are angels bad community fish?

[aznprz]

I am thinking of getting one. And are there some that are less aggressive or are they all the same? I have a planted 55 gallon with driftwood. I have corys, pristella tetras, congo tetras, rainbows, molly, pearl gourami, otos, and border loaches. Are these fish compatible?

[Star_Rider]

if you like oto's I would not put angels in that tank.

other issues may arise for nippy smaller fish (some tetras)

you also need to be wary if mixing gouramis with angels..it can work but sometimes it isn't a good mix.

also what are the actual stocking number of the current fish.

if you have the schooling fish in the proper school sizes you may be stocked enough.

tetras, corys and oto's are all schooling/shoaling fish.

[ct-death]

You need to figure in their relatively large space requirements as well as water needs.

FYI - Angels readily eat small to medium Otos and neon sized tetras once fully grown.

Here's the issue:

Corys require small schools 3-4+
Tetras likewise require schools of at 5-6+
Rainbows (do you mean Austrialians?) also require schools of 5-6+
Pearls (only get 1 male)
And Loaches like small groups as well 3+

This is a solid stocking level for a 55G without any Angel(s)

And to your Title's Q - No, they make good communal fish in my experience, but they really do require plenty of space and to be kept with non-aggressive fish 2" or larger for best results <-If I can be permitted to generalize a lot here...

[fancychance]

You will need to get either one Angel or more than 3. Angels are Cichlids and like most Cichlids, if you keep just 2 or 3 in the same aquarium, the strongest one will make the others miserable! They do well with larger tetras (Congos, Serpaes, Emperors, etc), corys, mollys and from my OWN experiance, they get along well with Silver Dollars, Gouramis, Clown Loaches, and Swordtails. Larger Angels ARE known to eat/chase guppies and neons.

Hope this helps!

[GirlieGirl8521]

I'm not sure how many of each fish listed you have now, but it seems like you are pretty stocked.

Congo tetras can reach 4-5", Rainbows depending on the type can also reach 4-5", and then there is the rest of the fish. Assuming you have proper numbers for the schooling and shoaling fish, I don't think you have enough room for Angels.

If you have a heavily planted tank, Angels and Otos can be kept together. I have kept my medium sized Angel with 4 Otos in a 55g for quite a while....my tank is heavily planted though.

[BrkD]

in my experience, leopoldis angels are very friendy compared to the common domestic scalare strains they usually sell. leopoldis are a wild species and are pretty rare.

[tanker]

So far I have been lucky (I think), I have 4 angels and about 8 ottos in my tank. My angels are fairly big but have left the ottos alone. I have 4 different kinds of otts ( 1 bulldog, 1 red eye, 4 tiger, 2 ordinary) in a very heavily planted tank. I do see then occationally, so I know most of them have not been eatten.

[aznprz]

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I will just get the angel fish when I get a larger tank.

[Nolapete]

If you start the angel small with your otos and other fish, they won't bother them when they get larger. It's only when you introduce sub-adult or adult angels with neons and other small fish that they think they are food.

I've had angels grow up with cardinals with no problems at all.