Was 55 Now It Is 75 Gallon Tank With Angels

Have a sun sun filter, looking to add sand as a substrate (not sure of this one yet) and no live plants...

I love angel fish, I studied having cichlids but I honestly don't think I have the patience for the maintenance if I were to heavily stock it...

So my question is this. After a month or two of cycling, can I add angels first to my tank or should I go with mollies or a hearty fish first?

Secondly, in a 55 how many angels should I buy and what else can I have live with angelfish if going with a sand substrate.

Your suggestions are greatly welcomed. I love these forums because of all of your open and honest answers.

Thanks all!!!

(I should note that I currently have a 28 gallon with 7 tiger barbs and a few danios and red eye tetras.)

 

You could do up to 4 but I would do 2.

I would add the angels last so they don't get territorial

You could do this stocking and add them in this order
15 cherry barbs or cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras
15-20 bronze/albino cories or sterbaI cories or kuhlI loaches
(Then once the tank is stable and well established)
1 clown pleco
4 German blue rams or electric blue rams or gold rams
2 angels

 

You could do up to 4 but I would do 2.

I would add the angels last so they don't get territorial

You could do this stocking and add them in this order
15 cherry barbs or cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras
15-20 bronze/albino cories or sterbaI cories or kuhlI loaches
(Then once the tank is stable and well established)
1 clown pleco
4 German blue rams or electric blue rams or gold rams
2 angels

The stocking you suggested...is that a little at a time? And 15 cories isn't way too many for a 55?

 

Yeah just a few at a time. Maybe 4-6 fish at a time.


No 15 is not too many. You can have 10 cories in a 20 gallon long if they are a small variety. You can easily do 20 in a 55 gallon.

 

Yeah just a few at a time. Maybe 4-6 fish at a time.


No 15 is not too many. You can have 10 cories in a 20 gallon long if they are a small variety. You can easily do 20 in a 55 gallon.

Wow I thought that that would be way too many. Thank you so much for your input.


Also, my other issue is getting fish. My area SUCKS in terms of quality and choices. Have you ever ordered fish to be delivered like, from say, kg tropicals or anything?

Thanks again!

 

No problem. Since you're only adding a few at a time you can stop if you feel it is getting crowded. Just make sure to have 8 or more as they do best in large groups.

Sorry, I'm in Britain

 

I'm wondering about the German blue Rams...don't they get get really large?

I was thinking that if I wanted to set up an aquarium with 2 angels (55 gallon), could I put 4-5 dwarf cichlids? I thought the German blue rams got quite large.

 

No they generally stay under 2 inches

 

Would honey and or pearl gouramis be good in a tank with 2 angel fish?

 

Honeys would do best in slightly cooler water (they do best at 73f in my experience). A pearl gourami may or may not work with the angels. I personally wouldn't try it in this tank size.

 

You could do up to 4 but I would do 2.

I would add the angels last so they don't get territorial

You could do this stocking and add them in this order
15 cherry barbs or cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras
15-20 bronze/albino cories or sterbaI cories or kuhlI loaches
(Then once the tank is stable and well established)
1 clown pleco
4 German blue rams or electric blue rams or gold rams
2 angels

I'm digging this advice the more I read it. You said in this order. So after I add 15 tetras (I'm assuming 3 or 4 at a time over the course of several weeks?) I would wait a certain amount of time before then adding the corys?

Would there be enough waste in the substrate for corys at that point?

I'd be interested to hear your timeline for such a stock. Would you mind sharing?

For example...3 barbs, wait a few weeks, 3 more barbs, etc...

 

Yes
Yes
Yes
Why would you need waste for the cories? You just need to feed them sinking foods.
I would add maybe 5 fish at a time and wait at least 2 weeks between each group of fish. So add fish, wait 2 weeks, test parameters, if they're all good then add the next set.

I actually stock my own tanks very slowly. Partly because I have to wait for my if a to get certain fish in or I change my plan when I come across new fish or whatever else. So it took me over a year to fully stock my 63 gallon tank, I then had a disease outbreak that wiped out a lot if my stock so I'm working my way back up to stocked.

 

Yes
Yes
Yes
Why would you need waste for the cories? You just need to feed them sinking foods.
I would add maybe 5 fish at a time and wait at least 2 weeks between each group of fish. So add fish, wait 2 weeks, test parameters, if they're all good then add the next set.

I actually stock my own tanks very slowly. Partly because I have to wait for my if a to get certain fish in or I change my plan when I come across new fish or whatever else. So it took me over a year to fully stock my 63 gallon tank, I then had a disease outbreak that wiped out a lot if my stock so I'm working my way back up to stocked.

I truly appreciate your feedback here. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

 

I truly appreciate your feedback here. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

No problem

 

Can you mix and match the rams or should I just stick with one species. So if I go electric blue should I do 4 of just that.

 

You can mix and match as they are all just varieties of German blue rams. I think they also do long fins too so you can try them. Just don't do Bolivian rams, they need cooler water.

 

Awesome! I believe I will have to order most of these fish online as my local store is just awful. Some on another thread were mentioning some online sites which are intriguing but I've never done that before so it makes me nervous.

 

Glad I found this post because I've also been wondering about buying fish online. My local store is pretty nice but they don't carry a ton of fish.

 

Glad I found this post because I've also been wondering about buying fish online. My local store is pretty nice but they don't carry a ton of fish.

It's funny to me. We spend all this time and effort on filtration, decor, substrate, studying water parameters and ensuring our fish are well cared for but.....we can't find any fish!!!! Lol...so frustrating.

 

You could do up to 4 but I would do 2.

I would add the angels last so they don't get territorial

You could do this stocking and add them in this order
15 cherry barbs or cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras
15-20 bronze/albino cories or sterbaI cories or kuhlI loaches
(Then once the tank is stable and well established)
1 clown pleco
4 German blue rams or electric blue rams or gold rams
2 angels

Quick question regarding this potential setup. If I go the cherry barb route, should they be all male or does it not matter? Also, any other possible first fish to get as opposed to what you suggested to go along with those other fish?

 

Quick question regarding this potential setup. If I go the cherry barb route, should they be all male or does it not matter? Also, any other possible first fish to get as opposed to what you suggested to go along with those other fish?

I don't think it will matter if they are male or female

Instead of the cherry barbs or tetras you could do harlequin rasboras, emporer tetras, diamond tetras or lemon tetras.

 

Quick question regarding this potential setup. If I go the cherry barb route, should they be all male or does it not matter? Also, any other possible first fish to get as opposed to what you suggested to go along with those other fish?

anything under 6cm (especially slI'm fish) will get eaten by a medium to large angle (and they grow quickly), and I've found barbs to be nippy even in large groups. large rasbora, live bearers (be aware these breed like rabbits), danios and rainbow fish would be a good option. would also recommend keeping plants with those fish, some I've had an easy time growing with no fuss are java fern, anubias (both grow out of substrate but are slow) and Indian lace fern (basically a weed in my set up). also got any quarantine set up? i'd say making a couple while outsourcing from different locals or to split up orders. Also shipped animals must be acclimatised differently than locally sourced as once the bag is open there's a gas exchange that causes an alkaline spike, Rachel explains the rest in this vid (and generally has a vid on most other topics)

 

anything under 6cm (especially slI'm fish) will get eaten by a medium to large angle (and they grow quickly), and I've found barbs to be nippy even in large groups. large rasbora, live bearers (be aware these breed like rabbits), danios and rainbow fish would be a good option.

Tiger barbs are nippy fish but cherry barbs aren't. Cherries are peaceful.
Most common livebearers (platies and sworrdtails) need cooler water than angels. Guppies coupd be bullied and fin nipped by angels imo and endlers would be eaten. Danios need cooler water than angels. Some rainbow fish, not all, would be compatible. Maybe 8 boesmanI rainbows.

 

Tiger barbs are nippy fish but cherry barbs aren't. Cherries are peaceful.
Most common livebearers (platies and sworrdtails) need cooler water than angels. Guppies coupd be bullied and fin nipped by angels imo and endlers would be eaten. Danios need cooler water than angels. Some rainbow fish, not all, would be compatible. Maybe 8 boesmanI rainbows.

maybe but they'll still be eaten though, n' sos should a specified (freshwater) mollies like in the OP. admittedly striking a balance between danios and angles would be delicate, so not for for a beginner I guess. there are plenty of rainbows that live between 24- 30 c if that's the range your going for, but idk what's accessible over there.

 

You could do up to 4 but I would do 2.

I would add the angels last so they don't get territorial

You could do this stocking and add them in this order
15 cherry barbs or cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras
15-20 bronze/albino cories or sterbaI cories or kuhlI loaches
(Then once the tank is stable and well established)
1 clown pleco
4 German blue rams or electric blue rams or gold rams
2 angels

In your expert opinion, if I upgrade my tank to a 75, would that change the number of fish you itemized for me or would you keep it exactly the same.

I love what you suggested so I'm going with it but want to make sure the numbers are correct.

 

If you upgraded to a 75 you could add more fish. You could add another school, more cories and possibly 2 more rams.

 

If you upgraded to a 75 you could add more fish. You could add another school, more cories and possibly 2 more rams.

When you say another school you mean another species of 6ish or 6 more cherry barbs?

 

Depends what schooling fish you choose but around 10-15 of anither kind of schooling fish would be good. Alternatively you could just add to the current school.

 

I quarantine all my fish for at least a month before adding them to my tanks. My quarantine tank is only 10 gallons so it would take quite a while to stock a 55/75 gallon tank 5 or 6 at a time. Those Angel`s would be about a year down the road.

 

I quarantine all my fish for at least a month before adding them to my tanks. My quarantine tank is only 10 gallons so it would take quite a while to stock a 55/75 gallon tank 5 or 6 at a time. Those Angel`s would be about a year down the road.

But even when quarantining fish the process still takes that long, right? Or would quarantining speed up the process?

 

No,I was just saying those angels would be months away so don’t be in a hurry.

 

maybe but they'll still be eaten though, n' sos should a specified (freshwater) mollies like in the OP. admittedly striking a balance between danios and angles would be delicate, so not for for a beginner I guess. there are plenty of rainbows that live between 24- 30 c if that's the range your going for, but idk what's accessible over there.

Whatever my first school is I want to make sure they survive the duration and not be at risk when I add Angels is all.

 

Tiger barbs are nippy fish but cherry barbs aren't. Cherries are peaceful.
Most common livebearers (platies and sworrdtails) need cooler water than angels. Guppies coupd be bullied and fin nipped by angels imo and endlers would be eaten. Danios need cooler water than angels. Some rainbow fish, not all, would be compatible. Maybe 8 boesmanI rainbows.

Those boesmanI rainbows...are they hardy enough to begin with and would 8 be enough for a 75 gallon and would you do 3 or 4 at a time? I know that's 2,765 questions I'm sorry. Lol.

 

Those boesmanI rainbows...are they hardy enough to begin with and would 8 be enough for a 75 gallon and would you do 3 or 4 at a time? I know that's 2,765 questions I'm sorry. Lol.

I have not kept them myself but I believe they're reasonably hardy.
8-10 would be good.
Yeah around 4 at a time would be fine.

Don't apologise for asking questions! That's what we're here for! I'd rather you kept asking questions and felt comfortable with your stocking. I'm sure all of us here prefer people asking questions before buying fish rather than asking questions after buying them and ending up in a muddle.

 

I'm intrigued by the rainbow idea but um also wondering if they would get along with the German blue rams and Angels when I eventually add them. Because in the end they will be the highlight of my tank.

 

Or even the dwarf neon rainbow fish instead of the boesmanI as a possibility?

 

Ok definitely going 75...

 

Here is my final plan for my tank:

75 Gallon Freshwater

1. 20-25 Black Neon Tetras OR 20-25 Cherry Barbs OR 8 BoesmanI Rainbow
2. 15-20 corydoras (not sure if I could do more than this in a 75)
3. Then once the tank is stable and well established:
4. 1 clown pleco (could I get away with 2 with a 75 or stick with one and could I do a clown loach here instead of a pleco or no)
5. 4-6 German Blue Rams
6. 2 Angel Fish

And that would be my stocked 75 gallon tank. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts. I want to thank BottomDweller for the help giving me loads of wonderful advice in this thread and the others as well. Please let me know what you guys think?

 

Looks good. Depending on what cory you get (I've seen your other thread and you've got lots of nice options) you could do more.
You could probably do 2 plecos but I don't have much experience with multiple plecos so I'll leave that to someone else.
A clown loach wouldn't work. They get very big and are schooling so need to be kept in big groups.

 

Looks good. Depending on what cory you get (I've seen your other thread and you've got lots of nice options) you could do more.
You could probably do 2 plecos but I don't have much experience with multiple plecos so I'll leave that to someone else.
A clown loach wouldn't work. They get very big and are schooling so need to be kept in big groups.

Thank you! I figured as much about the clown loach...

 

Its a shame they get so big. They're such a cool looking fish.