What goes well with angels?

[Blue Lobster]

how tall a tank is it? the bottom feelers could have just been worn off by constant contact with the substrate--a definite possibility if you have a short tank and rough gravel.

not all tetras are nippy. if its got short fins and an upturned mouth, i'd think it'd be reasonable to assume a fin-safe fish (no evolutionary benefits to fin-nipping.)

Barbels will dissapear with a mild case of fin rot. Up your gravel vac schedule.

As far as tetras being nippers, no problems here.

Pristellas school across the tank very nicely.

 

[sylvia]

What you need to do is re-think your stocking. If you want this to be an angel tank, get rid of the shark catfish (which will get too big for ANY 30 gallon - even if you think yours is bigger than others) and the same applies to the plec. The black skirt tetras you have ARE nippy and very well could have caused damage to your angel's ventrals which may then have made it prone to a secondary bacterial infection - which is what probably is causing problems. As for the 'flashing' you described, that could be a sign of ich beginning to catch hold and of poor water quality. Start by doing a nice big water change. Then get rid of all the fish that simply won't work in a 30 gallon. Then decide if you want angels or the tetras and re-home whatever it is youd ecide you don't want. Most LFSs will take back any fish so get rid of them that way if finding them new, suitable homes isn't possible.

Once you have sorted out the stocking, start treating your angel for ich and finrot until it improves. THEN you can think about further tankmates. I have found scissortail rasboras (a small school) and a bristlenose pleco to make excellent tankmates for angels. Just make sure, regardless of what you choose, that you RESEARCH it beforehand.

If you take the time to research your fish and their tankmates and take into consideration whether they will be happy in their artificial environment even when they've reached maturity, and if you keep up with maintainance, I guarantee you will become a very successful fish keeper and enjoy it all the more. Good luck!

BTW - shark catfish gets to 24" and the plec to 18". NOT suitable for ANY 30 gallon (incase you doubted). The shark catfish also happens to be brackish. It will die if kept in freshwater indefinately.

 

[fishfight]

Wow, thanks for the response. Exactly when did you learn everything there is to know about fish? The shark can adapt to the freshwater quite easily, I've had them before. They can fit in my tank comfortably along with the common pleco. I think I was so upset about this whole situation because for the hours and hours that I did monitoring the fish I have, I didn't once see the skirted tetras go near the angel. She may have been nipped, maybe your right, but I never saw it. That's very frustrating for someone who just wants to see it once, then out the door go the tetras, or at least to a smaller tank.

 

[bugsy66]

Hi, I don't like to pick sides but Sylvia is right about the shark, they soon need brackish to survive to the fullest potential. Yes they will adapt to the freshwater but as they get bigger they do much better in brackish.

They are cute and really neat to have. For them I would have their own big..... tank as that can be a really nice display of them too. They surely are not good with angels.

Just to give you an idea of what I have just been through. Six months ago I bought my very first Discus. Love these fish, hard if not impossible to get here. So needless to say I was so happy that I got one beautiful Turq. I blame myself for being a bad discus mom as I just lost this beautiful creature last week due to neglect on water changes "on time" and that I had stressful fish with this fish. My angel and the discus were best of buddies. Discus, there is no room for error. I treat my Angels the same way although I feel they are hardier fish.

I do have a bristlenose, 3 cory cats and my two angels in there. Off to the store went the bolivian rams and the white clouds and lepoard danios. Angels truly deserve a peaceful tank as they are graceful fish. You might not have problems now but in time you will find your Angel stuck in a corner of the tank scared to move. Your shark cats are active cuties and this will eventually cause problems in the tank I am 99% sure.

Decide what you want to do, do some more research you have recieved alot of good info here and go with what you feel is best for the fish.

Good luck to you......

 

[sylvia]

Hi again. I'm sorry if I sounded harsh. I do just want what's best for your fish. You didn't seem to accept that the fish you have aren't suitable for your tank or as tankmates for each other and that's why I felt a little abruptness was necessary. Please understand that I didn't just come up with what I said to make you feel bad and I'm sorry it was not subtle or what you wanted to hear.

I also don't know EVERYTHING there is to know about fish. I love this hobby precisely because it is impossible to ever learn everything there is to know and you can learn something new all the time if you take the time to listen. However, I do know some things and I have given you what I beleive is sound advice. Whether you choose to take it or not is entirely up to you and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. But please realise that I have researched the fish you have and others and taken the time to tell you that your fish do not work together or in that particular tank. I have done this because I care about their lives and want you to take good care of them. It was never meant to make you angry or upset.

Now about those tetras - I did not say they deffinately damaged your angel - I said they very well might have done and that the cause of your angel's troubles could be a secondary infection. I did say black widows/skirts are known nippers and they should not be kept with long-finned, slow moving fish. Angels qualify as long-finned and slow moving.

As for the shark being freshwater and fitting in a 30 gallon - that simply won't work. And the plec simply won't do in a 30 gallon permanently either. I don't know whether you think this because someone told you otherwise or you just like the fish and want to keep them so much (as they are admitedly both wonderful species) but, regardless, you need to do what's best for the fish as a responsible fish-keeper (which I believe you are as you seem to want to know what's wrong and correct it).

Maybe that means getting a couple new, big tanks or maybe that means re-homing some of your fish. Whatever you decide, good luck to you, and sorry again if you misunderstood the purpose of my previous post.

 

[Loach Lover]

Cory Cats get along well with angels and cory cats are just plain awesome

 

[parker313]

I agree with Sylvia. In a 30g, I would get rid of those tetras as they are nippy. Even if you don't see it, they could be doing it at night. I would also get rid of the shark and the pleco as they WILL get too big for a 30g.

In a 30g, you could do three angels and a shoal of rummynose, pristella or other non-nippy tetras (the worst are the black/white skirts and serpae tetras). You could also choose from the rasboras - I like the harlequin rasbora. Someone may tell me I'm wrong, but I believe cherry barbs would also be a good choice.

If you want bottom feeders, a few corydoras catfish would go great.

With angels, those ghost shrimp will most likely become lunch.

 

[Raechal]

Please re-home the shark catfish into a brackish tank or take him back to the LFS. My boyfriend made the mistake of buying me two as a gift and I was forced to house them in my freshwater tank because the store wouldn't take them back and I didn't have the money to buy a new brackish set-up. They died within 4 months. All water paramaters were 100% fine, besides not being brackish. Please re-home them. They will suffer in freshwater.