Angelfish eating pink zebra danios. What are my options?

I have a 35 gallon tank about 4 months old with 2 angelfish and 2 plecos. I introduced a school of 8 pink zebra danios last night but one of the angels started taking interest in them and within half an hour ate one of them. Now I'm not sure what to do. Can't return the fish because I had got them while coming back from a trip.

For now, I've just isolated the danios in a fishnet that is half immersed in the tank.

Is there a chance/way I can get the angels to leave them alone? Otherwise what are my options here?

Please help.

 

I'm not sure what your options are apart from rehoming or setting up another tank.

Setting up a tank will take time and will need to be cycled, by which point there might not be any danios left

 

Sorry to say but there is not much you can do people forget that angels are cichlids and as a general rule with most cichlids if can fit in their mouth it will end up in their mouths. short of rehoming them to a established tank there is not much you can do

 

Danios are not good tank mates for an angel fish. Plus some other issues going on here. If able, id set up a second tank if you want to keep both.

You can instantly cycle the tank or at least seed a cycle by using some filter media from your current tank in the new tank.

Now... some concerns

A 30 gallon is too small for an angel. 40 is min for ONE, but a 55g+ is min for a pair.

Danios are cooler water fish (below 77F) while angels need 80F. Keeping one too cold or the other too hot will stress the fish's immune system and make it weaker against any complications.

Danios are nippy little adorable turds. They may nip at an angelfish.

Id definitely get a 55 gallon or larger and move the angels to it.

What kind of plecos? If clown, rubberlip, or bristlenose theyre fine, but if a common or sailfin, you have a whole lot more problems coming there.



Welcome btw, sorry a lot of this post may not be what you were hoping to hear.

 

What you can do now - I would say you have done it - learned a valuable (and expensive) lesson. As for the angels they will thank you for an expensive snack.

 

What you can do now - I would say you have done it - learned a valuable (and expensive) lesson. As for the angels they will thank you for an expensive snack.

Aw but that's not very helpful advice, is there something they can do that is productive for the time being?

 

Well as others have said they need to separate the fishes - so either a divider or another tank. I suppose that when they are full size there is a chance the angels might not eat them but...

As for temp - I actually think they are almost compatible. It isn't ideal but 77 or 78 will work for both fishes; still they are not the best tank mates. I think the lesson is actually a useful thing because it will encourage them to read up on the fishes before purchase. In the old days that might have been a bit more difficult requiring a trip to the library and perhaps not finding a lot of useful information but today with the internet a lot of information is available with a bit of typing.

Unless they want two aquariums the best long term solution would be to give away either the Danios or Angels. Don't you agree ?

Aw but that's not very helpful advice, is there something they can do that is productive for the time being?

 

Well as others have said they need to separate the fishes - so either a divider or another tank. I suppose that when they are full size there is a chance the angels might not eat them but...

As for temp - I actually think they are almost compatible. It isn't ideal but 77 or 78 will work for both fishes; still they are not the best tank mates. I think the lesson is actually a useful thing because it will encourage them to read up on the fishes before purchase. In the old days that might have been a bit more difficult requiring a trip to the library and perhaps not finding a lot of useful information but today with the internet a lot of information is available with a bit of typing.

Unless they want two aquariums the best long term solution would be to give away either the Danios or Angels. Don't you agree ?

No I really agree, but it just didnt seem too constructive the way it was worded I think lol

Its iffy keeping fish at the extremes of their range, as it still does affect them longterm.

But I think best solution would be 2 tanks, because the 30 gallon is still too small for TWO angels as it is.

 

DoraCory Littlebudda MissNoodle jake37 thanks for the quick responses people.

Having a second tank is not an option at this point. I guess I'll have to give them to the local fish store.

MissNoodle : thanks for welcoming me with that uplifting post .

But, a lot of websites mention between 20 and 30 gallons for a pair of angelfish. A lot of the 35-40 gallon recommendations included angelfish pairs alongwith a school of little fish. So, I thought it should work.

Regarding the temperature, would a difference of 3 degrees make that much of a difference?

And lastly, they're common plecos and I do have an idea about the issues there. But that's just the tip of the iceberg (There's 4 goldfish in the tank as well). Let me start from the beginning.

When I got the aquarium set up for my parents 3-4 months ago, the local fish store owner set it up with 12 fish. 2 angelfish, 6 goldfish (a pair each of 3 varieties), 2 silver sharks, and 2 common plecos. Since then, I started reading up and found out how grossly overstocked the tank was.

But since all the fish were still far from their mature size, I decided not to make any drastic changes immediately and try to gradually transform it into a sustainable system with the 2 angelfish, a school of tiny fish and some bottom dwellers. First, I returned the silver sharks, then 1 pair of goldfish.

Then, recently, I found the zebra danios which seemed to fit the bill perfectly (I hadn't been able to find any suitable schooling fish at my local store because the supply is low in winter months). They are tiny and generally accepted as tank mates for both angelfish and goldfish, so I can keep a decent sized school and then return the remaining goldfish and replace the plecos with something more suitable.

Given the initial state, it seemed like a decent plan of action... So far..

Any ideas/recommendations in this regard would be welcome and appreciated.

 

I think the temperature is a bigger problem. Angelfish like warm temps, goldfish and danios like cooler temps. Their preferred temperatures unfortunately don't overlap really.

That said, I keep my angelfish pairs (they have to be a breeding pair or at least a pair) in 33g tanks (3ft x 1ft footprint, 18" tall). But no other tankmates. I think there's not enough space and the activity would irritate the angels. Also I wouldn't keep fin nippers with angelfish because they have such long flowy fins and are slow calm swimmers.

The goldfish and danios I don't know enough about to comment.

 

Maybe your local fish store will take the danios and goldfish for trade? Like give you something else in exchange? Something more suitable for your tank, or if not fish, plants or something else.

Figure out which fish your really really want to keep, AND which one you can provide optimum conditions for. Take the other fish to your local store and see what they can do for you (worst case scenario, they accept them and all you get in return is peace of mind).

Set yourself (and your fish) up for success, rather than combining species that aren't a natural fit and trying to 'make it work'. That would be my 2 cents.

 

Temp matters. When I forgot to plug the heater back in after a water change I knew something was wrong because it upset the Angel's. It didnt harm them but they refused to eat until the tank warmed back up.
-----
The other problem with goldfish is that they tend to be dirty fishes and angel's like clean water. You could keep the famous and goldfish and dump the angel's. I guess you will figure it out. If you do keep the angels and want a small school of something I would suggest white fin rosy tetra.

 

I checked and my tank is actually 39.7 gallons (36"x15"x17" lxbxh). So, I have a bit more room than I thought.

And I wanna keep atleast one of the angelfish. Can you please suggest some species of schooling fish and some bottom dwellers to go along and I'll try to find them in nearby stores. Though, it would be difficult to find very specific uncommon species here.

 

Well as I said above white fin rosy tetra are a nice fish that will go with angels - and are pretty common. For the bottom I like sterbaI cory.

 

SterbaI corydoras, bronze corydoras, emerald corydoras... up to 10 of one of these species would work awesome.

Upper species.... cardinal tetras or rummynose tetras would work good too.


I'm sorry your current stock won't work out.

 

Cardinal tetras are iffy - I keep them with the angels and the angels grew up with them but now and then one vanish .Certainly a full grown cardinal is usually ok but most of the ones you buy in the store (non jumbo) can be eaten. Your angels are not full grown yet so you can get cardinals but adding more later might be difficult. I had an angel that grew about 1.5 inches larger than its tank mates (guess it was just genetics but it made the adult silver look like a child); and i'm pretty sure it ate 2 or 3 of the cardinals (I had 22).
-
The positive of cardinals is that they love warm water and are quite lovely - the negative is once they get settle in they don't swim a lot (school) unless frightened when they will cluster up. They really are a lovely fish which is why I keep them with angels but just wanted you to be aware that as the angels age they are not beyond being eaten.

 

Thanks a lot for the advice. Lemme see which of these fish I can find near me.

 

What temps will bronze cories tolerate? I ask bc I really don't know. I know aldolfoi, duplicas and sterbaI can handle higher temps. I feel the minimum temp for angels should be 78°f. At least I won't keep them at a lower temp.

I keep medium and large sized tetras with my angels. Deep bodied tetras like red, black or yellow phantom, flame tetra, lemon tetra or larger tetras like candycane (hy511) or Columbian. Just to give you some more options that are common at least in my area. Some tetras like serpae, black skirt are known to be nippy, so I would avoid those types to keep with angels.

 

C. Aeneus (bronze corydoras) tolerate warm temperatures very well. They are my corydoras of choice for angels and discus tanks. I've kept them in tanks between 76 and 84 degrees. 84 was for the discus, the corydoras liked it so much they bred in that tank! The discus didn't mind, they thought the regular egg snacks were great. They didn't get them all and what started as 10 corydoras grew to be over 25.... I started taking corydoras out of that tank and taking them to the LFS, they were breeding so much.

 

C. Aeneus (bronze corydoras) tolerate warm temperatures very well. They are my corydoras of choice for angels and discus tanks. I've kept them in tanks between 76 and 84 degrees. 84 was for the discus, the corydoras liked it so much they bred in that tank! The discus didn't mind, they thought the regular egg snacks were great. They didn't get them all and what started as 10 corydoras grew to be over 25.... I started taking corydoras out of that tank and taking them to the LFS, they were breeding so much.

Oh thank you! That was the biggest reason I don't have cories! I'd love to have a school with my angels, so thank you!!! I tried for panda cories, but they didn't work out, I thought it was either my deep tanks or high temps. Guess it was something else!

 

Panda are esp known for preferring cooler temps. I could never keep them very long past 76 or 77.... I.e, they are about the worst choice of common cory for keeping with angels.

Oh thank you! That was the biggest reason I don't have cories! I'd love to have a school with my angels, so thank you!!! I tried for panda cories, but they didn't work out, I thought it was either my deep tanks or high temps. Guess it was something else!

 

Panda are esp known for preferring cooler temps. I could never keep them very long past 76 or 77.... I.e, they are about the worst choice of common cory for keeping with angels.

But they are sooooooooo cute!!!! Ok TY

 

Yea I have to admit I have a special liking for panda - I'll probably get some for my guppy tank. Sorry op for the diversion. You know if you give up the angels there are a lot of really neat fishes out there. I was looking at honey gourami this morning and they are pretty nice fishes - though they don't look like angels.

But they are sooooooooo cute!!!! Ok TY