Asinity

I've always wanted Angelfish, and would just love to be able to have them in my 21 gallon.

The tank is cycling right now, so I'm waiting for that to finish up obviously but I'd just like to know if it is even possible to have them in it. I would like to have a pair, and from what I understand they grow to around 5 or 6 inches, which would 'allow' say 10 inches for extra fish, which I likely wouldn't use unless it was for a cory or oto, or something of that variety.

Anything else I should consider for angels?

Callum The Cat

capekate

I have a friend with a 20g tank and keeps two adult angels in there and they are doing fine. I kept my two angels along with other fish in my 29g before moving them to the 55gal tank with Discus. Now I am setting up another 29 and will be putting them in there.
Angels can be territorial and aggressive. But if you get two juvenile angels and start them off, they will more than likely grow up together with no problems. I have no idea if my two angels are male or female and cant tell unless they spawn, but they have been getting along fine since Ive had them with no aggression towards each other. I bought them together and that would be my advice, to buy them from the same shop, the same tank and introduce them together to your tank.
good luck with your tank and choice of fish! ~ kate

Asinity

Just wondering, if I do get young angels, how long do they take to reach their full size?

Any recommendations for food, aeration (I use silk plants), anything like that? I do have a fair amount of plants in the rear of the tank, but most of them are under 8" tall so they aren't even half the height of the tank, would this be a problem?

Isabella

2 Angelfish in a 21 gallon tank, hmm ... In terms of their length in inches (about 10-12" of fish altogether), sure ... but in terms of their happiness ... no way. And actually, the two of them will be too massive for a 21 gallon tank as well. They'll be unhappy in such a small tank, please believe me. The tank won't be tall enough for them either. They'll feel confined in there. They need lots of space to easily move their fins.

Asinity

Gotcha... That's a shame.

Wish I had more space for a bigger tank, but that won't be possible for a few years now. Would one be okay? Perhaps with a small school of cardinals? I doubt it... but I figured I'd ask.

Isabella

I understand what it's like not having space for a larger tank but wanting some bigger fish. But you know, bigger doesn't always mean better There are tons of small and incredibly beautiful fish that would be perfect for a 21 gallon tank. We should try to get fish that will be happy in the tanks we have. Yes, Angelfish are beautiful, but would we feel OK when we had such beautiful fish unhappy? Nope ... I personally wouldn't put even 1 Angelfish in a 21 gallon tank, but of course, it's up to to you what you'll do. Besides, I think Angelfish like to have a companion. I wouldn't want to be alone all my life for sure! I think it's the same with fishies Anyway, a school of Cardinal Tetras would be fine in a 21 gallon tank. Listen, since you want bigger fish but can't have a bigger tank, how about something like Dwarf Gouramis? Maybe 2 Dwarf Gouramis (male and female) instead of 2 Angelfish, plus a school of some small fish. I think Dwarf Gouramis are also very beautiful fish, and much more suitable for a 21 gallon tank than Angelfish.

Asinity

Yeah I was considering Dwarf's a while ago, my LFS had some that I liked, I think they were called Flame Gourami's or something to that nature. They were Dwarf, but had a nice vibrant red to them.

What else goes well with those gourami's?

Isabella

I think basically any peaceful community fish Any school of small peaceful fish would be OK.