Angelfish in 37 gallon with other fish?

DaniosForever

DaniosForever

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Could one angelfish go in a 37 gallon with other fish or is it too small? If not are there any other centerpiece fish?
Are angelfish super aggressive or is it just rumors?
 

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A group of 3-5 honey gouramis would be a nice option. An angelfish would be okay when young, but it would probably get cramped as it gets older.
 

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  • #3
For a centerpiece fish Im looking for something that's the only one of its kind for example: 4 cories, 1 dwarf gourami, group of honey gouramis, the dwarf gourami would be the centerpiece fish and im looking a centerpiece fish from south america because im doing a fish from south america tank
 
Dwarf gourami would for sure try to kill honey gourami.
 
Well gouramis are not South American. You could have a Male Apistogramma, one or a pair of rams (blue or Bolivian), one or a pair of Laetacaras or a single dwarf pike cichlid. A leaf fish is an interesting South American fish, but very predatory and not very easy to keep.
 
The thing with angelfish. a female isn't very social at maturity, they go off to claim a spawning territory. and if she's putting eggs down, she's going to get aggressive and her tank mates will be miserable. Juveniles and males can shoal together peacefully without females, slight bickering among themselves for who's boss. Maybe two dominant males, where neither one will be subordinate and they are equally matched, can lead to a lot of aggression between them and one getting seriously hurt by whoever turns out as dominant from their battles.

A single male will not be happy by itself without others of it's own kind to socialize with. the hierarchy and social order gives them structure. without that, they get introverted, and tend to focus on destroying other fish for something to do, they get really antisocial when kept alone don't know what to do and tend to focus in on undesirable behaviors to cope with being alone.

There are exceptions,it's about the individual fishes personality, but my personal opinion it needs to be at least two angels and if you don't intend on breeding, then two males or only males. if you intend on breeding, a male and female pair, and NO other tankmates works best. again there's exceptions, every fish has their individual personality.
I wouldn't recommend doing one, or even more than one unless you want to just do angels with the tank, it's just too risky to give it a shot if it doesn't work out.

How about a blue acara or a threadfin acara? they might get a little large for the tank, but they shouldn't get too aggressive unless in a group of their own, and make a nice centerpiece fish. everyone in the hobby's been focusing on the EB Acaras so the normal one, or the threadfin make a nice change of pace.
 

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How about a blue acara or a threadfin acara?
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Threadfin acara are peaceful on their own, but definitely too big, they get to about 24 cm, over 9". I have a normal blue acara in a 2m long tank, and it is quite aggressive to the other cichlids, not sure how it would be with no other cichlids in the tank, but they will definitely eat smaller species of tetra. They also get to quite a large size and stocky with it, I think a smaller species would be better on the whole. The Laetacaras are bigger than many other dwarf cichlids, males get to at least 10cm (4") and are very chunky. They could be worth considering.
 
Could a pair of GBR work? I heard they are sensitive to water parameters though
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Yes, if your water is reasonably soft and you can keep the temperature quite high. Keep nitrates low with floating plants. If you want Corydoras as well you would need to check which species can live at the higher temperatures that the rams need.
 
What are the dimensions of the aquarium. Single angle might be fine if it is the right shape. For dwarf cichild - well there are a lot to consider - but some depend on your water parameters which were not provided. GBR could work but the aquarium needs to be warm (82 is good) so other fishes have to be comfortable with that - they prefer soft water.
 
Threadfin acara are peaceful on their own, but definitely too big, they get to about 24 cm, over 9". I have a normal blue acara in a 2m long tank, and it is quite aggressive to the other cichlids, not sure how it would be with no other cichlids in the tank, but they will definitely eat smaller species of tetra. They also get to quite a large size and stocky with it, I think a smaller species would be better on the whole. The Laetacaras are bigger than many other dwarf cichlids, males get to at least 10cm (4") and are very chunky. They could be worth considering.
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I was thinking by the time it gets too big, long before it's 9", and they've grown attached to it, they'll get the 6 ft aquarium for it out of guilt :D Threadfin acara are so pretty especially some of the albinos!

You are correct of course, 37 gallon that's like 2.5 feet won't cut it long term. Laetacaras are a good compromise, that won't outgrow the aquarium, maybe Laetacaras Araguaiae
 

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My water is on the hard side since I have mollies and mollies require hard water and my water temp is 78 degrees fahrenheit

I was thinking by the time it gets too big, long before it's 9", and they've grown attached to it, they'll get the 6 ft aquarium for it out of guilt :D Threadfin acara are so pretty especially some of the albinos!

You are correct of course, 37 gallon that's like 2.5 feet won't cut it long term. Laetacaras are a good compromise, that won't outgrow the aquarium, maybe Laetacaras Araguaiae
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I would get a 6 foot tank but my parents say otherwise also my tank dimension is 30.6 in W X 15.7 in D X 30 in H( found the dimensions on some website on google)
Could GBR thrive in neutral to hard water at a temp of 78 degrees?
 
Could GBR thrive in neutral to hard water at a temp of 78 degrees?
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I haven't kept them, but from following this and other similar forums for several years I believe I can confidently say the answer is no to both. Sorry about that. I'm in the same boat with the hard water.

Bolivian rams should work though.
 
I was thinking by the time it gets too big, long before it's 9", and they've grown attached to it, they'll get the 6 ft aquarium for it out of guilt :D Threadfin acara are so pretty especially some of the albinos!
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Haha that would be a plan! Yes, they are very nice fish and do seem to grow quite slowly compared to a lot of other cichlids. I have actually got a small albino one, it was given to me a couple of months ago in exchange for the pair of Cichlasomas I took to the fish shop. It was tiny when I got it and at home it looked even smaller than in the fish shop, I was going to put it in the big cichlid tank and did so- for just a couple of minutes - then I was scared as the blue acara started to chase it and I was afraid it was going to bite it in two! I think being white it drew attention to itself, as other, even smaller, cichlids have grown up there without being attacked.So at the moment it is in the 120cm (4ft) tank with some tetras, Apistogrammas and new dwarf pike cichlids. But he is a bit bigger now and I will probably put him in the big tank very soon. He is ridiculously tame and will feed from my hands.

And yes, I was thinking particularly of Laetacara araguaiae as the male gets a nice nuchal hump and looks quite big, though not very long. I am sure they are less sensitive than GBRs to water temperature and parameters - in fact I once forgot to turn on the heater after a water change on a small tank where I was raising very small Laetacara fry, it was off all night and the temperature dropped to about 18C. They all survived.

Bolivian rams should also be less demanding than GBRs.

But if you have hard water, suitable for mollies, you could also consider a Central American setup maybe?
 
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  • #16
I would but the molly population has exploded and there's no turning back
 
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  • #18
I will see if there are any rainbow cichlids near me
I dont think there any rainbow cichlids near me but I could try bolivian rams but I need to know male vs female
 
Could one angelfish go in a 37 gallon with other fish or is it too small? If not are there any other centerpiece fish?
Are angelfish super aggressive or is it just rumors?
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I've kept single Angels since my first tank almost 50 years ago. In tanks from 10 gallons (my first tank... single full grown Angel and tank were given to me) to 75 gallons. It always worked well for me. I never wanted pairs or groups because I preferred to avoid the well documented aggression issues that would stress me and the fish out. I feel a single Angel with a few smaller fish in your 37 would work well... It always did for me. They are beautiful fish.
 
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  • #20
I've kept single Angels since my first tank almost 50 years ago. In tanks from 10 gallons (my first tank... single full grown Angel and tank were given to me) to 75 gallons. It always worked well for me. I never wanted pairs or groups because I preferred to avoid the well documented aggression issues that would stress me and the fish out. I feel a single Angel with a few smaller fish in your 37 would work well... It always did for me. They are beautiful fish.
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Thats awsome! Im planning a pair of bolivian rams with the angelfish but I cannot tell if a bolivian ram is a male or female.
 
Depends on the angelfish, having one with honey gouramis did not go well.
 

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Angelfish have varying personalities, and they can be downright meanies, or perfect little angels. I have a big aquarium with lots of angels and when they pair up to breed I make sure to remove the eggs right away so the pair don’t keep chasing and guarding and stressing the rest of the tank. The majority of the time they are pretty happy. The bigger ones sometimes are jerks to each other but they take turns bullying. I have dwarf gouramis and if anything the angels do not like them mainly because they come at them with their “tentacles” and try to touch the angels and the angels are like “don’t freaking touch me dude”. I’ve seen smaller aquarium than yours with 5 grown angels and many other community fish all together and everyone just kept to their own space and it seemed peaceful. Usually the best success would be picking out little angels like dime size, and then having it grow up with the community fish so it views them more as part of the territory and not as invading the angels territory. I have with my angels the dwarf gourami, ottos, mollies, platies, Cory, flying fox. Angels have a special place in my heart, they are more like dogs than fish honestly lol Also, usually the smaller they are the more behaved, but I also have a very docile big guy and a butthead of a little one that’s a 1/4 his size, really you just have to hope you get a good personality. So I guess to loosely quote Forrest Gump “angelfish* are like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get”.
 
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  • #23
I thought long and hard about it and I do not want to risk it and I feel like a angelfish wont thrive in a 37 gallon so instead I will do Bolivian Rams
 
Not to throw a “monkey wrench“ into your apparent decision, but imho, a single Angelfish in a 36g would be fine w perhaps a few smaller (not eatable sized) fish like 2 Platies and a few Corys. I think I read your tank is 30” tall…..that’s good. If you keep the water changes up, and certainly don’t add much in the way of tankmates to the tank, it should be ok. Yes…..ideally down the road, you might want to get a bigger tank. If you start out w a medium to smaller sized fish, you’ll get several years in just fine w the 36g.
 
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  • #25
The thing is my parents said this 37 gallon tank is the biggest one I will get
 
Just for kicks…..I checked around w various fish authorities/websites/books for Angelfish care and most said 20-40g is minimum. If love you Angels as I do, get one and enjoy/take care of it in a 36g nice 30” tall tank. Although I’m in the minority, just thought I’d share my thoughts.

When I bought my Koi Angel back a ways, he was in a LFS 40g display only tank for over a year w a few dithers and he was fine, grew well, and I ended up making an offer the LFS had to accept. Now he’s in my 60g w 2 Dwarf Gouramis, Platies, and Corys.
13CA6EBB-1CE9-4AAD-8CDD-22B58E984765.jpeg
 
Ideally……I’d personally go w just the Angel w maybe a few Corys. While they would probably do ok, the idea here is to focus on your desired fish, the Angel. Once you start adding stuff, then all bets are off due to your 37g tank size. You’ll find that the Angel is likely to have quite the character. Mine eats out of my hand and loves to follow my face when viewing the tank.
 
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  • #29
thank you heres what imma add with my angel

4 mollies
6 skirt tetras
4 cories

is this over stocked and will the angelfish get overwhelmed by the amount of fish
 
thank you heres what imma add with my angel

4 mollies
6 skirt tetras
4 cories

is this over stocked and will the angelfish get overwhelmed by the amount of fish
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Too much for a 37 gallon... not biologically but action wise. Take away the mollies and that's what I have in my 75. Maybe a smaller tetra (like Lemons or similar size) would be better for your size tank. And drop the mollies.

I've never kept rams so I'd be hesitant to add them with your angel. I'd like to hear the opinion of others regarding this combo.

Get the tetras first, then add a small angel a month or two latter. A few cory's can go in at any time after, The Angel and tetras won't bother them.

"Center piece fish" is surely in the eye of the beholder, but I don't see how any other fish can compare to a beautiful full grown angel in this regard.
 
Maybe Mollies if you like them that much, but I’m not a fan of Tetras w Angels…..especially in the relatively restricted space of a 37g. Bear in mind that the Angel will likely snarf up any Molly fry. Others will think Tets will be fine w Angels…..I just think they swim too fast and can be fin nippers. Also, the Black Skirt Tets are of similar shape and patterning to Angels where, at least, the Mollies would be complimentary to an Angel. It’s your choice, but trying to make this into a community tank is not ideal imho.

KingOscar said it best….”"Center piece fish" is surely in the eye of the beholder, but I don't see how any other fish can compare to a beautiful full grown angel in this regard.”
 

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  • #32
I already have mollies and there population exploded so I cant get rid of them should I take away the tetras or the cories?
 
You absolutely want bottom fish to clean up any fallen leftovers from the Angel. Keep the Corys. Imo, Corys are one lovable and ultra ideal critical fish in a tank. They will not bother your Angel either. I’d dump the Tets and keep the Corys.
 
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  • #34
Ok so my stock will now be
4 mollies
1 angelfish
4 cories: could I add more biologically wise?
 
And do send pics later on when all set up. Btw…what kind of Angel are u wanting?
 
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  • #36
Its either a koi or silver angel

Can I have 6 cories instead of 4
Which angelfish is easier to find? Koi or Silver?
 
Not sure abt which Angelfish is easier to find. Just buy it from a good source. Online…..you can’t go wrong with AngelsPlus or GetGills. Six Corys probably would be fine and a joy to watch when they play around, but be sure to provide enough food for them and don’t just think they’ll eat the leftovers from the Angel. My Koi Angel even occasionally steals food from the Corys….I feed them sinking pellets. The Mollies will be all over the tank and will provide a different swimming pattern than an Angel.
This is my orange Koi Angel from many years ago…..I get another one tomorrow via UPS overnight.
A9234D60-0169-429A-BC0E-7EAA22BD0068.jpeg
 
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  • #38
I will feed my cories sinking catfish pellets and regular floating pellets for the mollies and angelfish
 
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  • #39
Could I add a BN pleco for a odd ball fish? A pleco usually stays at the bottom of the tank so the angelfish will not notice that much
 
That, I’m afraid, I can’t help you with as I have no real pleco experience. I tend to keep thinking your 4 mollies, 4-6 Corys, and Angel are perfect. Imho….having too many species in this tank is asking for trouble. I thought your main goal/focus was the Angel.
 
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  • #41
It is but im looking for a fish that people would say:" What the! Is that a fish or a alien! The BN pleco fits this perfectly and the angelfish will rarely interact with the pleco.
 

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  • #42
I thought a pleco would be a good oddball fish for the tank
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I thought your main goal/focus was the Angel.
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It is but I want a fish that people would say: What the! Is that a fish or a alien? The pleco fits the category perfectly
 
I think you should pick fishes suitable to your water. If you have hard water (mollies love hard water) then look at something like swordtails or if you must have cichild then look at CA cichild like rainbow cichild. While you can put an anglefish (or ram) in any sort of water they are negatively impacted by water not suitable for their body chemistry.
 
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  • #44
I heard that soft water fish can convert to hard water and where I live the water is hard so all the fish at my petco or petsmart are used to hard water
 
I heard that soft water fish can convert to hard water and where I live the water is hard so all the fish at my petco or petsmart are used to hard water
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Not really; they can 'live' just not as well - depends on the species as to how much it impacts them but for most cichlid it will impact their longevity and overall health depending on extreme.
 
What do you mean by neutral hardness? To measure hardness you need to know GH and KH. Did you mean that your pH is neutral? If so, that is not a measure of water hardness.

Also, fish that are at Petco and Petsmart have been in that water for a few days. That is not the water they were bred and raised in. New shipments arrive weekly from the supplier. On the East Coast, Petco gets their fish from Florida, near Tampa,
 
any way to check the GH and KH, my parents said no to a water test kit

Also I have some mopani wood in the tank which would make the water more acidic
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Have you cycled your tank yet? it will be difficult without a water test kit.

The wood will have little effect. If you have hard water, it probably will not do anything.

You can bring a water sample to a LFS. Not sure if they'll test for GH and KH. You'll have to ask.
Does your home use a water softener because the water is so hard?

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I think you can have a BN pleco in there. Make sure to get a male if you want it to look like an alien. In the end it depends on who else is stocked in your tank. If it is a choice between BN and corys, I'd go with the corys. The BN is nocturnal and is often not seen during the day. There are exceptions, but you won't know until you have it in your tank. You could get corys with a nice pattern, like panda corys, for example. Corys will be much more active and fun to watch IMO.
 
any way to check the GH and KH, my parents said no to a water test kit

Also I have some mopani wood in the tank which would make the water more acidic
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acidic is not a measurement of hardness; quality petshops will measure gh/kh for free if you bring them a sample. Btw keyholes are a nice cichild that does better in 'harder' water (not to be confused with hard water).
 

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