# Other Fish With Agnels?



## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

This week I am getting 4 half dollar sized angelfish for my 29G tank. The plan is to wait for them to pair off and weed out the other two fish. Right now I have 1 tiger barb, one RB shark, 1 african leaf fish, 1 pictus cat and 1 BN pleco in this tank. I am wondering if these fish will be ok with the angels. I've heard that tiger barbs are fin nippers and that the RB sharks can be a bit territorial so I was thinking I should at least get rid of those two. The leaf fish is pretty calm and even tho the cat is hyper he leaves everyone else alone. So what do you think? SHould i get rid of the tiger barb and RB shark? Should I get rid of anything else? Oh ya, I'm also getting another BN pleco for the tank as I plan to add more lightening so that I can have some live plants in this tank.


----------



## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

To start off with getting rid of fish tiger barb has to go, the rainbow shark is more mellow than its cousin the red tailed black shark so u can keep it though the leaf fish have to go. The are extremely preditorial fish. A nice apisto/ German blue ram/ Bolivian ramp pair would do nice. Stocking for me since my set up is like yours is:

X2 angelfish
X2 apisto pair(aggazzi or cockatoo apisto pair)
X1 bristle nose Pleco
X5 rummy nose tetras


----------



## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Sorry actually don't keep the tv shark extremely aggressive, good luck and keep me posted


----------



## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Cichlidman14 said:


> To start off with getting rid of fish tiger barb has to go, the rainbow shark is more mellow than its cousin the red tailed black shark so u can keep it though the leaf fish have to go. The are extremely preditorial fish. A nice apisto/ German blue ram/ Bolivian ramp pair would do nice. Stocking for me since my set up is like yours is:
> 
> X2 angelfish
> X2 apisto pair(aggazzi or cockatoo apisto pair)
> ...


This is what I was thinking. Man, I hate to get rid of that leaf fish, he was $15! I will do what's necessary to to keep the angels tho since they will be the centerpiece of this tank.


----------



## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

I once had to get rid of my 20 SA cichlid just do I could properly start my tank off.


----------



## Pseudeotropheus BB (Jan 24, 2013)

You have to get some Tetras, Danios or Rasboras. Over the last several years a plethera of new species have become readily available. Hopefully you have an LFS with a nice selection.


----------



## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Pseudeotropheus BB said:


> You have to get some Tetras, Danios or Rasboras. Over the last several years a plethera of new species have become readily available. Hopefully you have an LFS with a nice selection.


Unfortunately, I don't have a good LFS. There are a couple of small pet shops downtown, but their stores are dirty and their selection is limited. I'm a little anxious about purchasing fish from them so I haven't yet. I usually get my cichlids from local breeders or online retailers. I purchase my community fish from Petsmart, but it is in a town about 20 miles away. I may have to make a trip there soon tho.

So what new species of tetras, rasboras and danios are available now? I would love a pair of blue rams, but they are hard to find around here and I would have to order them online. So i may just go with a few community fish instead.


----------



## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Cichlidman14 said:


> I once had to get rid of my 20 SA cichlid just do I could properly start my tank off.


I am ok with getting rid of fish to make room for new ones. I just got rid of a few mbunas so I could get some peacocks. The only issue is that this is not just my tank, its my nephews as well so he has to be ok with getting rid of them too. I think I can convince him that it will be worth it for the angels tho.


----------



## Pseudeotropheus BB (Jan 24, 2013)

Three readily available Tetras are the White Fin Tetra, Jelly Bean Tetra (my personal favorite right now) and Pretty Tetra. Another Tetra which was at one time readily available in the 80-90's, the Blue Tetra has also become more readily available over the last couple of years. The Blue Tetra is extremely active and swims in very tight schools. If you can find a nice strain of Blue's they would be an excellent addition. Other cool but smaller Tetras are the Ruby and Ember perfect for Nano tanks.

As for Danios you cant go wrong with the Glolight, awesome color and as any Danio is extremely active. The Rose Line (Very rare and expensive) is one of the newest species discovered is rare and again extremely active. Other cool Danios are the Burmese Gold Ring, Fire Ring, Burmese Kyathit, and the Mini Putao. All six of these could be kept in a 29 with a tight fitting lid. If you keep Danios you MUST fit the entire top to secure them from jumping out because they will.

Rasboras include Purple Harlequin, Patricks (very rare and expensive), Golden Flash and the Green Rasbora.

I have personal experience with the White Fin, Jelly Bean, Blue, Ruby and Ember Tetras. Glolight, Rose Line, Mini Putao Danio's and Purple Harlequin Rasboras. All these fish are excellent community fish and highly recommend them all. The only fish that requires special water conditions would be the Rose Lines as they perform best in water no warmer than 75 degrees.


----------



## Tomagorn (Apr 5, 2013)

I would let the angels get settled in before adding any other water column fish (bottom dwellers, including rams are fine). Most of the tetras, the danios, and the rasboras are too energetic and will scare the angels off the food. These fish may not directly bother the angels, but they can just plain stress them out. My suggestion would be to add the plants and get them established before adding any more fish. Angels like to have places to get away from energetic fish. Cheers.


----------



## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

Tiger Barbs are nippers when kept singly or in very small groups, I would certainly remove it to keep Angels. The pictus cat is a nocturnal predator so you won't see him hunting, but he needs to go or he will eat the small angelfish, as well as any other small fish. "African Leaf Fish" sounds like it might be one of the Ctenopoma species, and they are not just predatory, but also can be aggressive as adults. Rainbow Sharks are territorial, but primarily target others of their own kind, or similar shape. Not usually a threat to Angels. Bristle nose Pleco is also a good choice for a 29, as it does not get too big for the tank.

Small Tetras and Danios are likely to end up as snacks when the Angels get bigger. Ruby and/or Ember Tetras (both names have been used for _Hyphessobrycon amandae_, but Ruby has more recently been applied to _Axelrodia riesei_) are far too small, as is the African Jelly Bean, better suited for nano tanks. Glo-lite Danios are genetically altered Zebra Danios (jellyfish genes added), if you have a problem with that sort of thing you might want to pass. Rose Line is a Barb (_Puntius denisoni_), and gets too big for a 29, unless that is not the species you are talking about. That's why scientific names are preferable, common names are often used for several species, or several common names for the same species. Unless I'm mistaken, Purple Harlequins are a color form for the common Harlequin, but the only ones I've seen were dyed. I suspect a "White Fin" is the leucistic form of _Gymnocorymbus ternetzi_, which is another fish that is frequently dyed. However, there are also now genetically altered glowing forms of this fish, as well. Most of the other Danios listed are rarely available in LFS, as is the Jelly Bean Tetra, unless you have a really good one in range.

In a 29, I would consider 3-4 Bolivian Rams (another common name nightmare, often sold as Ruby Clown Cichlids!), they are one of the more common Dwarf species out there and are somewhat social for a Cichlid. For schooling fish, look for deeper bodied Tetras like Bleeding Hearts or Black Phantoms, or real Harlequin Rasboras, _Trigonostigma heteromorpha_. The other Trig. species stay smaller. Either of these would add some color to the central area of the tank.


----------



## Pseudeotropheus BB (Jan 24, 2013)

Mr Chromedome said:


> Tiger Barbs are nippers when kept singly or in very small groups, I would certainly remove it to keep Angels. The pictus cat is a nocturnal predator so you won't see him hunting, but he needs to go or he will eat the small angelfish, as well as any other small fish. "African Leaf Fish" sounds like it might be one of the Ctenopoma species, and they are not just predatory, but also can be aggressive as adults. Rainbow Sharks are territorial, but primarily target others of their own kind, or similar shape. Not usually a threat to Angels. Bristle nose Pleco is also a good choice for a 29, as it does not get too big for the tank.
> 
> Small Tetras and Danios are likely to end up as snacks when the Angels get bigger. Ruby and/or Ember Tetras (both names have been used for _Hyphessobrycon amandae_, but Ruby has more recently been applied to _Axelrodia riesei_) are far too small, as is the African Jelly Bean, better suited for nano tanks. Glo-lite Danios are genetically altered Zebra Danios (jellyfish genes added), if you have a problem with that sort of thing you might want to pass. Rose Line is a Barb (_Puntius denisoni_), and gets too big for a 29, unless that is not the species you are talking about. That's why scientific names are preferable, common names are often used for several species, or several common names for the same species. Unless I'm mistaken, Purple Harlequins are a color form for the common Harlequin, but the only ones I've seen were dyed. I suspect a "White Fin" is the leucistic form of _Gymnocorymbus ternetzi_, which is another fish that is frequently dyed. However, there are also now genetically altered glowing forms of this fish, as well. Most of the other Danios listed are rarely available in LFS, as is the Jelly Bean Tetra, unless you have a really good one in range.
> 
> In a 29, I would consider 3-4 Bolivian Rams (another common name nightmare, often sold as Ruby Clown Cichlids!), they are one of the more common Dwarf species out there and are somewhat social for a Cichlid. For schooling fish, look for deeper bodied Tetras like Bleeding Hearts or Black Phantoms, or real Harlequin Rasboras, _Trigonostigma heteromorpha_. The other Trig. species stay smaller. Either of these would add some color to the central area of the tank.


I am in no way trying to be confrontational but come on baby I am not about to recommend silly looking clown fish (dyed) which are created for clowns. On the other hand I have no issue with aquarium fish which have had their DNA genetically engineered. Humans yes, aquarium fish no. The OP indicated he was willing to possibly go mail order so that is what I based my post on. I would agree that the Ruby and Ember Tetra's have no business in this tank that is why included Nano, I just thought the poster would like to view two cool Tetras for potential future purchase. Jelly Bean Tetras are becoming more widely available (I have one breeder and one LFS in my area) and believe at their maturity 1 1/4" would survive but anything is possible. The other two fish I mentioned the Rose Line Danio is actually Danio Jaintianensis and the White Fin Tetra (HY 511) Hyphessobrycon sp. This fish is often misidentified as Ornate or Rosy Tetra. The HY 511 in my opinion is more attractive than both the Bleeding Heart, Rosy and Ornate Tetras.

Now back to the subject at hand. Both the two previous posts offer up very good information and taking that into account believe the White Fin Tetra (Hy 511), Pretty Tetra, Harlequin or Black Harlequin would be wise tank mates.


----------



## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Pseudeotropheus BB said:


> Mr Chromedome said:
> 
> 
> > Tiger Barbs are nippers when kept singly or in very small groups, I would certainly remove it to keep Angels. The pictus cat is a nocturnal predator so you won't see him hunting, but he needs to go or he will eat the small angelfish, as well as any other small fish. "African Leaf Fish" sounds like it might be one of the Ctenopoma species, and they are not just predatory, but also can be aggressive as adults. Rainbow Sharks are territorial, but primarily target others of their own kind, or similar shape. Not usually a threat to Angels. Bristle nose Pleco is also a good choice for a 29, as it does not get too big for the tank.
> ...


I'm not a huge fan of most tetras. I find them a little boring and I can never seem to keep them alive for very long. I don't know how many bleeding heart, neon and serpie tetras I went through when I was a kid, but it was quite a few. Cichlids and betas are my tow favorite types of fish and I've had very good luck with them. I may just get rid of all but the plecos and angles and go from there. I wouldn't mind a nice school of an appropriate tetra, or, better yet, a group of rams.

Of all the appropriate species previously mentions what are some of the hardier breeds?

The angels I am getting are close to $1 coin size so I'm not too worried about them getting eaten. Even tho they would be larger than the leaf fish do you think he will still kill them?


----------



## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

Rummynose tetras, if you properly acclimate them, are a great fish. They are colorful and active, sweeping in a school from one end of the tank to the other. I find them to be long-live, with mine living for at least 5 or 6 years. Also, they are the right size so they will not become snacks for the Angels.


----------



## Tomagorn (Apr 5, 2013)

I am getting ready for my third attempt at keeping angels in my 29-g SA tank. This time, I am moving all the tetras to a 10-g tank that I have just fully planted. They should be happy there, and any angels I get will only have to share the other tank with rams and catfish. Maybe you could try your tank with just angels and catfish for awhile. If something seems missing, you can always add in other fish as needed. You should still probably put plants into the tank before adding the angels.


----------



## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Tomagorn said:


> I am getting ready for my third attempt at keeping angels in my 29-g SA tank. This time, I am moving all the tetras to a 10-g tank that I have just fully planted. They should be happy there, and any angels I get will only have to share the other tank with rams and catfish. Maybe you could try your tank with just angels and catfish for awhile. If something seems missing, you can always add in other fish as needed. You should still probably put plants into the tank before adding the angels.


This is probably what I will do. Get rid of all the fish but the plecos and cat, add the angels and see how it goes.

I am also getting a couple of sword plants with the order and I plan to add those as soon as I upgrade the lightening on my 29G tank. They will go in my 10G planted tank for the time being.


----------



## Tomagorn (Apr 5, 2013)

Let me know how your swords do. They're something else I've had trouble with. My 29-g tank doesn't have enough light (a single HO T8) for any of the rooted plant I've tried, so I stick with Java Ferns, Anubias, and Java moss. They seem to thrive, don't need additives, and look great.


----------



## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Tomagorn said:


> Let me know how your swords do. They're something else I've had trouble with. My 29-g tank doesn't have enough light (a single HO T8) for any of the rooted plant I've tried, so I stick with Java Ferns, Anubias, and Java moss. They seem to thrive, don't need additives, and look great.


Will do!

I don't have good lightening on the 29G tank yet but I plan to upgrade it soon. Planning to go with Fninex LEDs so we'll see how they work. The 10G tank the swords are going into has almost 3w/g so we'll see how they do.


----------

