I cant figure it out,PLEASE! How do I change?

[pumpkinfishey]

Hello everyone! Im fairly new to fish keeping It began about a year ago with one goldfish in a 15 ltr tank as a pet for my three year old boy, I now have that a 10glln and a 31gln and he wants a dog! (I just keep telling him they cant they cant swim!!)
The 31 gallon(U.S) tank that has been going for eight weeks now currently it is home to
five goldfish
four octicinlus (alge eating things)
and 26 more or less (they wont stay still while I count them! )white cloud mountain minnows that I want try breeding at some point in the future

what I really want are some ANGELFISH
so once I have rehoused my goldfish does any one know if I can still keep my minnows and my octicinclus in the tank with them!
or perhaps a japanese alge eating bitterling ?
Also would I have to completely recycle my tank before I added the angels?I have looked through lots of sites on the net and found lots setting up from scratch but nothing on changing from one speceis to another? So I'd be gratefull If any one can help me solve my querey!!

 

[ChilDawg]

Your tank will still be overstocked, even if the goldies are re-housed. White clouds like cooler temps, so they might be okay with goldies as long as the tank size is increased. Only one angel can be kept in a 30 gallon (possibly two, but I don't recommend it), so you will want to think of a much bigger tank if you want to keep angels.

 

[pumpkinfishey]

Oh? I had been told that I would be able to keep three to four angels in my tank! an while I realize I couldnt keep all my minnows in there I thought mabey some If they were compatable
my tank currently runs at about 72-75degrees without heating its a very warm house! and so far every bodys happy'n'healthy

 

[ChilDawg]

72-75 would be about the high end of WCMM tolerance, so they would be very cost-efficient for you. Breeding them is easy, as they just lay eggs like crazy. Protecting said eggs from parents would be a challenge.

You may be able to keep an Angel with the current non-goldie occupants if you keep the house at that constant temp, but not too much more!

 

[pumpkinfishey]

OK! thanks thats helpfull I think im finally getting some where with this
I think
my minnows ect would be ok with angels? but if the're in it its just the one angel or would two or three be ok with some minnows (Ill be looking for a bigger tank in the fall) is it swimming space or fish waste thats the issue . My LFS told me that the minnows wouldnt really effect things as they are so small and produce so little waste were they right???

 

[ChilDawg]

I think it's a combo of those two and the aggression of Cichlids.

 

[carpguy]

A White Cloud by itself doesn't have much mass. More than two dozen of them do! I think you're pretty heavily-stocked as is.

Angels are cichlids so the aggression thing will eventually come into play and that always has to do with territory. They are also slow fish that will probably be stressed out living in a swarm of minnows.

They also will get fairly large. If you're planning on getting a bigger tank down the road, I'd wait until then for the angels.

 

[pumpkinfishey]

The agression of chillids!!!???

 

[ChilDawg]

Sorry. Angelfish are members of a family called Cichlidae (the Cichlids) that is pretty famous in fish circles because of the aggression family members display. Angels are known for being "less than angelic".

 

[JSchmidt]

Some thoughts:

While you could probably house a pair of angelfish in a 30, that's assuming there are not many other occupants -- maybe a few tetras and some small bottom dwellers -- but certainly not 25 white clouds and some goldies.

The temp issue is something to consider. Cold water fish are accustomed to the higher oxygen levels in colder water and they may not do so well over the long haul (less resistant to disease or stress, for example).

I'm not a goldfish keeper, but the oft-cited suggestion is to keep one goldfish per 20 or 30 gallons of water. Goldies are notoriously messy fish and as they grow, you'll have a devil of a time keeping the water in good shape at the current stocking levels.

HTH,
Jim