Callum The Cat

Chief_waterchanger

Jungle vallensanaria. (spelling?) called 'jungle val' for short. Very similar to what angels find in the wild, as well as serving awesome, thin, long shafts for them to lay eggs on.

capekate

How about some amazon sword plants? they grow pretty tall and sure are pretty!

Isabella

Vallisnerias and various Amazon Swords are GREAT for an Angelfish tank. These plants grow tall and Angelfish love them. They may lay eggs on Amazon Sword leaves That's for the background. As for the foreground, there are very few low-light foreground plants. I guess Dwarf Sagittaria and maybe Pygmy Chain Sword could be OK. What kind of lighting will you have? In my opinion, Vallinserias and Swords should have something around at least 1.5 WPG of lighting. The same goes for Sagittarias and Pygmy Chain Sword. Also, in my experience, a very good light spectrum for growing plants is 6,700K. Anyway, as long as it doesn't go above 10,000K you'll be OK, as lightbulbs over 10,000K will cause a lot of algae in your tank.

Callum The Cat

griffin

some other suggestions for plants might be something like apons for the background. most stem plants will also grow to tank height.

Isabella

Well, how tall will your 30 gallon tank be? You need to choose plants that won't grow taller than your tank height (unless you want to have an open top tank). Vallisnerias, however, are usually allowed to grow taller than the tank height as they look great this way (they bend as they grow, they don't stick out of the water). Besides, what substrate will you have? What lighting will you have?

As for algae eaters, options other than Otos are Ssiamese Flying Foxes (the true one: Crossocheilus Siamensis) and Bristlenose Plecos. You'd need only one Flying Fox or only one BN pleco as it's only a 30 gallon tank.

Callum The Cat

Isabella

No, no ... not some Siamese Flying Foxes, but ONE for a 30 gallon tank.

As for the plants from the link, some are OK and some are more demanding as for a low-light tank. If you want all of those plants, you should have around 1.5 - 2.0 wpg of lighting.

Vallisnerias and Amazon Swords should have around 1.5 wpg, and Anubias and Java Ferns should be OK under at least 1.0 wpg but 1.5 would be very good as well. Cryptocorynes, Wisteria, and Micro Swords as well as Pygmy Chain Sword - all should have at least 1.5 wpg. As for Ludwigia, I think it's a high-light plant (not sure).

Toddnbecka

You can't beat a bristlenose pleco for algae control. Much better choice than a flying fox (provided you can find one, and it actually IS a flying fox...) for a breeding tank. BN pleco's won't be interested in the Angel's eggs or territory, but will provide enough "presence" to help strengthen the pair-bond between the breeders.

Isabella

Like I said: It's up to you whether you get the true Siamese Flying Fox or a Bristlenose Pleco. I've never had a BN pleco before and neither did I have the Flying Fox, but I have read good things about both of them. On this forum, many people like BN plecos because they're very good algae eaters. You might as well go with a BN pleco instead of the Flying Fox.

Callum The Cat

Isabella

If you can find one, it's a very good algae eater Remember, its scientific name is Crossocheilus Siamensis. Write it down and tell them at the store that this is what you want. A lot of stores sell "false" Siamese Algae Eaters and tell you that they're the true ones. Learn to recognize the false from the true one before you buy it: http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

MrWaxhead

For algae control I have always used a single true SAE and a aprox 2 amano shrimp per square foot of tank floor. SAE's I have always found are excellent until they reach about 3 to 4 inches, then they pretty much only eat algae if they are very hungry. I have watched shrimp sit and clear a blade of grass in a single sitting before.

I have also heard the american flag fish is a of muncher too. I have never kept them, as all my tanks are acidic tanks. They would probably be great in a hard water alkaline guppieish tank though.
American Flag Fish Profile,Jordanella floridae with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish