Some advice on keeping angel fish please

[yeoyl87]

Hi guys,
I am thinking about keeping platinum angels. Just wondering whats the best number to keep for 2 x 1.5 x 1.5ft tank?
Can angels be kept with corydoras spp? Do they nip on snail?

[DazzleDiscus]

I'm not sure on the number you can keep- In my experience with a 3 x 1 x 1.5ft tank, I started out with six ending with the bully who made the others' lives misureable.

However, I can answer the other questions. Yes, corydoras can be kept with corydoras catfish, although I would refrain from keeping Corydoras pygmaeus or other small cories as the Angels might see them as snacks. The Angels will eat snails- at least the American common pond snails. Not sure about ramshorn or other burrowing snails. The angels could only eat the snails when they were floating. Not sure about large snails such as apple snails...

Some other info- angels will nip off aquatic flowers if they are growing towards the water surface. And as you probably know, if you house neons or cardinal tetras with angels, don't expect to still have them in the same tank when the angels are adults.

[yeoyl87]

Hm..... guess I will have t remove my horn snails before they become snacks. I guess I will stick to 2-4 pieces of angels.

[DazzleDiscus]

Well, you can always keep a few horn snails in the tank to see if the angels will bother them, and if all goes well then add the rest... I've heard that it's best to work with similar-sized angels, usually either 1 specimen or 3+ to help curb aggression. I don't know many people around here that keep them so I'm not exactly sure. I know more about corydoras and cardinals then angels!

[iwishweallcouldwin]

hey bro yl, i have 6 peruvian angels in my 3 ft living peacefully with each other, with my alpha male not really bothering his 5 smaller tankmates. but some say that ideally, depth of tank should at least be 2ft so that the angels will feel more secured and ventrals/dorsal will grow longer.

kept them with corydoras sterbais and they turned out fine, not much interaction between them since they're dwellers of different levels, but i did experience some fatalities with my rummynoses.

would recommend just 1 pair for a 2ft. high time you introduce them into your beautiful planted tanks!

[esng]

curious to know when is the seasonal period for altum angels to appear in lfs, can anyone help

[illumnae]

usually July - November/December

some importers do hold stocks back and release late, probably to take advantage of the high demand during the non-seasonal periods. For example, a week or 2 back a batch of altum angels were released for sale

[leeruisheng]

Do all angel fishes grow very huge? I've seen a few aquascapers and even Mr Amano himself having them in a standard 2ft tank of dimensions 60 X 30 X 36cm.

This is one of his tanks. http://www.adaeuro.com/zoom.asp?foto...175.jpg&descr= From his description, they are Pterophyllum scalare.

[Reginald Ho]

Angelfishes can grow as big as 6 inches or more. Some hobbyists claim that if the angelfish shares the same tank with tetra when they're juvenile, they would not eat them when they grow big. Based on my experiences, totally untrue! There will ususally be a dominant fish that will grow bigger than the rest, and this fish will almost always become the 'bully', claiming its territority and food. Though it may not attack ground level species such as Corys, Plecos and loaches, it will chase away other fish that are too near it.

Angelfish are gregarious eaters and produce quite a lot of waste. SO its important to have a good filtration syatem ya.

Altum angelfishes usually are available during September. But they're expensive and very delicate fish. Not easy to keep unless the water conditions are good. A tiny fish will cost $25+. Bigger sized will cost about $80 to $150 per fish. Teo got his from Gan aquarium last year. But think Gan specialises in Arrowana now.

[vinccc2003]

usually July - November/December

some importers do hold stocks back and release late, probably to take advantage of the high demand during the non-seasonal periods. For example, a week or 2 back a batch of altum angels were released for sale

>> where ?

[stormhawk]

To the OP:

In a 2 ft x 1.5 ft x 1.5 ft tank like you mentioned, I would not keep more than 3-4 in such a tank. They grow big very fast, and become territorial at a certain age. One will dominate the others. If you are lucky, you end up with a breeding pair. However this is 50/50 because sometimes you might end up with a bunch of single sex individuals.

Tank decoration should be kept simple as possible. Long branchy driftwood, some Vallisneria and Echinodorus species will do nicely for Angel tanks. As for Corydoras, like what the rest have mentioned, keep with the mid-size to larger Corydoras. A bunch of Corydoras schwartzi will be very nice. As long as they are not the small dwarf Corydoras species like pygmaeus or hastatus. They don't need alot of tankmates.

As for snails, they will usually leave them alone. Ramshorn snails will survive in Angel tanks. Maybe not the baby snails, but the adults will definitely survive. They'll feed on almost anything, but they love live bloodworms in my experience.