Tom

I saw these angels at the store today when I picked up 2 more otos and a banana plant. They are the same price, but the koi is about 3/4" diameter(without fins) and the brown one is about 1-1.5" diameter(without fins) with nice long fins. It is a tough choice for me. I asked them to put them on hold for me for a few days while I wait for the tank to be finished with the meds.
Tom

Isabella

I personally never had a Koi Angel, which is why I'd buy it if it were me buying. But it's up to you. I am sure both Angels are lovely

Tom

Ya, they are. I couldn't choose, so that's why I came here for an answer to see what the answer would be.
Tom

Gunnie

Unless you are dealing with wild caught angels, I think it's just really personal preference. I have koi angels and have enjoyed them immensely.

Tom

How would it make it different if they were wild caught?
Tom

Isabella

Wild-caught Angelfish, and really any other fish, are much more difficult to maintain than commercially bred Angels and other fish. Commercially bred fish are ... well, they're "bred" to be able to adjust to a much wider variety of water conditions than wild-caught fish. For a wild caught fish you need very very specific conditions that need to be kept constant, which can be very hard. Wild-caught Angelfish should be kept in a "species-only" tank.

Tom

Makes sense. Thanks.
Tom

Allie

The wild ones all look the same...like silvers.

Sabi

Back to which angel, i'd take the brown un. But its your choice!

sgould

I have koi, so that's how I'll vote. Really though, I don't think you can go wrong either way. I will say this...when I got mine a few months ago they were also very small, and it has been fun watching them grow.

Isabella

There are Altum Angelfish in the wild as well that have beautiful black and reddish stripes across their bodies. Wild Altum Angelfish are the most Angelfish beautiful sight to behold Also, wild Angelfish have much taller bodies than commercially bred Angels. Wild Angels are larger than those bred in captivity.

Check these out:
http://finarama.com/gallery/amano.htm (the first 5 pictures)
http://finarama.com/gallery/lionelfichen.htm (all of the pictures) - notice the AWSOME planted tank !!!
http://finarama.com/gallery/miche_altum.htm (all of the pictures)
http://finarama.com/gallery/frank.htm (all of the pictures)

I love the true Altums

Butterfly

Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the peruvian wild angelfish it is just gorgeous.
http://www.angelsplus.com/GalleryAngelfish.htm
and these are an other wild angel called Altums. They get 13-15 inches and are very delicate because they are nearly always caught in the wild. http://www.thefishworld.co.uk/id64.htm
So there are several different kinds of wild caught angels with their own special needs.
Carol

Isabella

What a beauty! Ahh ... I'd just like to have that 1,000 gallon tank and all varieties of Angels in it, lol

Butterfly

yep me too LOL
I love the picture of all those Altums swimming together. And they get huge!! that would be gorgeous.
carol

Sabi

So those are altums, i didnt know that. Wow! They are gorgeous angels and the tank definitely looks awesome with those plants!

Tom

The altums look exactly like my old angel(Altum) and you can see why I gave him that name.
Tom

Butterfly

Makes sense to me I vote koi angel. I loved mine when I had them.
carol

Tom

Well I went to buy the koi and they had raised the price by about $5 and I decided to get the brown one. I am getting it used to the water as we speak.
Tom