Angel tank setup?

[Bladez]

hey everyone.

My fiance is interested in starting a tank with angel fish in it. Just curious as to what would be a good setup..

Tank spec: 29 gallon long. Older tank, recently resealed. Hood assembly is flourescent, but due to its age it isnt bright enough to sustain many plants.

Main questions:
1. Filtration? Not too sure as to what type of current angels like/dislike. Go for a powerfilter or canister? I have an emperor 280 that I can use. Just needs to be cleaned up.

2. Planted or fake? If planted i would need to see if i could find a new light hood or Have some good low light plants. Pretty sure i can make a DIY CO2 system if needed.

3. Tankmates? Not sure what angels would try to eat :) The tank used to have a few clown loaches in it, so i would like to keep a couple of clowns in there as well, or maybe some corys. Would also like some good mid range fish to swim around. I remember reading somewhere that Angels have the tendency to go after neons...but i can't remember.

Anyway, thats about it. I appreciate any suggestions/comments :)

[Dangerdoll]

let me see if I could answer some of these, if not all.... before that though, I'm not familiar with a 29 gallon "long" tank, how tall is it. I ask this because it's important that the height of the tank is so that the Angels aren't cramped. Their fins can get pretty tall as they reach the adult age, especially the veils... Another thing is you don't want to add more than 2 of them in this size of a tank for their comfort.

Originally posted by Bladez
Main questions:
1. Filtration? Not too sure as to what type of current angels like/dislike. Go for a powerfilter or canister? I have an emperor 280 that I can use. Just needs to be cleaned up. my tank is a 55 and I've got 2 penguin 330's and an UGF in part of the tank if that's any help. I'm not sure about the penguin and if it's good enough as I've never used them. You might want to check on it to see if that will be enough.

2. Planted or fake? If planted i would need to see if i could find a new light hood or Have some good low light plants. Pretty sure i can make a DIY CO2 system if needed. I tried live plants to no avail because of my weak lighting, I've always had artificial plants though and they seem to think they're fine.

3. Tankmates? Not sure what angels would try to eat :) The tank used to have a few clown loaches in it, so i would like to keep a couple of clowns in there as well, or maybe some corys. Would also like some good mid range fish to swim around. I remember reading somewhere that Angels have the tendency to go after neons...but i can't remember. I've kept pleco's, cories, a rtbs, rams, algae eaters, and loaches with mine, again, no problem. The angels do however have the reputation of digging the taste of smaller tetras but rumor has it that if they are introduced as babies, they may get along as adults... though I've never dared this.

Anyway, thats about it. I appreciate any suggestions/comments :)

hope that helps ;)

[Bladez]

Thanks Dangerdoll, this info is very helpful :)

As for the tank, i bought it really cheap years ago. It came with hood, tank, and the emperor 280 for only 25 bucks. Was a steal!

Best i can figure, its a really old perfecto brand tank. Its about 14Hx12Dx39L. The light strip is shorter than the actual hood. Im not sure how much shorter (at work right now, else i'd measure :P)

Also, how fast do angels grow? If they dont grow very fast i may try to have 2 pairs in that tank and purchase a new tank for them later (always need an excuse for another tank :))

[ChicoRaton]

Angels grow pretty fast. From what I've read they can go from birth to 8-10" high in only 2 years, and they slow down as they get bigger. I know I've seen quite a noticeable size increase in my angels only 2 weeks after I bought them. I am doing some serious feeding though( big meal 3 times a day) and lots of water changes(25-30% every 3 days) to keep nitrates below 20-30

[Dangerdoll]

That IS a steal Blaze, congrats on the find! ;)

I agree with Chico though, their growth is very quick in the beginning. In just a year, mine have grown to 6 inches tall (body about 2" or so, then the fins). After the 1st year the growth isn't as quick but their bodies get up to 3+ inches and then add on another 6 or 7 in height for their fins.... and even more if you get the veil-tails. You don't want to add more Angels to this tank.... as a general rule, a 20 gallon is ok for a single angel.... add 1 more per 10 gallons above that.... so you propably are just making it with the set-up you currently have. I know how tempting the idea is but it won't be a good situation after a few months and the aggression over territories and/or dominating mates gets high.

again, HTH

[WharfRat]

I'd really stay away from angels if you dont have a "tall" tank. low long tanks just dont have the space these guys need to have freedom of movement. Think of it like you being put on a dog run in your smallest room in your house. you can move..just not what you're used to and eventually its going to cause you problems. I have a pair of black marble angels in my 55 along with a small school of black neons and some austrailian rainbows. My angels are a mated pair and I use a 20 Hi to spwan them..but once they are done they go back to the 55. And angels do not really enjoy a turbulent tank.