fish and only wanted nice looking aquarium I could have filled it with whatever fish I wanted the day I brought it home and simply replaced them as they died..there's not a shortage you know.

It depends what sort of fish you have - I can assure you there's a shortage of chain botias and SAEs, around here at least.

Anyway, I'm relieved to read you are not the sort to mindlessly replace fish without a care about what is wrong in your tank.

That is not what I said in my note and not what I will do, I guess I should just read, learn, and be sure I don't ruffle the feathers from my friends across the pond. 

Well then perhaps you aren't good at expressing your feelings in writing because that unfortunately wasn't the impression you gave. I'm not saying you have to have wubbly feelings for your fish or be totally obsessed, just that you treat them with the respect they deserve and endevor to give them a good home. Since you appear to be doing that, fine. None of us can tell you how you ought to feel.

P.S. I've never been called "emotional" before. Usually I get harrassed for being cold and callous!