Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone had any advice about an angelfish in a community tank? I've read conflicting information about being able to keep angelfish in tanks with tetras, barbs, and danios. Some people say they'll eat them, some say that if the angels are raised with them, they'll see them as 'family' and wont eat them, but will eat new introductions (I read this in a book).

I really want an angelfish or two, but I also don't want to lose all my other fish

I have a 46g bowfront aquarium, cherry barbs, rummynose tetras, zebra danios, dwarf guoramis, and 2 german blue rams.

Will I/Should I be able to get an angelfish?

Thanks for your help!

I did what your book suggested and introduced the neons into the aquarium a few weeks before the angels. The angels at the time were only quarter sized juveniles. I wouldn't say the angels see the neons as "family", but they aren't aggressive towards them.

The important thing is that the angels don't yet have big enough mouths to swallow the neons whole. I fully expect to have to remove either angels or neons once the angels reach adult size. But that's probably still one year away.

Ive got my 4 angels in tanks with neons and other community fish with no problems.

same here. i have 2 adult angelfish in my tank with 20 or so assorted tetras. they pretty much leave everybody alone. the bullys of my tank are the banded tetras. the only time i notice the angelfish being aggressive is when defending their eggs. actually, i think my angelfish were dropped on their heads as fry because they defend the eggs so they can then eat them.

I think it depends on things like size of the tank, how planted, etc. I have pristella tetras in my 150 with 3 angelfish and have not had any issues. 2 of the angelfish are still juveniles, however. Rule of thumb is no fish smaller than the angelfish's (open) mouth. Neon's can be an issue as they are fairly small. Some people don't have issues others have tasty snacks. Larger tetras are usually not a problem.

David

#1. Personality, Personality, Personality... One angel can be raised with neons and think they are family, and another can be raised with them and all of a sudden, they realize that family tastes good. It really is a toss up as to which would happen.

#2. Angels are ambush hunters. They have verticle stripes so that they can hide in grassy environements and then 'BAM!' Neon down! So avoid triggering this instinct by keeping tall grassy plants at a minimum.

#3. Torpedo shaped fish are the natural food of angels. If you end up with a 'hunter' angel fish, then your dianos and maybe even your cherry barbs could be at risk. However, it would take a pretty darn agressive hunter to take out a full grown diano or cherry barb. I have had neon-eaters in a tank with two cherry barbs and one big ole diano for years without loss.

So my advice is, go for the angels, get them small, and make sure you have all the dianos, barbs, and rummies that you want before the angel gets big. And expect that you have about a 25% chance of loosing new torpedo shaped fish if you add them after your angels are big enough to fit them into their mouths. And pretty much write off neons as expensive food if you add them later.

(oh, and most all angel fish eat their first several batches of eggs, it takes a while for them to figure out how to gummy them up and spit them back out, instead of chewing them up and swollowing.)

Thank you everyone for your advice, it's great to hear so many people are able to keep angels in their community tanks successfully! I'm thinking I'll definately get the baby angels at my LFS, and have them grow up with the others and hope for the best.

just to add, i have my babies grow up in my 90 with the smallest fish being white clouds no problems.

My angel has become way too lazy to chase down cherry shrimp much less the glowlight tetras. Get 'em small and go for it. Fun fish!

I got my altum angels when they were small and have raised them with rasbora espei, neons and simulans and they are fine with the smaller fish. The only fish they chase is a lone male Apisto macmasteri that hassles all the other fish. I guess they take on the "big brother" roll of the tank and look out for everyone else getting bullied.

Angels are great fish...

personality is the main factor here. ive had hundreds of angels, and some have snacked on neons and other small fish. i have taken to placing 20 to 30 ghost shrimp in my community tanks. they're cheap and tend to give the more aggressive, hungry fish a easy target. if you have other tanks, its best to move an aggressive fish to a different setting......or let him snack and replace the smaller fish he eats with something more compatible.

Just to let you know, this thread is more than 8 years old

Barbs can get pretty nasty. It's almost if they actually despise the long finned fish. Don't know much about the others except that danios are pretty hyper. I like angels too, with all their different varieties. My personal favourite is the gold veil tails. I like barbs to 'cause they're so cool. It's conflict!

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Wow, realy old thread....

There is a big difference between juvenile 2 or 3" angels and fully grown ones. While they are young, they should not pose a problem as long as they are not kept with timid eaters as they can get quite boisterous at feeding time. People get into angels way too soon, without realising how big they get. Combine that with keeping too few in a tank, then the branches of the pecking order tree gets empty, and other fish get jumped to for part of the group.

Angels are ambush predators. If something moves, fits in their mouths and tastes nice, they will eat it. Adult angels with proper fully grown tetras should not pose too much of a problem..... or just throw two fat plain feeder female guppies in there to produce tasty fry as a distraction food.