| Caring for Angelfish | ||
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AQUARIUM
SIZE You really should not plan to keep an adult angelfish in anything smaller than a 20-gallon aquarium. You can keep two angel fish in a 20 gallon tank. As a rule of thumb, figure that you need at least 10 gallons per angel fish. If you have other fish in your tank, allow additional space those fish. If you have a 20 gallon tank, for instance, and a pair or angels, you could probably have a couple of cory catfish, but not much else. With veil tail or superveil tail angels, the fish will display much better in a larger aquarium, and I recommend at least a 29-gallon aquarium for an adult pair. Make sure you do not have any strong currents in the tank, as these will be hard on angelfish fins. You can keep a few baby angelfish in a smaller tank, but be prepared to upgrade to a bigger tank as they grow. FEEDING Feed a quality flake food, such as TetraMin Flake. Supplement daily with a protein-rich food such as frozen or dried blood worms, or frozen or dried shrimp. Be sure to include some variety, such as shrimp flakes, cichlid flakes, etc. I recommend feeding twice a day, as much as the fish will eat in about 5 minutes. If food is falling to the bottom of the tank and going uneaten, it will decay and cause deterioration in water quality. For growing juveniles, it is better if you can feed them small amounts more often, 3 to 5 times a day, to help them achieve the best growth. If food is falling to the bottom of the tank, you are feeding a bit too much.WATER QUALITY Poor water quality is the number one killer of fish. Poor water quality can result in build up of waste that can kill the fish, or can stress the fish and make them more prone to disease. Make sure you have good filtration, and good aeration. I recommend doing a partial water change weekly. Change about one third to one fourth of the water. Use a product like Start Right to remove chlorine from the water. DO NOT just add water to replace evaporation losses. All the minerals and other impurities in the water do not evaporate, and just become more concentrated. Water can look clear and clean and still become unhealthy for your fish. WATER TEMPERATURE Angels are tropical fish, and do best at temperatures 78-82 degrees F. I keep my tanks at about 80-82 degrees. Angelfish can live in cooler water, but the colder the water is, the slower their metabolism is, and the less resistant they are to stress and disease.ANGELS IN A COMMUNITY TANK Angels often get along well with sharing their aquarium with other angels. If a male and female pair up they will become territorial and chase away all other fish in the tank during spawning. Angels can generally be kept with non-aggressive, non-nippy fish. You might want a couple of Cory catfish to keep the tank bottom clean. A plecostamus can keep the algae down. The plecostamus is a nocturnal loner, needs some place to hide, and should be fed algae tablets to supplement the tank algae, or it may starve, or it may start eating regular fish food and can become aggressive. Sometimes a larger pleco will become aggressive toward angels, and they have been known to suck the slime coat off of angels and seriously injure or kill them. If you can find a bristlenose plecostamus, that would the best choice; they stay small (adult size is about 4 inches long), and I have heard no accounts of them attacking angelfish. The more types of fish you have in the tank, the more likely it is that some of them may carry a disease that the angels are sensitive to.I have had adult angels do well in tanks with fish that can be death on juveniles, such as tiger barbs and sword tails. Tiger barbs are often nippy, and can stress or kill juvenile angelfish. Swordtails will nibble on fins of small juveniles. I have had not problems with keeping adult angelfish with them. My recommendation is that you plan a separate community tank, and make your angelfish tank just for angels, with maybe a couple cory catfish and/or a plecostamus. How to contact me: Tamar Stephens Mailing address: P.O. Box 83495, Fairbanks, AK 99708 Street Address: 1229 Bunnell Street, Apt. B, Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: (907) 451-9357 e-mail: tstephens@gci.net Last updated February 12, 2006. |