# Switching back to SA...Angels...



## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

I have a 75 gallon tank that I am going to re-do again. First I had jack dempesy's and convicts (breeding pair). switched to africans a nice pair of purple acei's. Now I am thinking/going to switch to a more relax tank.
As for fish here is what I'm thinking: 6 Angel fish to try and get a breeding pair. 8-15 Neon Tetras and maybe some tiger barbs (still thinking on them), 3 cory's, a BN pleco and a rubberlip pleco, Mollie's, and maybe a Rain bow shark.

All in all I'm excited to see this with-in a month. My tank is cycled and all fish will be in quarantine before getting added to the big tank.

I was just wondering if I could get away with something else. Just looking for a nice active colorful tank this time around with a chance to watch the fish breed. I am making the switch because I am tired of a few fish in the tank and want lots of action to watch. I barely watch the tank so I am hoping things will change after I go with this kind of tank.


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

Neons will probably become food; something larger and deeper bodied would be a safer choice. I would also consider getting a lot more of them (20-30) for a much better display.

Tiger barbs are notorious fin nippers. I don't think they'd do very well with angels

Cories prefer to be in larger schools. I recommend at least a half dozen, but 8 or more would be much better.

You may run into territorial problems later on, between the rubberlip, the bristlenose, and the rainbow shark.

Some rams or apistos should do nicely as well.


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## CMN (Mar 24, 2011)

Agreed, stay away from torpedo shapped tetras as they will become lunch. Try something like Lemon, black skirt, bleeding heart, columbian, etc. If you want to keep it a SA theme tank I'd get some rams and 1 fancy pleco.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

So I've been thinking here about:

Apistogramma's maybe 1 male and 3 females? or just no on those guys? I will prolly have to get 6 of these guys when there little to see if I can find a male and females or are they easily different from each other when they're younger?

Flame tetra instead of Tiger Barbs. Been reading and they seem to be more "nicer" than the Tiger barbs. Maybe 15 of the Flame's

Kind of scared about the Angels eating the Neon's but that won't be for a while until the angels get bigger. Maybe 15 of the neon's.

I'll prolly go with the Bristlenose. I just like the way their head is.

3-5 cory's

and still maybe the rainbow shark depends if I get the Apisto's or not.

Hopefully I'll have the majority of these guys by the end of the month!
Will post pictures when this happens.


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## Tomagorn (Apr 5, 2013)

Have you looked at Serpai tetras? As colorful as neons and less likely to become food. Cheers.


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

Apistos are great. I had a quartet of cacatuoides with my angels, and they never really bothered each other. Flame tetras are perfect: large enough to not get eaten, gentle enough to not annoy the angels, quick enough that harassment isn't usually a problem, and easily accessible. Bristlenose are nice, not-so-large, algae eaters for small to medium tanks. I would still ditch the rainbow shark and up the number of cories though.

Also, you'd be surprised what angels, and most cichlids really, manage to eat. Don't let their size fool you. They can open their mouths quite wide if they need to.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

so i FINALLY got the fish. heres the list:

5 angelfish all about an inch and a halfish. one has really big eyes. so i don't know if hes one of the more aggressive types?
4 albino cories
3 albino BN pleco all about an inch or so. 
6 swordtails 1 male orange 4 female orange and 1 red male orange but hes sick  im goin to have to do a waterchange either today or tomorrow
8 cardinal tetras
12 neons although 3 got sucked up into the filter so i ran to wal-mart and got a cleaning sponge and cut it off and put it over the intake and that helped alot.

i still want a few more fish. i thought about the rams but maybe ill get them later and i know the neons might be food when the angels grow up but ill just move them into a different tank whenever that happens. still thinking on another school.

im a little sick so ill post pictures up whenever i get around to it.


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## joehorse20 (Mar 11, 2013)

cool, post some pics


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

I'd get more cories. A large school of them looks really good. As for non bottom dwelling schooling fish, rummynose tetras are great. So are silver tips, and most larger bodied tetras. Just make sure to get a good amount, to make them feel secure, and spread out aggression. Also, if you're thinking of getting of getting more cichlids, I'd get them soon, before the other fish have settled in and finished establishing their territories.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

As of now. I have 3 cories, the red swordtail didn't make it. kind of sad/disappointed in that one cause I wanted to see which one gave the red babies. ya know? it seems like everyday I'm losing a tetra or 2. so far i think the count is 6 or 7. and ill be going back to bed here soon so well see how many are dead when i wake up. I'm thinking I'm just going to get the Tiger Barbs with a school of like 10 or more? unless a few people strongly disagree. Still feeling sick but pictures will be on the way soon. (if I remember how to post them) The BN pleco's are doing great. Seem to be pooping alot so they're finding lots of food I take it. The angels are kind of shy but are swimming around more and the tank is very active now. a HUGE change from what it was before when I only had the aceis in there.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

My only 2 angels so far.









my sponge over my filter to prevent the neons from getting sucked up.









1 of my BN pleco's.
I have one question about them. 1 of them is a dark white almost yellow while the other 2 are more white and less yellow. is it just how they are or maybe early sign of male/female?


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

things going on in the tank.
the tank is sick. im currently fighting ich and maybe something else. i put some ich guard in now should i do a water change tomorrow wait a day then on wednesday another water change then wait a day then on friday a water change or small water changes every day? i did raise the temp up although i think i might need another heater or a new one in general. as of now my fish list is shrinking. down to 2 angels, 3 cories and 4 swordtails. and prolly 10 neons now but im guessing another one will drop out by morning. and im feeling less sick now finally!


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## Tomagorn (Apr 5, 2013)

If you haven't already read the ich article in the library, you should check it out. Cories might react badly to chemical ich treatments. Despite what I've read on some other forums, my corys don't seem to mind a bit of salt.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

im familar wth ich just not happy that i have to fight it. its been awhile since the last time i had it. i would say at least a year or 2? *** been keeping fish for just over 10 years now 0.0


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

I despise ich. Annoying little buggers with a tendency to resist dying. I find that turning up the heat helps get rid of them much faster.

I like the slate. They angels will like it a lot, and so will rams/apistos. I still suggest staying away from tiger barbs. They're nice and active, but the trouble they cause to long finned fish just isn't worth what they bring to a tank. Plus, you can easily have the same/similar colours with deep bodied tetras, like bleeding hearts and black phantoms, without all of the aggressive fin nipping. How big are the angels? I find that smaller angels perish much more easily than larger ones. I generally start with ones between one and two inches. They're still young, but not so young that there is a high mortality rate.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

I am sad to say. I only have 1 angel fish left(that big white angel with the big eyes), 4 female swordtail, 2 albino cories, all my BN plecos they are eating the **** out of my leftover algae on my rocks, and about 10 neon/cardinal mix. I have a 10 gallon tank somewhere around here that I'm going to set up and use that as my hospital/quarantine tank. Just so I don't have to deal with ich in my 75 gallon and save a little bit of water.

As for tetras, I was thinking of the "red tetra"? Just got done reading and I think its the red phantom tetra? I like those. My girlfriend likes the bleeding hearts so if we have some around the area well get a group, but a bigger group of the red ones. and I'll have to pick up some more angels and maybe another male swordtail and a few more cories. So when everything is all organized and ich free. I'll be setting up the 10 gallon with water from a water change and one of my old filter cartridge so the tank will be cycled.

I have a few more questions: 
1. If I get rams/apistos will they leave the albino fish alone? Or is it up to the fish?
2. Should I get a bubble machine for more oxygen or something with all these fish? I'm thinking it would prolly be a good idea. 
3. When feeding it seems like I have to under feed or the neons are going to explode, will the other fish be ok? I'm guessing they should be.

anyways I'm just ready to watch my angels grow. My girlfriend is too. I got her into fish. score


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

Ouch. Next time, i suggest quarantining the fish before adding them to the main tank, to avoid any major outbreaks. Red phantoms do nicely with angels. So do bleeding hearts. I would definitely suggest more cories as well. They prefer to be in groups of six or more.

1: usually, but there may be a bit of chasing, especially if the cichlids spawn. 
2: you can, but I find that it's not worth the effort, unless you're dosing meds quite heavily, and the tank is very warm.
3: If they seem just a bit too bloated, you're probably feeding too much. Although, neons are fairly small, so it doesn't take all that much food to puff them up. Underfeeding is not bad for your fish. They do fine without any food for days, so eating a bit less won't cause any problems, so long as they're otherwise healthy. If you're dosing meds for ich, I suggest you take it easy on the food anyways.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

it seems as the ich is slowly disappearing. which means I will be setting up my 10 gallon when its all gone with the sponge covering the intake tube and I'll replace that one. I'll be using the water when I'm doing a water change so everything "should" be just add fish. There should be good bacteria growing each day so that sponge will be nice.

as for fish: I'll get more cories, going to try for the triple red apistos 1M-2F, the red phantoms-nice sized school, and more angels. Now the next question(s) I have.

1. Which order would you get the fish in? I'm not going to get them all at once this time. I'll guess something like (cories and angels) (red phantoms) and then the apistos or just one type each time. I'm guessing this will be a month or so untill I get all the fish. Pictures will come eventually.

Thank you BelieveInBlue for all your replies.


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

I prefer adding schooling fish before the more territorial ones. That way, they've had a chance to settle down, before the more aggressive fish come charging in. I would add the tetras and cories first, and then the angels and apistos, preferably at the same time.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

BelieveInBlue said:


> I prefer adding schooling fish before the more territorial ones. That way, they've had a chance to settle down, before the more aggressive fish come charging in. I would add the tetras and cories first, and then the angels and apistos, preferably at the same time.


ill be putting everything in my 10 gallon hospital tank before they enter the main tank. so with that being said, would the angels and apistos be ok in the 10 gallon for 2 weeks? if not i'll prolly add the angels first and then the apistos will be the last ones to enter if they wont make it in the 10 gallon with the angels.


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

For 2 weeks, maybe, but I highly doubt it. I would add them one after the other, if at the same time isn't possible.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

well all my ich is gone finally! I'll setting up my 10 gallon shortly and we'll see what happens from there. I will be taking my time this time. I got excited. The red phantoms will be my next group. How many do you think would be good? 7-10 or more?


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

just bought 4 new angles. a little bigger than the last ones i had. 2 black/multi colored ones, 1 silverish striped one, and 1 yellow one. they either have fin nipping or fin rot? but other than that they appear to be healthy. currently they are in a 10 gallon/hospital tank. they are waiting to go in the main 75 gallon tank on the 20th and then i will be picking up a few more BN pelcos and a group of red phantoms (10 or more i think?) when i make the switch. then i'm guessing the red phantoms and BN's will go in the main tank around the 4th of july and then it'll be time for my apistos and a few more cories and then i can watch my tank grow. i will try and get the pictures of my angels up tonight.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

after watching them a little more i noticed one of them has something on their left eyeball. there was another one in the pet store whose eye had it and i didn't get that one because of it and i didn't see it on this one. i'll try and figure out what it is in the sick section and see what i come up with.

water changes will probably fix it.......right?


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

the silver/striped one had cloudy eye 6-5-13 but it is disappearing slowly as of today 6-8-13. the hospital tank is due for another water change tomorrow. it should really help it. i plan on putting them in the main tank on the 20th and then picking up a school of red phantoms and a few more cories


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

I tend to stay away from a tank if there is even a single sick fish. Cloudy eye, in my experience, however, is usually either due to poor water quality, or an improper diet. It's not usually a major source of concern, and is fairly easy to remedy.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

Well after a long wait and still waiting. I finally have more fish in my main tank. Here is the fish list:
4 angels
3 julie cories
1 panda cory
1 albino cory
1 albino BN pleco (2 in quarantine)
9 "red phantoms" (im guessing they are nipping at the angels fins, because there not as long as they use to be)
3 swordtails (1 red male, 2 females (orange one is about to have babies within the week I'm guessing and yellow)
2 neons

The tank is almost done. I'm waiting to get the apistos if I can find them. Two more female swordtails is what I'm going to add. Then it'll just be time to sit back and watch them grow. So the moment we've all been waiting for.................




























My bristlenose slowly but surely growing its bristles out. I'm thinking its a girl but my girlfriend says its a boy. Is it too early to tell?


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

Bristle = male. The females lack bristles. My angel fish like to periodically "trim" each other's fins, so it may not be the tetras. Generally, in a larger school, they'll keep the nipping to other tetras. I'm quite certain your angels fins are shortening because of the other angels. It's nothing to worry about though; they do that, and unless you start to see flesh wounds or extensive damage to the fins, there shouldn't be any cause for worry.


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## Pollution (Dec 2, 2005)

Alright I was tired of waiting for the pet store to get in some apistos so I went with Blue Rams>Bolivian's. Picked up 5 I'm sure I have 1 male 3 females and 1 questionable male.

Had to take out the angels for now. The red phantoms started to pick on them, well the 3 smaller ones and the white one was left alone, but I took him out too. They're in a 10 gallon to grow a little more before going back in there and hopefully that will solve the problem.

My male BN pleco's bristles are starting to poke out now instead of being stubs. The other BN is most likely another male and no bristles yet. If they start having issues I'll have to pick my favorite and give the other one to my mom for a present for her tank.

*My 75 gallon as it is now:*
9 Red Phantoms
1 Neon Tetra (not getting more)
1 Cory
2 female Swordtail (planning on getting 3 more females and 1 male)
2 Bristle Nose Plecos
5 Blue Rams (1-2? males 3 females)

Adding the 3 angel fish once they grow up a little bit. Anyone know the growth rate on the angels? I'm feeding them 2-3 times a day, or trying to. Water changes every week if not the next week for sure.


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