Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Dia.]

Cory catfish do just fine with anything that isn't mean to them or tries to eat them. ^^

[Dappled Sapphire]

Angelfish are fine in a comunity tank aslong as they aren't a breeding pair...
Then they are a nightmare
My skirt tetra (widow tetra) actually used to harass my angles the most, nipping at their fins
I also had neons (if you put neons with angels make sure the neons are big and the angels are babys so they grow up with them, neon tetra are their natural food) and danio

[Hime]

Angelfish are fine in a comunity tank aslong as they aren't a breeding pair...
Then they are a nightmare

I disagree slightly. If there's enough space and hiding spots for the other fish, breeding pair shouldn't be too much of a problem even in community tank(I know of quite many community tanks that have breeding pair, or even two, of angelfish). And by space I mean over 200 liters(~53gal). Like sure they will chase away other fish near the eggs, but that's what most cichlids do...

Personally I think 30gal is too little for angelfish. I have tad bigger tank than that and I wouldn't even dream of putting an angel fish in there... Height is the first issue, than rest of the space. This is pretty good example why not in small tank... Those numbers are centimeters: In red you have 30cm=12inch and 50cm=20inch...

[Blood Storm]

Angelfish are fine in a comunity tank aslong as they aren't a breeding pair...
Then they are a nightmare
My skirt tetra (widow tetra) actually used to harass my angles the most, nipping at their fins
I also had neons (if you put neons with angels make sure the neons are big and the angels are babys so they grow up with them, neon tetra are their natural food) and danio

My grandma has two males in a tank with platies and mollies and those things are vicious, one ate the others lips and they kill relentlessly, but my grandparents won't kick them to the curb...

[Dappled Sapphire]

@hime
I tried a pair in a 75g planted comunity tank but even then it didn't work out
They kept the other fish corralled in the opposite corner of the tank and attacked them if they tried to move out at all
It was very stressful for all the fish so I endup moving the pair to their own 40g where they could spawn in peace

Angelfish are fine in a comunity tank addling as they aren't a breeding pair...
Then they are a nightmare
My skirt tetra (widow tetra) actually used to harass my angles the most, nipping at their fins
I also had neons (if you put neons with angels make sure the neons are big and the angels are babys so they grow up with them, neon tetra are their natural food) and danio

My grandma has two males in a tank with platies and mollies and those things are vicious, one ate the others lips and they kill relentlessly, but my grandparents won't kick them to the curb...

How big is their tank? The tank could be too small for them to have their own territories
I haven't kept male angelfish together long but when I did the only time the males had a problem with each other was when they paired up
But I did have two females at one point and they were fine together in a 40g, they even spawned together afew times and protected the eggs, then they would eat them when they started to turn white because they weren't fertilised

[koalanews [QUIT]]

What type of fish is good for a first time owner? What kind of tanks do you recommend, and do you have any helpful tips? Thanks

[Blood Storm]

@hime
I tried a pair in a 75g planted comunity tank but even then it didn't work out
They kept the other fish corralled in the opposite corner of the tank and attacked them if they tried to move out at all
It was very stressful for all the fish so I endup moving the pair to their own 40g where they could spawn in peace

Angelfish are fine in a comunity tank addling as they aren't a breeding pair...
Then they are a nightmare
My skirt tetra (widow tetra) actually used to harass my angles the most, nipping at their fins
I also had neons (if you put neons with angels make sure the neons are big and the angels are babys so they grow up with them, neon tetra are their natural food) and danio

My grandma has two males in a tank with platies and mollies and those things are vicious, one ate the others lips and they kill relentlessly, but my grandparents won't kick them to the curb...

How big is their tank? The tank could be too small for them to have their own territories
I haven't kept male angelfish together long but when I did the only time the males had a problem with each other was when they paired up
But I did have two females at one point and they were fine together in a 40g, they even spawned together afew times and protected the eggs, then they would eat them when they started to turn white because they weren't fertilised

they are in a 48-50 gallon tank. they need to get rid of them because they are starting to have livebearer issues(like babies, babies, and of course the rare case of babies). they started with two angelfish, four platies, four mollies, and two swordtails...now they have too many to count. I tried to get them to let me bring a couple dozen platies to my house for our Oscar(who rather enjoys chasing down fish for his meal) and our pleco(who also chases down fish to eat)


speaking of Oscars, any ideas on how to keep them busy? ours has started picking up the stone base of a fake plant and has been bashing it against the glass, but if we take out the plant he/she turns pale and starts smashing his/her face into the gravel until he/she starts bleeding(think really spoiled fishy teenager).

[Dappled Sapphire]

Surprised many of the babys survive with the angels and other adults in there

[Hime]

What type of fish is good for a first time owner? What kind of tanks do you recommend, and do you have any helpful tips? Thanks

Bigger tank is easier to maintain, in terms of water quality(+100 liter tank is recommended usually where I live for beginners). Also no over stocking it. Rectangular is the most common tank shape and good, probably the best I dare to say. You will need filter and heater, no matter what tank you get. The issue with some ready made kits is that the filter capasity is not actually enough for the tank.
What kind of fish can be recommended depends on the tank size, and what kind of water you have(hard, soft, accidic etc.). If you are only planning for small tank(5-10gal(20-40l) for example), then maybe a betta or small school of some tiny tetras or rasboras. But for bigger tank you have lot more options. Several schooling fish are very easy. I actually think most fish are pretty simple and don't have special needs. Of course there are some that you need to have some special knowledge, like the bigger cichlids, but they also need LOT of space. Other easy fish are live bearers(though you might get over population issues...), corries(corydoras, corry catfish), bristlenose plecos(though don't grow massive, but still min 100 liter tank for them, and only one since males fight and male+female breed and you find yourself with more plecos you can handle). Out of slightly bigger fish dwarf cichlids and gouramis(dwarf and honey gouramis are nice for smaller tank).
As for tips: Read up on cycling the tank and nitrogen cycle(very very very important), get drop tests to monitor the water parameters(nitrite and nitrate at least, ammonium is good if doing the cycling the long way), water changes are a must(30-50% once a week is usually okay), do your research on the fish species you are interested in before getting any(make a stocking plan for the tank), minimum school size is 10(for corries 6), don't add all the planned fish at once to the tank. Live plants are amazing and some are not that hard to take care of, they also help to keep the algae away.


Can anyone offer some plant advise for me? I have couple plants that aren't doing so great, and it might just be the lack of light, but it could be something else that I don't know of.
Also someone has been eating my plants(same plants that are not doing so great, plus couple others)...

[snarfsnarf]

What kind of plants do you have?
My favorite plants are water wisteria (Hygrophilia difformis), the willow hygro (Hygrophilia angustifolia), and moneywort (Bacopa monnieri). They're really pretty and don't need too much light in my experience. But I do have my windows open a lot for my non-aquarium plants, so I'm not sure if they're doing well because of that or what.
I have a good deal of moneywort though, my barbs don't rip up the moneywort as much as the hygros so it grows better.

Also, for the temperamental oscar, have you tried giving him softer "rocks" like made out of a foam type material? Or you could take his rock and cover it in a layer of the silicon aquarium sealant so it won't be as solid. The display oscar at the store named Samuel has cat toys to keep him busy.