Retired and reviving 300-gallon tank

[WhistlingBadger]

Great info... I've been looking for Dwarf Angelfish, but no one seems to have them. Are they a myth, or is there a supplier or two out there?

Never heard of them! But in a tank your size, you could get normal ones. My experience is that if you get five or more of them, and plenty of big plants and hardscape to move around in, their aggression evens out and they just bluff each other a lot. They seem to enjoy each other's company and they're very entertaining to watch. That would obviously be no problem in your tank. AQadvisor says you could easily keep 20! That would look extremely cool.

 

[pondholler]

Never heard of them! But in a tank your size, you could get normal ones. My experience is that if you get five or more of them, and plenty of big plants and hardscape to move around in, their aggression evens out and they just bluff each other a lot. They seem to enjoy each other's company and they're very entertaining to watch. That would obviously be no problem in your tank. AQadvisor says you could easily keep 20! That would look extremely cool.

I've been worried that they might eat the smaller fish/shrimp etc. But someone else said that if you introduce them when they are very small, then they're not aggressive when they are bigger. True? I can get the angelfish as small as nickle sized.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I've been worried that they might eat the smaller fish/shrimp etc. But someone else said that if you introduce them when they are very small, then they're not aggressive when they are bigger. True? I can get the angelfish as small as nickle sized.

Generally true. I wouldn't guarantee it. In the case of smaller fish, it really isn't aggression; it's predation. I suppose the specific strain would matter, a bit like bettas: Some strains have had the predatory urge bred out of them; others haven't.

But you can also mitigate the predation by choosing your fish carefully. In my experience, angels will eat neons, but not cardinals, lemons, or black neons, which are a bit too big for them. They won't eat fish of the phantom/serpae/diamond type, because they're the wrong shape. (Kind of like trying to swallow a porkchop whole)

As for shrimp, I'd say red cherries or ghost shrimp would probably be on the menu. Anything from amano shrimp size up is probably going to be OK.

 

[pondholler]

Generally true. I wouldn't guarantee it. In the case of smaller fish, it really isn't aggression; it's predation. I suppose the specific strain would matter, a bit like bettas: Some strains have had the predatory urge bred out of them; others haven't.

But you can also mitigate the predation by choosing your fish carefully. In my experience, angels will eat neons, but not cardinals, lemons, or black neons, which are a bit too big for them. They won't eat fish of the phantom/serpae/diamond type, because they're the wrong shape. (Kind of like trying to swallow a porkchop whole)

As for shrimp, I'd say red cherries or ghost shrimp would probably be on the menu. Anything from amano shrimp size up is probably going to be OK.

Hmmmm -- too bad. I was hoping that getting very small angelfish to grow up with the very small shrimp would solve the problem. Oh well, I have been educated. Thanks!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hmmmm -- too bad. I was hoping that getting very small angelfish to grow up with the very small shrimp would solve the problem. Oh well, I have been educated. Thanks!

Well, it might work. Sometimes it does. Just don't get too attached to the shrimp.

 

[sharkweek178]

Thanks for the good advice. I hadn't thought about the temperature!

I got lucky in that it was unseasonably warm when I ordered most of my plants. I only had two orders arrive DOA. The first was a crypt and I just assumed it was going through crypt melt until a few weeks later. I just wrote that one off. That was the one time I ordered from Amazon. The other one arrived on a day that it was literally 0 degrees out. I had ordered insulated packaging and a heat pack. But when I opened it, there was no heat pack and the insulated packaging was open at one end (which defeats the purpose of insulation). I messaged the merchant and he was cool about it and made it right.
I don't need to order plants for a while but I feel like I got lucky with these orders and I would really think about the temperature next time.

 

[pondholler]

Not quite sure how to navigate to post new info, but here goes! We have all the sand, rocks and driftwood in place, plus a few items from our collection of Native American artifacts (spearheads, a mortar and pestle, tomahawk head, etc!). We're not sure the artifacts belong in a tropical aquascape but are trying them on -- what do folks think? As for the driftwood and rocks, there are lots of tunnels and caves for fish to hide out if they need to. Tomorrow we add water. And then plants whenever they arrive. We are so excited!!! COMMENTS WELCOME!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Looks cool! I would move the central rock cave about 1/3 to the right, between those two upright stumps, and maybe rearrange it so it looks a little more natural. I kind of like things off-center in my tanks, and tend to go by the rule of thirds. But that's just my taste; the fish won't care. They might care if that rock cap falls on them, though. I would glue it in place, if you haven't already.

Be prepared for your native artifacts to get permanently stained with algae. Personally I wouldn't put them in a fish tank for that reason. But they do look pretty cool. Looking forward to watching this develop.
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