zebra

Have a 20gal tank and really love the angel in it. I would love to build the tank around the angel.
I have 6 danios that are fin nippers, so I am not sure about keeping them.
I like platies and swords, so I've been getting some info from all of you about the swords.
But the one that I really want to make happy is the Angel. He has a great personality, but very aggressive, at least with other smaller angels. I bought one with him and he pummelled it to death, litteraly.
If I would have known he was going to do that I would have done something else with the smaller one.
So I am probably going to keep him on his own.
The other thing is that I only have 20gal and not a lot of room and i know that two would take almost the whole tank and no other fish don't like that.
So I would love suggestions for a Friendly tank, Please. Friendly toward the angel most of all, he has captured my heart.
The zebras are fun but their fin nipping is making me cringe.
Who knows, maybe in six months, if all goes well I will try to find room for anothe all angel tank. They are so beautiful and from what I hear each has their own personality.
Thanks for the suggestions really appreciated, Sharon

zebra

I ment to put this post in freshwater, is there anyway to move it from here to there.
Thanks, Sharon

Marc

There is, and when someone who can sees it they will

Some good fish for your tank would be some Corydoras Catfish, some Platys and Swords, and some Guppies. Really, anything peaceful will do great. The Corydoras will help clean excess food off of the bottom and they are very playful and fun to watch. There are many wonderful color varieties of the Platys and Swords look great . Guppies, too, are really colorful. If you'd really like you could make a list of what you like from your local pet store or anything nearby and we can tell you if they should get along or not.

However, your tank is a little over half-full right now so you're limited on the number of fish you could put in, unless you return the Zebras. Mine LOOK like they nip fins - but they really aren't. They just pester the other fish. However, that may stress and anger the Angel, so if that will be your favorite fish, you may want to consider returning the danios.

zebra

Marc, thanks i guess I figured out how to move it.
I do believe I am going to take the danios back. They just make me to nervous. The only one that would be left to do the nipping in the existing tank other than the danios would be the angel and he's pretty mellow by himself.
I know that I want a peaceful tank.
I love the fish that you mentioned. Platies are so cute. I think I will try with the breeding box and the swords.
The only one that i am unfamiliar with is the cory, but everyone seems to recommend them, so next time at the LFS will check them out.
Also, Guppies just make me drool, love those tails. Will the angel bother the guppies and their tails though.
So fish that I really seem to like but not sure of temperaments:
**Angels, platies, swords, guppies, tetras (long finned), gouramis (dwarf).
There are others, like barbs and sharks but I know that barbs are very aggressive, not sure about the sharks though.
But if you all could direct me to a peaceful/happy tank with no fin nipping it would be great.
I am all for Angel, platy, sword, guppy tank if that will work.
Thanks for all of the guidance, Sharon

zebra

The other day Gunnie asked if the 2ogal was long or tall, because angels like taller tanks.
Unfortunately it is 20 long.

atmmachine816

How high is it and what are your current occupants you will have after you return the danios before buying more fish?

Austin

zebra

Is only 16" high and the angel will be the only one left if I were to return the danios. He will be the Lone Ranger.
The tank is pretty new so just tanking everything really easy before getting into a long time comitment.
I want to make sure that everyone stays happy and healthy.
Thanks

zebra

Also have plants in the tank Anacharus, hornbeam ( i think is the name), Amazon sword, and a low spreding variegated plant that has a rhizome but not sure of the name. It has long foliage, but foliage is flowy, has a ruffly edge and the varegation is lenghtwise and on the yellow side, very pretty.

atmmachine816

Well 16" high I think would be high enough since my tank is 18 and they are fine, plants sound fine, though by hornbeam do you mean hornworthttp://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_all.phpI don't see any hornbeam, click on the hornwort and see if they are what your plants are. With the lone angel you have lots of possibilities, how big is he right now and what type of fish do you have in mind, school of fish, bottom feeders(corys) or one or two more large fish.

Austin

Marc

Keep in mind that the angel may be able to eat things such as neon tetras when it gets bigger

The Gourami may cause problems as it seems that they can sometimes be pretty mean.

The Guppies should be perfectly fine with the Angel.

And yes, a breeder box/net would be a good idea since you'll be having LOTS of livebearers! Nice plan so far, I hope you can find fish you like!

As for the guppies... I can advise you not to get any at a large chain such as PetCo, since from what I've seen they are very dull. They are either a colorful tailed or a colorful body variety and ones I've seen are very bland and look like fully grown feeder guppies. Shop around when you're looking for color and it allows you to get a much better selection

atmmachine816

If you would like I could ship you some of my baby guppies when they get bigger. And yes as the gourami goes I would say no and just go for peaceful fish and the breeder box is a bad idea except for a few fry since they can't be full grown in there but I have found that you can keep baby guppies in there for about 7weeks then release them and angels won't eat them, I just let my 2 7week olds loose and the angels haven't eaten them yet and these angels are full grown and Large.

Austin

Marc

You can keep baby guppies in there for quite some time, if you have less than 20 you could easily keep them in there for 2-3 months.

atmmachine816

Depends on how big it is too

zebra

Thank You
The offer is very generous regarding the guppies. If you could let me know how much you would want for them. And I don't mean to sound bad, but what color are they. I know with fry, if they are that little, it can be hard to tell.
I believe since I want a "peaceful" tank that Livebearers may be the ticket. Will help keep my blood pressure down.
I will call it my yoga tank (ohm)
And it is Hornwort, I always get the name mixed up.
One thing nice abouut the hornwort and anacharus is that the fish not only love to swim in and out of them, they love to eat them, and they grow and are easy to take care of as well. A win win situation.
Regarding purchasing the guppies from petco or other chain store.
I won't... that's where I purchased the others from, that where not eating. So took them back while they were still under warrenty.
I got lucky and found a LFS, They carry alot of beautiful fish wiht a large selection.
They have been in business for a long time and has a good trade in and return policy.
Also gives good info and very patiently answers question. Best thing...they isolate new fish for 3-5 days before putiing in with general population to see if there will be any problems. They seem to know most of their clientell as well.
Thanks Again

atmmachine816

I wouldn't charge much maybe 1$ or less for them just enough to get some food for them but the mom was a firetail but they haven't started developing there colors yet, when they do I will let you know. But with the angel I would go for livebearers and no corys since with corys that wouldn't give you much room and the guppies will clean up the bottom for you.

Austin

zebra

sounds good, let me know if what color they are and if you wouuld like more.
Also how much shipping and handling. I live in Michigan, so probably best to wait until a little warmer here.
I am very excited. Like I said i will take this slowly. This way everyone will be happy, and healthy including me (ohm).
By the way, will they be big enough to eat regular food -- if you can call it that or will they need a special diet. And any special instructions. If so please let me know once it gets closer so all goes well.
Serenity now, insanity later.

atmmachine816

They eat crushed veggie and tropical flakes now, and baby brine shrimp and I will be trying blood worms soon and they also eat veggie rounds, they are not picky eaters and would probably eat anything you gave them. They wouldn't be ready to ship probably for another month or two mimum since they won't be full grown until then, shipping and handling would probably be around 8-10$ depending on how much heat packs would cost me but you may not want to spend that much and just shop around you where it's cheaper. Another nice fish that goes well with angels are harlequin rasboras and they are really fun to watch.

atmmachine816

O and Mark the breeder boxes I personally think stunt there growth. My 2 babies have been slowing showing color on there tail for a month now and as soon as I let them out of the breeder box the color has gone crazy and they are close to a fully colored tail. Just my opinion.

Austin

zebra

Just let me know when you are ready. A week before if possible so I can get everything ready. And if there is anything special that needs to be done or purchased.
In a month or two should be pretty warm, especially the later.
Also what name brand food you have luck with, since I had such bad luck with the others.
Also the breeding box sounds like something that is very short term just to give them a little "safe" head start.
The other thing i like, someone had mentioned getting credit from the LFS. Which I can use all the extra credit that I can get.
Thanks so much, keep in touch and let me know how things are going, Sharon
When we get close to sending date we will exchange personal info so all will go well.

atmmachine816

Well I hopefully will be getting a 1.5" bristlenose pleco from a friend in the mail and I can reuse some of the packaging matierials hopefully and maybe I don't have to use heat packs if it's warm enough i'm not sure but I have all the info I should need on sending fish just haven't read through all of it. Some lfs's will give you cash and others will give you in-store credit, most however I have found only except them as donations. The breeder boxes I have found stunts there growth and they act sooo much happier in a 10 gallon tank and even a 5 gallon would work if you wanted to breed them and all you would need is a heater and filter really and a hood would help(through my failures i'm becomeing quite an expert at breeding guppies). I use omega one and tetra for food.

Gunnie

I've never kept guppies with angels, but from what I've read, they might not be a good match for your angels. The angels might see them as a threat because of their long beautiful tails. I could be wrong. For more possibilities, check out some of the more peaceful tetras like bloodfin tetras. They will add color to your tank, and won't bother your angel(s). Also, check your area for a local fish club or aquarium society. There's nothing better than gettiing healthy and less common fish from someone who has taken good care of them, and probably won't charge you as much as a store would.

atmmachine816

Yup that's good advice. As for guppies with my angels the angels don't mind them as long as they stay away from the heater and filter tube since that's there breeding ground and they chase any fish that get's near it. Besides that the guppies do fine.

Austin

zebra

Thanks Gunnie, sorry that I wasn't able to reply earlier computer went down.
Love the guppies but don't want to see them turn into mints-meat.
I was afraid this might be the case, especially with this angel. Since he seems to have killed the first little one.
So thanks for the offer, on the guppies, I am just afraid that the angel will go after them.
I've heard they have "tail envy" maybe I will try a couple from the store to see how they do, I don't waant you to go through all of the trouble and then find out that they were dinner for the angel or that he has "tail envy" and taken a chunk of those beautiful tails.
Are you sure that he won't do that with blood fin tetras either? Because of their long fins.
Dont know that much about non aggressive and aggressve that is why I am asking so.....
What about black skirt and white skirt tetras? I have heard that tetras can be fin nippers as well
If I do go with the tetras instead of guppies, will I still be able to put in platies and swords.
And will corys do ok with the above as well (tetras, swords, platies, and angels)
Thanks so much, serenity now, insanity later

zebra

Boy did I make a mistake....
Looked up bloodfin tetra online. They are alot different than what was labled as a bloodfin tetra at chain fish store (P>S>+)
The ones that were labled at store had really beautiful long reddish fins. They were labled to be bloodfin.
But in fact it looks like they are pretty small.(from sites on line)
Are any of the long finned tetras peaceful/not fin nippers?
Could they go with an angel, because of the long fins?

atmmachine816

Yes cories will do fine but they need a group of mimum 3 perferably 5 and like sand and hate gravel and I don't think you will have room so sorry no cories.

Marc

Tetras are known to be fin nippers. If you like schooling fish that won't nip, you're going to have to look pretty hard.

Those may be a long-finned variety.

zebra

Thank you to all. You may see my other posts. Iadded platies, I believe both female ( early in the week).
And bit the bullet and am trying guppies to see how it goes. As of today (Friday) (1st day), everything is ok. No problems and everyone seems happy.
If All goes well, I may stick with a couple more guppies and platies. But only time will tell, take it slow a little each week.
I also added more plants for the guppies to hide in.
Thanks again for all of your help, Sharon