Angelfish in my 20-gallon community tank?

Hey everyone!

I got my first aquarium setup and running a few months ago. It is a 20-gallon (tall) tank. After doing a lot of research and talking to people in person at the aquarium store, I stocked it with live plants, sandy substrate, some rocks and other decorations to hide in, a little bit of driftwood, 6 Peppered Corydoras, currently 22 Ember Tetras, a Clown Pleco, three snails (1 mystery and 2 nerites), a few Ghost Shrimp, and a Dwarf Gourami as my centerpiece fish. This combination seemed to work, as the fish all displayed their natural behaviors and the parameters of my tank almost always tested perfectly fine. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse this past week.

My Dwarf Gourami started to look worse and worse over the course of a week. I tested my water often and didn't see how that could be the cause. Once he got really bad, I did some research and discovered that he definitely had the viral disease that apparently the majority of commercially bred Dwarf Gouramis get after a while. He had all of the symptoms. Unfortunately, he passed a few days ago.

With that said, I would prefer to get a new centerpiece fish, as I believe a community tank is incomplete without one. I would prefer to not get another Dwarf Gourami. I don't want to possibly deal with the disease again, and I wasn't sure I was crazy about the one that I had anyway. I know that my tank is too small for a pearl gourami, or that's what I would get. I have looked into a honey/sunset gourami, but I would prefer a centerpiece fish to be a bit bigger.

I recently came across some posts and videos where people had an angelfish as their centerpiece in an aquarium like mine. I have gathered that a single angelfish can be perfectly fine in a 20-gallon tall tank with some tank mates. My tank already has the decorations and elements that they prefer to live in. They are beautiful fish, and I'm intrigued. My main hesitation and holdup is the ember tetras. Will the angelfish eat them? I have seen some sources say that they can get along fine, where others disagree. I know embers are small, but they are also very fast and I have a larger school for safety.

Speaking of which, do you think I have too many embers? A lot of folks I talked to told me that in a planted community tank, I should get somewhere in the range of 15-20 for the full effect and for their comfort. I started with 15, but that really didn't seem like that large of a school in that tank. After I lost one, I went and got 8 more to make it 22. This is now a great looking group of schooling fish that really sticks out in my tank and are kind of fun to watch. Like I said, everything had seemed to be fine before, but I figured I would ask while I might be adding to or changing my tank anyway. I don't want any of the fish to feel crowded or stressed, especially an angelfish.

So I guess my questions are:

Should I think about taking some of the tetras back? Is that amount fine?

Can I add an angelfish to that aquarium? If not, what are your other recommendations for a centerpiece fish?

If I do get an angelfish, should I try different tank mates than what I have? If so, what/how many? (I would prefer to get something that would allow me to keep the species I currently have.)

I'm just a rookie trying to figure this all out. Any input or advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

I would not add an angelfish, they get quite big and would either be stunted or would have a tough time swimming in a 20 gallon.

Personally, i find centerpiece fish overrated. My "centerpieces" are usually plecos or big rabbit snails lol

 

Hey everyone!

I got my first aquarium setup and running a few months ago. It is a 20-gallon (tall) tank. After doing a lot of research and talking to people in person at the aquarium store, I stocked it with live plants, sandy substrate, some rocks and other decorations to hide in, a little bit of driftwood, 6 Peppered Corydoras, currently 22 Ember Tetras, a Clown Pleco, three snails (1 mystery and 2 nerites), a few Ghost Shrimp, and a Dwarf Gourami as my centerpiece fish. This combination seemed to work, as the fish all displayed their natural behaviors and the parameters of my tank almost always tested perfectly fine. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse this past week.

My Dwarf Gourami started to look worse and worse over the course of a week. I tested my water often and didn't see how that could be the cause. Once he got really bad, I did some research and discovered that he definitely had the viral disease that apparently the majority of commercially bred Dwarf Gouramis get after a while. He had all of the symptoms. Unfortunately, he passed a few days ago.

With that said, I would prefer to get a new centerpiece fish, as I believe a community tank is incomplete without one. I would prefer to not get another Dwarf Gourami. I don't want to possibly deal with the disease again, and I wasn't sure I was crazy about the one that I had anyway. I know that my tank is too small for a pearl gourami, or that's what I would get. I have looked into a honey/sunset gourami, but I would prefer a centerpiece fish to be a bit bigger.

I recently came across some posts and videos where people had an angelfish as their centerpiece in an aquarium like mine. I have gathered that a single angelfish can be perfectly fine in a 20-gallon tall tank with some tank mates. My tank already has the decorations and elements that they prefer to live in. They are beautiful fish, and I'm intrigued. My main hesitation and holdup is the ember tetras. Will the angelfish eat them? I have seen some sources say that they can get along fine, where others disagree. I know embers are small, but they are also very fast and I have a larger school for safety.

Speaking of which, do you think I have too many embers? A lot of folks I talked to told me that in a planted community tank, I should get somewhere in the range of 15-20 for the full effect and for their comfort. I started with 15, but that really didn't seem like that large of a school in that tank. After I lost one, I went and got 8 more to make it 22. This is now a great looking group of schooling fish that really sticks out in my tank and are kind of fun to watch. Like I said, everything had seemed to be fine before, but I figured I would ask while I might be adding to or changing my tank anyway. I don't want any of the fish to feel crowded or stressed, especially an angelfish.

So I guess my questions are:

Should I think about taking some of the tetras back? Is that amount fine?

Can I add an angelfish to that aquarium? If not, what are your other recommendations for a centerpiece fish?

If I do get an angelfish, should I try different tank mates than what I have? If so, what/how many? (I would prefer to get something that would allow me to keep the species I currently have.)

I'm just a rookie trying to figure this all out. Any input or advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I forgot to add: Here is a picture of my tank last week before the DG passed. This might help any advice or insight.

 

I forgot to add: Here is a picture of my tank last week before the DG passed. This might help any advice or insight.

Could always try another DG in there. Maybe an apistogramma or something like that. Maybe get away with a single bolivian ram. Something like that.

 

Angelfish need larger tanks, 48 inch long minimum IMO sorry. Angelfish are likely but not garanteed to eat a fish the size of an ember. Fast or not, the embers are likely to be chased/pursued, stressed to all end. Sometimes people get away with things, it's true. But that doesn't mean that those things are good ideas.

If your embers are working now, water quality is good, fish dont seem stressed, I wouldnt return any.

 

Too small for an angelfish...I too think you don't need to return embers if water quality is good and they seem fine...You are actually just about fully stocked. The wise thing would probably be to concentrate on increasing plant cover and then revisit stocking in 4-6 months once the tank is even mature and there areore plants. At that point you might be able to get away with a few honey gourami or a few sparkling gourami?(though you would still be a bit overstocked)...If deadset on a centerpiece now, you might ask others for thoughts on a female betta?

 

Too small for an angelfish...I too think you don't need to return embers if water quality is good and they seem fine...You are actually just about fully stocked. The wise thing would probably be to concentrate on increasing plant cover and then revisit stocking in 4-6 months once the tank is even mature and there areore plants. At that point you might be able to get away with a few honey gourami or a few sparkling gourami?(though you would still be a bit overstocked)...If deadset on a centerpiece now, you might ask others for thoughts on a female betta?

Okay, noted. Thanks!

Since everyone on here is in agreement, I'll hold off on getting an angelfish. It's disappointing, but I don't want to make one live in poor housing either. Maybe someday in a much bigger tank.

As for the plants, is there anything you recommend to help them grow and mature, or is it just a waiting process? I have a bottle of fertilizer, but I try not to use that a lot since there are already a bunch of fish creating waste in there.

I recognize that I am probably riding the line of the stocking limit. I 100% don't plan to add anymore fish besides maybe another centerpiece fish at some point. I'll keep monitoring the parameters to make sure there aren't any problems. It sounds like a small one might be what I need to do. I had actually considered both a honey gourami or a female betta, so I'll give it some time and research more about those.

Thanks for your help!

Angelfish need larger tanks, 48 inch long minimum IMO sorry. Angelfish are likely but not garanteed to eat a fish the size of an ember. Fast or not, the embers are likely to be chased/pursued, stressed to all end. Sometimes people get away with things, it's true. But that doesn't mean that those things are good ideas.

If your embers are working now, water quality is good, fish dont seem stressed, I wouldnt return any.

That's a good point, thanks!

I'll hold off on an angelfish. Maybe someday in a much bigger aquarium. I'll keep an eye on the parameters and make sure I don't have any problems.

 

I agree with AP1, a beta could be your centerpiece fish.

 

Hey BDV

In your first post you ask for advice.

Can I ask if you have medication in the water? Is that bubbles on the surface? That seems like a sign on trouble? Do you have ammonia on a test?

 

Hey BDV

In your first post you ask for advice.

Can I ask if you have medication in the water? Is that bubbles on the surface? That seems like a sign on trouble? Do you have ammonia on a test?

Great question!

I was concerned when the bubbles first started appearing too. Being a rookie, I didn't know what that meant, but I worried that it was bad. I tested my water frantically, and the levels were fine. At the initial reading, the ammonia was just SLIGHTLY above zero, but even once it went back down, they remained. I researched possibilities until one day I caught the cause red-handed. This picture was from when I still had my dwarf gourami, and I caught him building a bubble nest on the surface. I even took a better picture of it and asked an associate at the aquarium store, and they said that's what it is. He has now passed, unfortunately. If they reappear without him in the tank, I'll know I have a bit more of a problem.

Thanks for looking out for me though!

Great question!

I was concerned when the bubbles first started appearing too. Being a rookie, I didn't know what that meant, but I worried that it was bad. I tested my water frantically, and the levels were fine. At the initial reading, the ammonia was just SLIGHTLY above zero, but even once it went back down, they remained. I researched possibilities until one day I caught the cause red-handed. This picture was from when I still had my dwarf gourami, and I caught him building a bubble nest on the surface. I even took a better picture of it and asked an associate at the aquarium store, and they said that's what it is. He has now passed, unfortunately. If they reappear without him in the tank, I'll know I have a bit more of a problem.

Thanks for looking out for me though!

Also, I think that my filter causes a few bubbles at a time due to water agitation but they disappear quickly. For future reference though, what do bubbles mean? If there ever is a problem, I want to know what to fix.

 

That’s the best news i could have heard. Thumbs up.

 

A single angelfish could work as far as the space, but it's going to dominate the tank and be the only thing you see.

The other thing is, is that angels are social and like a group. a single angel by itself will not have anything to play "follow the leader" with and nothing that speaks their language of sparing for position and will not be mentally stimulated which will lead to behavior problems or simply pure boredom for the fish and bullying for something to do.
For that reason I do not recommend a single angelfish by itself. a 20g aquarium could house 2 angelfish a male/female pair if they bond and get along, but nothing else with them. A 29G would be better for a pair though.

Some sort of Apistogramma could work.

 

I have (3) angelfish in a 29....they are babies, size of a dime. Their parents, well, the mom was the size of a 20oz pop/soda bottle fully grown. Angels are not small fish. I wouldn't consider them in anything less than a 55.

**I have a 55 waiting for the babies once they get large enough to survive with other angels I have.

 

How about honey gouramis I heard they are less prone to dwarf gourami disease

 

How about honey gouramis I heard they are less prone to dwarf gourami disease

I am strongly considering these! How many should I keep together and with the other fish that are already in there?

I have (3) angelfish in a 29....they are babies, size of a dime. Their parents, well, the mom was the size of a 20oz pop/soda bottle fully grown. Angels are not small fish. I wouldn't consider them in anything less than a 55.

**I have a 55 waiting for the babies once they get large enough to survive with other angels I have.

Noted. I will hold off on an angelfish. Thanks for the advice! Years in the future, I want to get a 75 gallon tank. Maybe I'll explore them then. Thanks!

A single angelfish could work as far as the space, but it's going to dominate the tank and be the only thing you see.

The other thing is, is that angels are social and like a group. a single angel by itself will not have anything to play "follow the leader" with and nothing that speaks their language of sparing for position and will not be mentally stimulated which will lead to behavior problems or simply pure boredom for the fish and bullying for something to do.
For that reason I do not recommend a single angelfish by itself. a 20g aquarium could house 2 angelfish a male/female pair if they bond and get along, but nothing else with them. A 29G would be better for a pair though.

Some sort of Apistogramma could work.

Yeah after further consideration, I don't think an angelfish would be smart. Maybe in the future! I'll look into an apistogramma!