Hello all. This is my first post here. I just (1 week ago yesterday) set up my new 29 gallon (I know, small compaired to others here) tank. I have been fascinated by Angelfish since I was young, so I decided to start keeping them, rather than the staples; goldfish, tetra's and mollies. Here's where I need help.
Of course I want to slowly add new fish. Currently I have 1 angel (light in color) that is about 2 inches from lips to tip of tail, and 2 new ones (1 marble and 1 mostly black) that are just babies. I want to add some color to my tank, but don't know how aggressive my angels will be. So far, they have not been aggressive to each other, but they are young yet. What are some nice, bright colored tankmates that I can keep with these angels? I want to go with something a little more exotic looking like a discus, but I am definitly NOT at the level of being able to keep them yet (from what I've read). Plus, I don't think they are compatible anyways.
I will post some pics of my tank soon. But any suggestions would be great on the subject. Thanks.
add a little color to my tank
14 posts • Page 1 of 2
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BurgerKing7704 - Posts: 106
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:03 pm
Ahh, this brings me back, about a year ago i was going throuh the same process...
There are some nicely colored angels out there, koi angels are really pretty IMO, but there are others too(unfortunately i dont know the names, havent kept anything but koi angels). If your lfs doesnt sell them or they just dont tickle your fancy, you could look into some rams, or some apistogramma's. Then you could get some smaller fish like neons or rasboras, but thats up to you.
Bolivian rams are more difficult to keep than blue or gold rams but are beautiful fish. The apisto that i like the most is the Apistogramma Cacatuoides(cuckatoo is the trade name.
Here is a pic of the apisto and my male bolivian ram(dead now) and one of my Gold rams:
There are some nicely colored angels out there, koi angels are really pretty IMO, but there are others too(unfortunately i dont know the names, havent kept anything but koi angels). If your lfs doesnt sell them or they just dont tickle your fancy, you could look into some rams, or some apistogramma's. Then you could get some smaller fish like neons or rasboras, but thats up to you.
Bolivian rams are more difficult to keep than blue or gold rams but are beautiful fish. The apisto that i like the most is the Apistogramma Cacatuoides(cuckatoo is the trade name.
Here is a pic of the apisto and my male bolivian ram(dead now) and one of my Gold rams:
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BurgerKing7704 - Posts: 106
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:03 pm
Here is my Bolivian Ram(top) and my Gold Ram(bottom)
The pictures are a little blurry, my comp is being a little gay right now.
The pictures are a little blurry, my comp is being a little gay right now.
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cedricandcandy - Posts: 134
- Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 1:36 am
How about a school of cardinal tetras? They go well with angel fish (provided there is cover for them because some angels like to snack on them). Cardinals require the same conditons as angels and they are lovely and bright when they swim around in a school...
And welcome to the forum!
And welcome to the forum!
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a70m1c - Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2008 3:39 am
in such a small tank if you have rams for example if/when they breed there could be some fights! tetras would be a safe bet, or some plattys (or any live bearer) the angels would love eating the platty fry
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kelbri - Posts: 118
- Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:24 pm
Thanks for the replys. We were at the pet shop the other day, and my 2 year old just loved the Neon Tetras. So that's what we were thinking about getting. What about some Gouramis? Would they thrive together with the Angels and Tetras? I have never seen a Ram at any stores here. We live in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and thus are quite restricted in what type of fish we can get... I never even see discus except the rare occasion.
Here are the tank pics I took this morning. Now 9 days old, we're thinking about adding some new fish in the next couple of days.
Here are the tank pics I took this morning. Now 9 days old, we're thinking about adding some new fish in the next couple of days.
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BurgerKing7704 - Posts: 106
- Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:03 pm
Well if you're looking into getting discus, www.cichlaholic.com sells them out of BC. I've never ordered from them but i have only heard good things. They sell all sorts of fish and plants.
a70m1c; my bolivian rams faught a little bit when breeding, but my gold rams havent, they've only bred twice and they're still pretty young so who knows. BTW i have them in my 28g tank.
Kelbri; i wouldnt add neons until there is a bit more plant cover. Java ferns are really easy to keep, as well as crypts. But that's just me.
a70m1c; my bolivian rams faught a little bit when breeding, but my gold rams havent, they've only bred twice and they're still pretty young so who knows. BTW i have them in my 28g tank.
Kelbri; i wouldnt add neons until there is a bit more plant cover. Java ferns are really easy to keep, as well as crypts. But that's just me.
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Tmercier834747 - Posts: 887
- Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm
Unfortunately discus require a lot more than 29 gal so even looking into that without the thought of upgrade in the back of the mind is a no-no. :)
Agreed on the rams and apistos, though the general public opinion is that German Blue Rams are a bit more needy (other than space-wise) than Bolivian Rams. However either type would do just fine in 29 gal. The biggest challenge is sexing either species, and that part is just my opinion, as I now know I have two male GBR's..
Anyway, tetras are great in #'s of 6 or more (of the exact same kind). E.g. Cardinal and Neons won't associate directly, nor will glow-lights and rummynose, etc.
However, if your tank is just over a week old and is not yet cycled you'll need to wait for your cycle to complete before adding more fish, or you could run the risk of losing the angel(s) you already have which presently run the risk of being stressed/killed by ammonia and nitrite spikes.
The nitrogen cycle can be explained better here:
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/80
Agreed on the rams and apistos, though the general public opinion is that German Blue Rams are a bit more needy (other than space-wise) than Bolivian Rams. However either type would do just fine in 29 gal. The biggest challenge is sexing either species, and that part is just my opinion, as I now know I have two male GBR's..
Anyway, tetras are great in #'s of 6 or more (of the exact same kind). E.g. Cardinal and Neons won't associate directly, nor will glow-lights and rummynose, etc.
However, if your tank is just over a week old and is not yet cycled you'll need to wait for your cycle to complete before adding more fish, or you could run the risk of losing the angel(s) you already have which presently run the risk of being stressed/killed by ammonia and nitrite spikes.
The nitrogen cycle can be explained better here:
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/80
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kelbri - Posts: 118
- Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:24 pm
Thanks everyone. The Rams are definitly something for us to look into. I haven't seen them around here, but we haven't been to all the stores we can go yet. I haven't looked into purchases online, as I am leary of this method (shipment mostly). And since Neons are quite inexpensive, getting 6+ is no stretch.
As for the cycle of the tank, we have been monitoring the GH, KH, PH, Nitrates and Nitrites since day one (using API 5-in-1 test strips). Now that the tank is over a week old, the Nitrates and Nitrites are still sitting at 0. This may be because we used the rock from an established tank to start this one, as well as the plants and the little column and arch display you see in my picture. The PH is a little higher than I'd like, but not at dangerous levels. In fact, I did a 10% water change last night, and this morning it seems it already came down by about .5. The two that do worry me still are the GH and KH. They are both at Chichlid levels (about 180), not the 60 where I would like them to be at. I'm going to try another partial water change in the next couple of days using distilled water instead of tap water, as we have extremely hard water here in Regina. Hopefully that will help.
As for the cycle of the tank, we have been monitoring the GH, KH, PH, Nitrates and Nitrites since day one (using API 5-in-1 test strips). Now that the tank is over a week old, the Nitrates and Nitrites are still sitting at 0. This may be because we used the rock from an established tank to start this one, as well as the plants and the little column and arch display you see in my picture. The PH is a little higher than I'd like, but not at dangerous levels. In fact, I did a 10% water change last night, and this morning it seems it already came down by about .5. The two that do worry me still are the GH and KH. They are both at Chichlid levels (about 180), not the 60 where I would like them to be at. I'm going to try another partial water change in the next couple of days using distilled water instead of tap water, as we have extremely hard water here in Regina. Hopefully that will help.
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Tmercier834747 - Posts: 887
- Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm
Sounds great. Though you should be showing a trace of nitrate if your nitrites are 0 though. Those test strips are tricky imo. I wasn't aware you were well versed in params, sorry. =D
Many people in the hobby use R/O or reverse osmosis filtered water. I think dasani and aquafina (who wants to dump 24 - 16.9oz bottles in the tank tho lol) and several no-names are filtered this way. I tried awhile back to find if there was a big difference between distilled and R/O and I think R/O is a bi t more devoid of trace elements that remain in distilled water, but I'm not sure. In any case either should lower your GH, and KH, simply because its not coming from your tap..
I should've also noted that german blues stress easily and despite their appearance are pretty darn peaceful. I've never seen them housed with angels so I'm not sure what the result would be.
Many people in the hobby use R/O or reverse osmosis filtered water. I think dasani and aquafina (who wants to dump 24 - 16.9oz bottles in the tank tho lol) and several no-names are filtered this way. I tried awhile back to find if there was a big difference between distilled and R/O and I think R/O is a bi t more devoid of trace elements that remain in distilled water, but I'm not sure. In any case either should lower your GH, and KH, simply because its not coming from your tap..
I should've also noted that german blues stress easily and despite their appearance are pretty darn peaceful. I've never seen them housed with angels so I'm not sure what the result would be.
