Minimum Tank Size

[mattlee]

i had a breeding pair of angels in a 620 (90l) and they were fine although not 100% fully grown. if your looking at a group of these then the bigger the tank the better really as with any fish... i have 8 adult angels in a 5ft tank and once fully grown they will fill it pretty well, although there may be room for 1 more

both discus and angelfish prefer to be in a big group, the bigger the better. the more you have the more any aggression is spread out and prevents an individual fish getting bullied constantly. having lots in a small tank doesnt work as they will be ontop of each other all the time so they wont be able to create their own parts of the tank or have a get away space when things get a bit rough in there.

125l will be fine for a group of juvi angels or discus but as soon as they grow they will need more room. if you wanted a group then a tank upgrade will be required but you could get a group of juvis and see if a pair forms then keep the 2 and move the rest on, 125l is a good size for 2. if they arent a pair and you just add 2 it could end up in disaster with 1 becoming the dominant fish and 1 becoming the bullied, shy, weaker fish which in time may be more prone to disease and damage.

 

[Justaerin]

Ok so the figures originally given by noah are pretty much spot on, what's the favoured dimensions of the tank? I know it has to be taller than usual

 

[mattlee]

it really depends on how many you want to keep but as long as its 18 inches+ in height due to the long trailing fins it should be ok. as i said i have 8 in a 60x18x24 and once fully grown they will fill it pretty well. mine are wild angels so have much longer ventral fins than the normal scalare available at the lfs but they will be fine in a 2ft deep tank, they arent fully grown yet and are roughly 7 inches top to bottom already..

take a look in the new world cichlid journal section and you will see them