I just bought my wife a typical 10 gallon tank and we were planning on putting a couple small angelfish in there and maybe another fish or two. The more we read, the more it sounds like they will be too big for the tank in not too long of a time but I know I've seen people with angels in 10 or 20 gallons before that have had them for a long time ( I thought). We havn't put any angels in our 55 gallon community tank since I have had angels destroy our other fish when I was younger and I'm not sure angels would go good in my 36 gallon since I'm putting some slightly agressive or disturbing fish like my giant danio's, rams, congo tetras, catfish, and probably some rainbows. Since I'm going on my past experiences of when I was younger, I wanted to ask you guys since you have much more experience than I do as well as more recent experiences with angels. First off, do you think we could put a couple angels (probably no more than one or two) in a 10 gallon and what other fish would you recommend with them. Or, do you think the angels would be ok with some more timid cichlids (rams or kribs, no agressive ones), giant danio's, congo tetras, rainbows, paradise fish, gourami's, catfish, etc? Maybe I should just wait and get a bigger fish more accomodating to the angels? She's been wanting angels for a while but we don't want to be killing them off. thanks for any advice, Kyle
Angel in a 10 gallon?
- Thread starter snakeskinner
- Start date
A 10g is too small for angels. A good rule with angels is nothign smaller then 30gals then 10gals per angel. A 10g isjsut too small and too shrot of an angel to develope properly.
Angels also vary a lot in personality. Some, like my angel, is very calm shows no aggresion towards other tankmates. But i have heard stories about angels terrorizing tanks.
An angel may do ok in your 36g. I have my angel in a 55g with active fish like tetras, danios, loaches, rasboras and they havent' been a problem.
I would say find an angel you like and try it. If it starts attacking tankmates or they start attacking the angel take it back. If you have a good LFS in your area and you are getting an older angel ask if they know if it aggresive or not.
Angels also vary a lot in personality. Some, like my angel, is very calm shows no aggresion towards other tankmates. But i have heard stories about angels terrorizing tanks.
An angel may do ok in your 36g. I have my angel in a 55g with active fish like tetras, danios, loaches, rasboras and they havent' been a problem.
I would say find an angel you like and try it. If it starts attacking tankmates or they start attacking the angel take it back. If you have a good LFS in your area and you are getting an older angel ask if they know if it aggresive or not.
I agree with Val, the 10 is too small for an angel, simply just not tall enough for them. I wouldn't reccomend it, but a 20high you might be able to get away with one or two, but they would have to be the only inhabitants. a 29/30 gal would be best for a pair of angels though. Biggest issue with the angels is that they are a rather "tall" fish, they don't need as much left to right space as many others, least from my experience they aren't very active swimmers, but they need more up and down space, due to their dorsal and anal fins being elongated.
I had a 20 tall in which I kept a couple angels for a very short time, and it just wasn't long enough. I agree with the sentiment that a 10 is way too small, also.
A 30 long is good for most angels (unless they get quite large) and a 29 is pretty much an optimal tank for angels, IMO. No more than 2 or 3 angels in a 29/30 though...
Jim
A 30 long is good for most angels (unless they get quite large) and a 29 is pretty much an optimal tank for angels, IMO. No more than 2 or 3 angels in a 29/30 though...
Jim
that's what I was afraid of but I was just crossing my fingers 
Well, my 55 gallon is probably safest for the angel but not sure if it is safe for the other inhabitants. let me know what you think: Neon, Glowlite, Rummynose, bloodfin, cardinal, black neon, and greenfire tetras. Black and lyretail mollies, platy's, Harlequin rasboras, zebra and leopard danio's. a few small plecos and cory's. one eight banded barb (false barb, very shy), and a few young guppies. There are some young platy's and mollies hiding in the grasses. I have quite a few hiding places and a plastic plant wall hanging and floor bedding for the smaller fish to hide. I believe there is plenty of vertical space for the angels too. I figure the angels would be fine with the mollies and platy's and the danio's and harlequins should be fast enough to avoid an unruly angel but I'm not sure about the tetras. anyone had any problems between the above listed fish and an angel? How about other cichlids like rams or kribs with angels? I can't find much on angel's friends. thanks, Kyle
Well, my 55 gallon is probably safest for the angel but not sure if it is safe for the other inhabitants. let me know what you think: Neon, Glowlite, Rummynose, bloodfin, cardinal, black neon, and greenfire tetras. Black and lyretail mollies, platy's, Harlequin rasboras, zebra and leopard danio's. a few small plecos and cory's. one eight banded barb (false barb, very shy), and a few young guppies. There are some young platy's and mollies hiding in the grasses. I have quite a few hiding places and a plastic plant wall hanging and floor bedding for the smaller fish to hide. I believe there is plenty of vertical space for the angels too. I figure the angels would be fine with the mollies and platy's and the danio's and harlequins should be fast enough to avoid an unruly angel but I'm not sure about the tetras. anyone had any problems between the above listed fish and an angel? How about other cichlids like rams or kribs with angels? I can't find much on angel's friends. thanks, Kyle
Kyle it depends on what size you get the angels really. With those fish species in there, I'd be worried most about the smaller tetras. If you bought adult angel's they would make snacks outta them in no time, but if you bought dime or nickle sized angel's they wouldn't do a thing to the tetras, grow up around them, and most likely never bother them. I know some people say the tetras are fin nippers, but I've never experienced this so in my opinion they would be fine with the angels, the danios from what I have seen are nippers and probably would harass the angels a bit. They might not though. Other than that you should be fine.
You said a few small plecos. Do you know what type of these you have. Many plecos grow to be 12 inches or more in size and make a lot of waste. Plus they can get very territorial as they grow and most likely you will be only able to keep one of them.
I wouldn't say kribs are peaceful cichlids at all. They are the most aggressive fish i have in my 20 gal right now- which includes an angel and a ram.
No, they are no malawi mbuna, but they are pretty terretorial.
If you really wanted, you could *maybe* put a sole pair of kribs or rams in the 10 gal. Thats it. I am putting my pair of kribs in my 10 gal soon so they can have a tank all to themselves to breed in.
Rams and angels do not get along. Mine bicker all the time. No damage done, but i know they hate each other. Once i get my kribs outta there they will have more space to themselves, though.
Its hard to say what you can put in the 10 gal. Not much over 2".
No, they are no malawi mbuna, but they are pretty terretorial.
If you really wanted, you could *maybe* put a sole pair of kribs or rams in the 10 gal. Thats it. I am putting my pair of kribs in my 10 gal soon so they can have a tank all to themselves to breed in.
Rams and angels do not get along. Mine bicker all the time. No damage done, but i know they hate each other. Once i get my kribs outta there they will have more space to themselves, though.
Its hard to say what you can put in the 10 gal. Not much over 2".
I have seen some smaller angels but I'm not sure if they were that small or not. As for the pleco's, they are just the garden variety ones you see at all the petsmart, walmart, etc. I know they can get territorial. I had one do that but I've also had some that were ok. I also had a couple of the "algae eaters" that are sold in most fish stores but I wasn't sure which ones they were so I stayed away from most all the other scavengers that looked like them and thought the pleco's would be a safer bet. I had a 3" that grew to about 6" and got lazy so I put him in my 36 which will have more robust fish when I get it acclimated. I replaced him with 4- 1.5" pleco's. If they get too big, I can get rid of them. I live in a farming community and could put them in a friend's 1000 gallon cattle water tank that's full of algae for them to eat. They can grow fullsize and not bother anyone but the cattle there Now that I found you guys, I have learned about oto's and figured out which were the bad algae eaters. The greenish/gold algae eaters with the speckled line down their size that are usually about the same size as otos get very agressive. We had two that would attatch to the side of a fish and tear it up and sometimes kill them. I couldn't remember what they looked like and the otos look a lot alike. One thing about it, the small pleco's are busy cleaning unlike the large one was. He came out some at night but not much. Well, thanks for the advice, we may hold off on the angels until we can get a more suitable tank for them. I was looking at a 20gallon tall tank and almost talked my wife into it but we settled on the cheap route thinking we'd be ok. I'll know next time to ask you guys first. thanks, Kyle
Now that I found you guys, I have learned about oto's and figured out which were the bad algae eaters. The greenish/gold algae eaters with the speckled line down their size that are usually about the same size as otos get very agressive. We had two that would attatch to the side of a fish and tear it up and sometimes kill them. I couldn't remember what they looked like and the otos look a lot alike. One thing about it, the small pleco's are busy cleaning unlike the large one was. He came out some at night but not much. Well, thanks for the advice, we may hold off on the angels until we can get a more suitable tank for them. I was looking at a 20gallon tall tank and almost talked my wife into it but we settled on the cheap route thinking we'd be ok. I'll know next time to ask you guys first. thanks, Kyle
