Community Tank Stocking Suggestions

[FrozenFins]

I want to re-stock my community tank.

It is currently stocked with...

• Upsidedown Catfish x2
• Britlenose Pleco
• Angelfish
• Zebra Danios x6
• Cardinal Tetras x5

The fish that will go are the...

• Bristlenose Pleco
• Cardinal Tetra
• and possibly the upside down catfish

Meaning that only the angelfish and danios remain

I know I want a fleet of corydoras and a nice school of rummynose tetra

Now for my question...

I only have one angelfish in this tank, I used to have three. But the two died. One of parasites, the other was killed by the other angels.

So...

Should I get another angelfish or another fish like a Electric Blue Acara, or a baby Blood Parrot.

The tank size is 40 Gallons and is run by two spongefilters. It is planted and has salvania growing like CRAZY!

Edit: The picture shows two angels, this picture was taken before the second one passed.

Edited May 3, 2021 by James Black

[CorydorasEthan]

Are your angels peaceful toward bottom dwellers? I heard that their temperaments are similar to those of gourami, and my pearl gourami absolutely hates bottoms dwellers like my Corydoras. If you angel is peaceful towards bottom dwellers, a fleet of Corydoras would certainly be fine.

Another thing is that if the angels ate the cardinals (as mentioned in your journal), they might hunt the rummynose too. You might instead want to opt for a group of more robust yet peaceful tetras, barbs, or minnows. Fortunately, you still have plenty of options. Here are a couple: rosy tetra, redeye tetra, skirt tetra, emperor tetra, cherry barb, harlequin rasbora, scissortail rasbora, pearl danio. You could also do a school of threadfin rainbows or dwarf neon rainbows.

Lastly, I wouldn't recommend another cichlid if the angels are aggressive toward one another, as they might pick on it. Instead, I would go for fish that wouldn't provoke them or fish that they hardly notice due to differences in size and shape. For example, the pygmy cories I have seem to be the only thing not targeted when housed with bullies like my SAEs, bristlenose pleco, or pearl gourami. I believe it is because they are so different in size that they are not really noticed or perceived as a threat/competiton by these other fish. In your tank, pygmy cories might be small enough for an angel to eat, so I would instead stick to one of the options listed above. This being said, you still might be okay with the larger cichlids like the electric blue acara since they are so robust and could probably easily fend off an angelfish.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

[FrozenFins]

Thanks @CorydorasEthan

I currently only have one angel, the other two had passed.

the single angelfish is a fairly peacful fish, he is the boss of the tank.

i figured that because the danios and rummynose are reletivley the same size and since the danios havent been eaten yet it would be fine.

 

[CorydorasEthan]

1 minute ago, James Black said:

Thanks @CorydorasEthan

I currently only have one angel, the other two had passed.

the single angelfish is a fairly peacful fish, he is the boss of the tank.

i figured that because the danios and rummynose are reletivley the same size and since the danios havent been eaten yet it would be fine.

 

Okay then the rummynose might work.

Yeah then your Corydoras will probably be fine as well.

[Patrick_G]

I’m getting intrigued by the Red Phantom Tetras. 
Here’s a pic from Aquarium Coop

 

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Patrick_G

[anewbie]

A few comments. First a 40 is borderline suitable for an angel - the issue is the height is only 16 inches - 13 or 14 after you add substrate and leave a little room from the top of the rim. An adult male angel can easily get to 8 inches high (females seem to be a bit smaller). Of course in a smaller tank they might 'runt' which isn't the best thing but at least size won't be an issue.

-

Generally my angels leave bottom fishes alone as long as they aren't breeding (guarding eggs). For this reason you really don't want to get a second angel - if you have a female and get another female it might work out fine but you don't want a pair and if you have a male you really dont' want to put another male in the tank given the tank height.

-

I'm not sure what temp you keep the tank but i presume it is around 77-79 range given the angel. pygmy prefer it a little colder. I'd go with a warm water species of cory - perhaps sterbai - only problem with sterbai is they tend on the shy side of things but still you could get 6 to 8. Conversely you could go with a less shy cory. The only reliable unshy cory I can think of is not suitable for warmer waters.

-

Rummy are fine but you might consider a slightly larger tetra like black neon or lemon - an adult angel can eat cardinals or rummy if motivated. Typically if you raise the tetra with the angel they won't eat them unless they get hungry. black neon adults are a bit larger as are lemon. 

[CorydorasEthan]

Great advice @anewbie! I just had a few things to add on.

1 hour ago, anewbie said:

I'm not sure what temp you keep the tank but i presume it is around 77-79 range given the angel. pygmy prefer it a little colder. I'd go with a warm water species of cory - perhaps sterbai

To the best of my knowledge, I will outline the general spectrum of more common Corydoras species in relation to temperatures. Keep in mind that these are their general preferred temperatures, rather than their strict requirements.

• C. sterbai will probably be your best bet for higher temperatures. 78-82 is their preferred temperature.
• C. aeneus, being one of the hardier cories, can go from around 76-80. They are generally pretty flexible, depending on the variety and origin.
• C. pygmaeus is going to prefer temperatures around 77-79. This being said, they might not be suitable for your tank, as they are small enough for the angel to swallow them whole.
• C. panda prefers slightly cooler water than either of the other two species. 75-78 is going to be best for them.
• C. trilineatus is similar in preference of temperature as the panda cory. I'd say 75-77 is best for them.
• C. paleatus is arguably the most flexible of the species. Originating from subtropical areas, they can go as low as around 72 to up around 78. I've heard they can even be kept in unheated tanks of around 69 during some parts of the year.

I found that most cories like cooler water specifically to breed, and behave perfectly fine in an aquarium even if it does not match their temperature requirement quite on point.

Of course, these are just estimates of mine based on minimal research and experience. But it has revealed to me that I need to look into this topic a bit more. I will get back to you guys in the future on this one with more in depth information!

1 hour ago, anewbie said:

only problem with sterbai is they tend on the shy side of things but still you could get 6 to 8.

It really depends on the individuals here. If they are wild caught, they are generally going to be more shy, as the aquarium environment is totally different than where they come from. Conversely, if they are tank-raised, they are more likely to be more outgoing as they are familiar with the general environment.

Another thing to mention is that cories will sometimes just sleep or hide during the day, and will come out during feeding and during twilight. They may not be necessarily shy, even though they may be hard to spot at some times. This could be why some Corydoras species are mistaken for shy creatures.

As @anewbie mentioned, the group size also helps to mitigate the timidness of some cories. Other helpful factors include additional hiding spots such as logs and plants, as well as the presence of small schooling fish like the danios you have in the tank already.

1 hour ago, anewbie said:

Conversely you could go with a less shy cory. The only reliable unshy cory I can think of is not suitable for warmer waters.

I found that a lot of the species are pretty outgoing, and would be suitable for a tank of around 77-79 degrees. Again, the temperature does not have to match their requirements exactly, as they are not very picky about it.

So anyway, that's what I've experienced with Corydoras and temperatures. Please correct me if I am wrong about anything. I hope this helps!

[anewbie]

2 minutes ago, CorydorasEthan said:

Great advice @anewbie! I just had a few things to add on.

To the best of my knowledge, I will outline the general spectrum of more common Corydoras species in relation to temperatures. Keep in mind that these are their general preferred temperatures, rather than their strict requirements.

•  
• C. pygmaeus is going to prefer temperatures around 77-79. This being said, they might not be suitable for your tank, as they are small enough for the angel to swallow them whole.
•  

I wonder where you obtained that temp range - i've always gone with 71-78 as the 'official' range with a preference for 75-76. I know they didn't do well when i heated the water to treat some other fishes with ick. 

[anewbie]

Btw a couple of fishes you could consider are otto and an interesting pleco. Otto are best in large groups - i recommend 8 to 15 in a 40. Not sure what type of bn you had but the lemon blue-eye are inexpensive and pleasing. Also the females tend to stay pretty small. I personally like L204. This one tends to eat a bit of wood but is pleasing to the eye and in the right environment not overly shy. 

[CorydorasEthan]

4 minutes ago, anewbie said:

I wonder where you obtained that temp range - i've always gone with 71-78 as the 'official' range with a preference for 75-76. I know they didn't do well when i heated the water to treat some other fishes with ick. 

Glad you asked! I sort of forulated this general spectrum after reading a few books and articles here and there. This was mainly the case for C. paleatus, C. aeneus, and C. panda. I have also had some personal experience with C. paleatus, C. aeneus, and C. pygmaeus, and can sort of determine their preferred temperature range. C. julii was purely off of Aquarium Co-Op's video on Corydoras, so I need to look into a few more sources to confirm this (though I have kept them in around 77 once).

About the ich situation, how high did you heat the tank?

I will be delving in a little deeper with my research on the temperatures in the future. Thanks!

[anewbie]

25 minutes ago, CorydorasEthan said:

Glad you asked! I sort of forulated this general spectrum after reading a few books and articles here and there. This was mainly the case for C. paleatus, C. aeneus, and C. panda. I have also had some personal experience with C. paleatus, C. aeneus, and C. pygmaeus, and can sort of determine their preferred temperature range. C. julii was purely off of Aquarium Co-Op's video on Corydoras, so I need to look into a few more sources to confirm this (though I have kept them in around 77 once).

About the ich situation, how high did you heat the tank?

I will be delving in a little deeper with my research on the temperatures in the future. Thanks!

--

Around 86-87. After a week a few started to die so i cooled it down and the rest were ok. i keep them around 75-77 (75ish winter 77ish summer) as that is the temp of the condo. I looked up their native river but couldn't get an exact temp range - planetcatish has them 72-79 which is usually pretty reliable. Mine mostly stay in the back in the shade but sometimes come up front to eat - when i had kribs who nested in the front they stayed just outside their cave since they kept all the other fishes aways 😉