How many angelfish could i have in a 40 gallon tank?
Ive had my 40 gallon tank for about a year. ive had a tropical community but i am upgrading to angelfish. so far i have one. i am for sure getting one more because they live in pairs … but i am wondering if i could get any more? they are now very small but i am aware of how big they can get. i am looking for someone to give me some suggestions on angelfish and how many i could have in my 40 gallon along with if i should keep them alone with the single species or any other fish that would be suitable for my aquarium. i am 14 years old and i love fish i currently have 4 tanks in my room and i keep my water qualities good and test my water regularily and i keep my temp around 80-82 degrees F. could i please get some more info on angelfish? thanks (:
Other articles you might like;
- Is These Pellets Healthy + More Qs-?
- Would This Hurt The Guppy Fry?
- 90g Reef Aquarium Setup Day 5
- Ideas On Fish For Freshwater Community Aquarium?
- Work Experience Melbourne 2011?
Up to 4 but that’d be pushing it.
Don’t get 4. If two pair they will turn aggressive on the others. Get one, and the rest of the tank mates are up to you (larger tetras and cory catfish make good mates)
I always think there is an error of logic in the phrasing of this question when it’s how many fish in this many gallons. Perhaps it’s ambiguity of meaning that prompts the pranksters to calculate how many fish can be layered sardine can fashion in a dry aquarium. Maybe it’s, “What’s the best number of fish for this many gallons?”, or “I want this many fish, how many gallons do I need?”
You can have a single mated pair in a 40 gallon aquarium or with a full divider, two pairs of mated angels. If you start with angels a few months away from maturity, there would be room in the 40 for six or seven angels that size, if you have good filtration. However as soon as a pair develop, in goes the divider and the rest would be confined to the other half, rather tight. So pick out a likely looking pair from the four or five remainders, give them the second side of the tank and move the rest to another tank you have, or sell them. That will give you one “natural” pair which means the fish did the mate choosing and one “selected” or “forced” pair which means the aquarist did the choosing. It will take a try or two before the new pair figure out the successful way to raise a family, so be patient with them until they learn the ropes even when it’s at the expense of their little family of angel fry.
A natural pair has better odds of working well, but fish as well as humans make mistakes, so keep in mind that the pair bond is only for one mating in nature. In the aquarium we can keep the pair together and maintain the pair bond over many matings….maybe. Often two females will pair off and although not making any judgments about their choices, you won’t get fry from that arrangement. It’s very hard for the aquarist to figure out what sex each angelfish is, and apparently it’s no easier for the angelfish either. Separating them for a short time will break the pair bond and next time they will pair up more easily with the fish the aquarist chooses, since you don’t have the luxury of a large tank where adult angels can pick their own. With any luck you will soon need all those other tanks you have to raise the angelfish fry you will be getting from one or two pairs of angels. Finding buyers may be your new problem. If you were lucky or foresightful enough to pick angel varieties that will still be “hot” when you have sellable fry you will have no problem selling them through online auctions like aquabid.com. Otherwise you will probably find local non-chain pet shops willing to take your fry in trade for store credit. Right now blue platinum angels and extended red coverage koi angels are hot varieties, but who knows what the fickle public will like next year!