I have a 40 gallon community tank and I want to add fish...

[Helder]

Hi all. I have a 40 gallon community tank, with 3 Angelfish, 12 Harlequin Raspboras and 12 Rummynose Tetras. Everybody seems happy in their aquarium. I wanted to add a splash of colour in the tank, so I was thinking of adding 12 Ember Tetras and 12 Emperor Tetras. I was thinking this was a good idea, as the new species stay quite small.
At the same time, I am a bit hesitant, in case the tank becomes overcrowded. The Raspboras and the Rummynose have formed 2 separate schools, so if the new guys do the same, it might be ok.
Can I get members' opinions on this? I nearly bought the fishes, but I thought I'll get some ideas before I go ahead or give up.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers
Helder

 

[Circus]

I have never kept the emperor tetras, but I do have ember tetra. They will shoal pretty tight together and can be a bit shy, so I would keep an eye on them being pushed away from food by the more rambunctious fish. You could always target feed them as well.

 

[Helder]

I have never kept the emperor tetras, but I do have ember tetra. They will shoal pretty tight together and can be a bit shy, so I would keep an eye on them being pushed away from food by the more rambunctious fish. You could always target feed them as well.

Hi Circus, thanks for your reply. Do you think there will be too many fish in tank? Or do you think it's ok?

 

[Circus]

Hi Circus, thanks for your reply. Do you think there will be too many fish in tank? Or do you think it's ok?

That sounds okay to me, but I am not super experienced. Perhaps @Byron has some input? They always give great advice in tank stocking. I wouldn't hesitate to stock 4 groups of fish in a 40 gallon, but it might feel a bit crowded since most of these fish like the middle of the water column.
Just make sure you add only 1 group at a time so you don't overclock your beneficial bacteria and cycle. Ember tetra have a pretty small bioload, I think, and don't take up much room since they keep so close together.

 

[Essjay]

I would be worried about ember tetras being angelfish food.

I've had emperor tetras in the past and they were very active fish which might well stress the angels.


Personally I would not add another species, but you could maybe add a few more harlequins and rummy noses.

 

[Byron]

I am in agreement with @Essjay . You have a trio of angelfish, which is quite a risk to begin with; depending upon their gender(s) this might become a real problem. But leaving aside that, the angelfish are prone to consider small linear-shaped fish as food. As the angelfish grow to their normal mature sizes of six inches (15 cm) this is even more likely. Angelfish will consider the tank space "theirs" and become increasingly territorial.

The Emperor Tetra is as noted above fairly active; i had this fish for some years in a 5-foot tank and I would not combine them with sedate fish (angelfish, gourami, etc) primarily for their activity level. They can also sometimes get a bit feisty, mildly aggressive (the other tetra probably would not consider it "mildly") and this would stress out the angelfish to say the least.

To the question of stocking...this tank is well stocked already, and as the angelfish mature some of the fish may have to be removed, depending upon how things turn out. If you have male and female among the three, and if a pair should form and bond, the third angelfish will likely be quickly hounded to death in this small a space.