Tetras And Angels

[novamadcars]

hi in the near feature i plan on getting a schol of tetras 2 go in my 37g tank with my 2 angels 7 croys and 6 shrimp im just wondering what tetras would be best ?

 

[nmonks]

Good question. Angels eat small, neon-sized tetras quite readily. Conversely, anything fin-nippy, like serpae tetras and black widow tetras, is out of the picture, too. Subtropical tetras like red phantoms wouldn't work well either because of the difference in preferred temperature.

I'd look at things like:

silver-tip tetra
bleeding heart tetras
diamond tetras
rummynose tetras
silver hatchetfish
black phantom tetras

Though African rather than South American, congo tetras look very nice with angels. They are quite big though, so you might find them the wrong size for yor aquarium. Don't forget rainbowfish, either. If you live in an hard, alkaline water area, rainbows make a hardy and long-lived alternative.

Cheers,

Neale

hi in the near feature i plan on getting a schol of tetras 2 go in my 37g tank with my 2 angels 7 croys and 6 shrimp im just wondering what tetras would be best ?

 

[Lateral Line]

There are a number of issues here.

Firstly, almost without exception, tetras are shoaling fish and need to be in groups. With less then say 6 fish, they are stressed and can show atypical behaviour which can vary from hiding away never to be seen, at the other extreme, they can become very aggressive and terrorise the tank.

The next issue is that some tetras are naturally somewhat aggressive, and will peck at the fins of the angel fish.

Another issue is the natural diet of angel fish is small fish, thus as soon as the angel fish are large enough, they will start to eat the tetras. The more round tetras are less likely to fit in the angels mouths then long thin tetras, so you'll want to avoid Neons, Cardinals, Glowlights etc.

Then there is the size of the tank.

I would say, given the requirements, that Lemons, Phantoms, X-Rays etc. would fit the bill. Avoid Serpæ's which despite being fairly small, can be very aggressive. A lot depends on what you have available of course.

*** EDIT ***

Looks like we were writing at the same time Neale!

I've always found Silver Tips to be a bit nippy, great little fish, and probably okay, but just an observation.

Of course, if we are straying outside of tetras, I'd say Harlequins, can't go wrong with Harlequins!

 

[nmonks]

Best to err on the side of caution! Forget about the silvertips then!

Cheers,

Neale

I've always found Silver Tips to be a bit nippy, great little fish, and probably okay, but just an observation.

 

[Harish88]

I have had great success with Rosey Tetras as well. Rummynoses need to be added when the angels are relatively small or the Rummys fairly large.

 

[Lateral Line]

There are anecdotal stories of small tetras being fine with angels that "grew up" with them. Angels are not that intelligent. As soon as an angel can fit something small and edible into it's mouth, it will.