[Newbie] Fiancé wants an Angelfish. What do we need to know/prepare?

[InquisiFish]

Hello, Internet Aquarians,

My fiancé would like to setup an aquarium an have an Angelfish or two, we were looking at aquariums and then decided it would be best to do some more research independently.

We were thinking of a 37gal tank; but wanted to first check on how much space an Angelfish needs, what type of smaller fish could we house with them (she likes colorful fish like neons/mollies/etc). We read 37gal tanks are good for housing fish that like to live at different levels of the tank, is this true? If so, could you give some recommendations?

What are the benefits of going up a size to a 55gal tank? Is it necessary for housing an Angelfish? Would it allow for two, whereas we could only have one in the 37gal?

What pumps/heaters would we need to consider for the two tank sizes? We will probably want to house/grow some live plants in the tank. What accessories outside of that should we consider?

Are feeder fish/shrimp a problem with Angelfish? Is there a difference between the shrimp and catfish type feeders we see at the pet store?

We're new to owning/caring for fish, but want to take it seriously.

Thanks in advance.

 

[OrionGirl]

First, don't feed live fish to the angels. Shrimp are marginally better, but still represent a risk.Feeder animals are seldom kept in good conditions and frequently introduce parasites and diseases. Not worth the risk given that angels quite readily accept prepared foods.

In terms of tank size, bigger is better because it's more stable (pollution is more diluted in a larger volume, water quality is all about ratios). That said, if the only choice is a 37 or a 55, I would go with a 37 simply because I hate 55s. The shape is horrible to work in. If you have space for a 55, maybe look at a 65 instead--3 by 2, tall...much better to plant and scape.

I am a huge proponent of planted tanks. If it were me (in that 65), I would plant it FIRST, before you get any animals at all. Have the plants in and growing for a month, get the hang of water changes, etc. This is a 'planted cycle', which means the plants take up the ammonia produced by the fish--but you will still want to read up on cycling, and understand that you need to tast the water and do water changes as needed with ANY method of cycling.

Once the tank is up, stable, and plants are doing well, add the shyest animal, probably whatever schooling fish you opt for, first, working up to the aggressive angels.

In terms of stocking...Well, I don't like angels. Not my bag. But they are aggressive predators. Small fish--ie, anything under about an inch--will likely end up being a snack once the angels hit maturity. That includes fry from livebearers. If you're cool with that, then it's a good plan for providing them with snacks without being overrun by mollies/guppies/platies etc. If you do get livebearers, keep in mind mollies/platies/swords will breed with each other, and color/fin variations will muddy (ie, lyretail sunset platy + mickey mouse will have babies that are a mix). If the tank is covered, hatchets are a good choice for the upper levels. Golden wonder killies, too, but they might nip at the angels.. Ruby barbs would be nice, and robust enough too. Bristlenose are a great cleaners, and very cute--if you get a pair, they will likely breed. Avoid cories--angels see them as snacks, but cores have locking spikes in their pectoral fins and an attempted murder ends up being a murder/suicide.

Also...have a plan for when the angels breed. If you get a pair, they likely will, and they become murderous jerks to everything else in the tank.