Angelfish Dilemma/Problems.

[Lie]

I have a 24L x 34W x 21H - 37 Gallon corner tank. So far I have 1 Leopoldi Angelfish(4inches), 1 Black Tetra, 1 Unidentified Guarami like fish, 1 Spotted Chocolate Raphael Catfish(4 inches), and 1 Pleco(4 inches). The problem is I want some larger fish to go with the Angel. Eventually I will probably get a few more Angels. I have no interest in a Discuss due to the high maintenance and it looking like a still frame picture in a tank. For a relatively non-aggressive tank...what non-aggressive colorful good sized fish with some personality could I get? I'd love to go the cichlid route but fear my tank is too small to have more than maybe 1 or 2 cichlids. I'd love to hear some suggestions.

On a side note: The Angel has some sort of dark looking flakes on one if it's fins and some crystal like looking things on it's body. Can someone tell me if that is fungus or something else?

[Ghostshrimp55]

Crystal looking things? Like grains of salt? That's ich. I wouldn't add any more fish until that's taken care of. Also, what are your water parameters? What kind of filter do you have? How often do you change the water and how much?

Cichlids will not work since most of them require special water parameters and brackish conditons. Stay away from them if you're not prepared to make a cichlid-only tank.

If anything, I would get a few more tetras since they like to be in groups. Your catfish will probably outgrow your tank so you might want to think about exchanging them for some smaller species, like corydoras catfish and ottos. As for other peaceful fish, I like harlequin rasboras. They're not big. They don't really have a lot of personality but they are very nice to look at and add interest to the water column. They do need to be in a school, though.

[Star_Rider]

angelfish are cichlids(south american) most of the SA cichlids can adapt to aquarium environments. most of the sa cichlids require clean fresh water and tho come from neutral to acidic pH can and will do fine in a pH that is slightly higer than neautral(pH7)

now that said..you can go with an angel or two..you could go with Bolivian Rams, Blue rams, keyhole cichlids, flag ..the big thing it to check out the temperament of the cichlid.



angels are not really the peaceful cichlid many are lead to believe..but they are slower than most cichlids.

I would first try to identify the gourami like species and the pleco you have. while the angels will do fine the pleco..it is important to identify the species of pleco/catfish so that you know if it will fit in your tank.
some gourami's and angels do not get along..

please do try and post your water parameters.
ich will look like salt has been sprinkled on your fish.
I would hesitate to add any fish till you can id the possible problem.

[beatle]

I have a couple bolivian rams with my angel in my 55. I also have a female betta, 6 cories, and a quad of otocinclus. I've been trying to keep neons as well, but the angel keeps eating them. :P

[fballguy]

I would suggest mre tetras, as they are schooling fish. You need at least 5 more of the same species.

[Ghostshrimp55]

Yes, angels are cichlids. Many of the flashier fish that are labelled clearly as cichlids in fish stores tend to be the african types...they look almost like marine fish and many people are drawn to them and think they can be kept in the same conditions as any ordinary freshwater fish. I was assuming that, since he referred to "cichlids" specifically, he was talking about these which will not do well in an ordinary community tank.

As for angel temperment, it can vary. Mine are completely fine and get along with all of my other fish (they live with cory cats, ottos, honey gouramis and harlequin rasboras). However, they can and do fight amongst themselves. I bought 4 little ones over a year ago. There was one that was barely larger than the others and he killed all but 1 of them. Angels do best when either on their own or in groups of 3 or more (unless they're bonded, as in mating pair), which is why I promptly went out and bought 2 more to replace the casualties.....he killed them, too. Sooo, I have to settle for 2, which kind of sucks because all the dominant one does is pick on the other angel that's about the same size but very timid. Anyway, that's just an example of what angels can be like.

Another thing to remember is that angels are predators. They will eat anything that can fit in their mouths, including neon tetras. Actually, these fish both come from south america so neons might actually be a part of the wild angelfish's diet. *EDIT* I just remembered, sometimes they'll eat things that really don't fit in their mouths. I came home one day after work to find the dominant angel (he was only an inch and a half at the time) swimming around the tank with a 3/4" long ghost shrimp tail sticking out of his mouth. He couldn't swallow it so he just swam around with this relatively large tail jammed in his mouth like a huge cigar. It was pretty funny.

Whatever fish you eventually add, remember to avoid fin-nippers. They will make your angel miserable and could stress it to the point of death.

[Lie]

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I have a Whisper 50 Power Filter. Around one 25% water change per month. PH is around 6.8 to 7.2. Ammonia is low, Nitrite and Nitrate have been low. My water levels seem good by test kit standards. I posted some pics of the Angel and one of that unidentified fish. If that is Ich, none of the other fish have had it and the Angel has had it for over a month. It starts to clear up a bit and then goes back to how it has been. It never spreads to any of the other fins. I believe the Pleco I have is a Para Pleco from images I have seen online. My Angel has been fine as far as aggression goes. My Black Tetra shows the most aggression in the tank by chasing that unidentified fish. And you can see why people prefer Cichlids when most of the suggestions I have been getting are Tetras.

[pbecot01]

Are the "crystals" actual flakes of something, or are they just variations in the skin color? I have several angels with little shiny flecks in their skin that look like the pictures you have there... and they're not clear enough to tell whether they're a parasite or just decoration.

The un-id fish looks sorta like a molly... I could be wrong though.

Your black tetra could do well with some playmates of the same species. Past that...

I have kept several largish gourami's with my angels without aggression showing. One was a 3 spot gourami and the other was a snakeskin (both died after 6 months unexplained). I also have a red-tail shark in my angel tank that chases the other fish around some but seems to ignore the angels. He may be too big for a 37 though...

The community type chiclid's like rams are probably your best choice.

[Star_Rider]

I have a Whisper 50 Power Filter. Around one 25% water change per month. PH is around 6.8 to 7.2. Ammonia is low, Nitrite and Nitrate have been low. My water levels seem good by test kit standards. I posted some pics of the Angel and one of that unidentified fish. If that is Ich, none of the other fish have had it and the Angel has had it for over a month. It starts to clear up a bit and then goes back to how it has been. It never spreads to any of the other fins. I believe the Pleco I have is a Para Pleco from images I have seen online. My Angel has been fine as far as aggression goes. My Black Tetra shows the most aggression in the tank by chasing that unidentified fish. And you can see why people prefer Cichlids when most of the suggestions I have been getting are Tetras.

is this correct? 1 -25% wc per month??

I have seen similar 'boils' on the skin like this before..do these erupt?they appear to be pimple like.
you say ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are low. actually the amonia should be 0 and nitrite should be 0..nitrites are reading that are used to help determine when water could be affected by TDS(total dissolved solids) if you have a planted tank these nitrate readings could remain low..and are not a good indicator of when you need to do a water change.
the first thing i would look at would be water quality.

it is possible that your fish could just be prone to 'pimples' however, if these erupt clean water is a good thing as it could be a place for bacteria to grab hold.

how's the diet?

I actually have an angel that gets bouts with something that looks similar.

I found that frequent water changes seem to help. my angel tho is subject to stress as she is a 1/2 of a mating pair.

I did treat with parasite clear once but it didn't really seem to make a big difference..the best weapon I had was water changes..when these show up I increase wc to 3 X per week I change out 15-20 gallons in a 55 each time.

[Lie]

It is correct. One water change of 25% per month. They don't seem to erupt. But I don't believe they are Ich either. I guess I could be wrong. But having Ich for over a month with the same look in the same spots without the fish acting any different or dying or even the other fish getting it either? I just can't figure out what it is. I tried using my digital camera but with the glass, the pictures somehow looked worse. We had plants in the tank but they were dying so I removed most of them but a blue and red fern. They seem to be fine. I may add more of those in the near future. Low maintenance. The diet is frozen shrimp, brine shrimp, beef heart, blood worms, regular flakes, and some marine pellets. Variety. I'll probably get some greens for them this weekend. But thanks for the suggestions.

[Rain_302]

This is probable late but just thought I'd throw the info out there. The unidentified fish is a molly like pbecot01 said, it is a Dalmation Molly and from looking at the pic it appears to be a male Lyertail Dalmation Molly.