Lillypad Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 I have a 20 gallon long available, and I’m wondering if I can keep an angelfish in it? I’ve liked angelfish for a long time but haven’t had a tank big enough. Would this be big enough? Or do they need a taller/bigger tank? What is your experience with angelfish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 Heres my experiance with angelfish, Angelfish are lovely fish... seriously one of my favorites. They have amazing personalities and I often find they do a little "wiggle" or "dance" before you feed them. HUGE GLUTONS. Angelfish in a 20 gallon long would be a no go for me. If you had a regular 20 gallon I would attempt it, but really try for a 30 gallon. You could start the angelfish as a baby and then grow him out and eventually upgrade him in a couple months... but make sure you have that bigger tank ready. in a 20 long it really just comes down to how tall these fish get. I've had one that got up to 6" from top to bottom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosedub Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 You can put a pair of angelfish in a 20 tall if they are the only thing in there. One angelfish should be ok in a 20 tall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 Agreed with everyone else. Angels get big and need more vertical space than what a 20 long has to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillypad Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 Ok! Thanks everyone for your input, I’ll aim for a 20 tall or 29 gallon before getting angels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 (edited) I could see a 20 working for a single Angel, or maybe a breeding pair, but if you have the means and the space I would definitely do the 29. They’ll appreciate the additional space :). Edited July 10, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillypad Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 Ok! I also have a female betta sorority, could I add the angel with them in a 29, or is that a no go? I was reading that angels can sometimes be kept with bettas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndEEss Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 On 7/10/2023 at 12:13 PM, Lillypad said: Ok! Thanks everyone for your input, I’ll aim for a 20 tall or 29 gallon before getting angels. A 55 would be the absolute minimum, IMO. A 75 would be better, and larger tanks better yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillypad Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 Ok! Thank you. I can’t go that big, so I would just house them separately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 (edited) On 7/10/2023 at 9:58 PM, AndEEss said: A 55 would be the absolute minimum, IMO. A 75 would be better, and larger tanks better yet. I personally agree with this one. a 20H/29g can be a breeding project tank but a normal one to keep angelfish there forever in my personal opinion for a group it is 55g+, for one as centerpiece in a community I would go 40. Edited July 10, 2023 by Lennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillypad Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 I’d have to look into breeding angels, I hadn’t considered that… sounds difficult, but maybe not as difficult as bettas which I’ve done before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 On 7/10/2023 at 10:24 PM, Lillypad said: I’d have to look into breeding angels, I hadn’t considered that… sounds difficult, but maybe not as difficult as bettas which I’ve done before? you gotta buy a confirmed pair or buy a small school of juveniles like 6 of them and raise them together and expect them to pair up when they grow up. However, you will need to separate the pair otherwise they will bully everyone else, sometimes to death. You can keep the pair and rehome the others as an option. They aren't hard to breed but they are not like put an adult male and female together and expect them to breed after conditioning in bettas. Getting a pair is the tricky part. And ofcourse you should be able to deal with the fry situation because they breed prolifically. You should have plans for rehoming/selling juveniles too after growing them approximately to 3 month old age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillypad Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 Ok, thank you. I’ll think about it. Sounds like a little much at the moment, but maybe someday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 Something to think about if you are thinking about going down the rabbit hole of breeding angelfish, for every pair of angels, you will need a minimum of two or three tanks that are dedicated to that pair and their offspring. You will need a 20 high tank for the pair alone, then if the parents will look after the eggs and hatch the fry without you interfering, you'll need a 10-15 gallon tank to move them to once they are a week or two old, then depending on how many survive, another tank in the 40-55 gallon size to grow them out to sellable size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 I would not keep an angel in a 20 high or 29 long term - but people do it - an adult male is quite large - when i had to sep one of my platinum males i put him in a 29 for a couple of months when i moved him back to the 120 and the female rejected him again i had to give him away - he was miserable in the 29. You can temporarily raise young angels in a 20 long or 20 high but as they get larger they need to be moved to a larger aquarium. You can keep a female in a 29 or temporarily breed them in a 29 as long as you can move them to a larger aquarium after a period of time. Angels behavior are unpredictable - almost impossible to sex when young and wide variance in size but males are generally larger and can quite quite large. Just remember your experience with 1 or even 10 angels will not always prepare you for the behavior of the next - they can be quite tame or quite vicious but the female will make the decisions esp around mates and will be the aggressor in most cases. Males will bicker with males to determine pecking order but this bickering is rarely harmful - females don't bicker - and they have no problem killing if that is their decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 my take is a 37 for a single, need a bigger tank for more. adult angels take up a lot of space per fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmark285 Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 A bigger tank is always better but 2-3 Angels in a 29 gallon tank should work, it would be the minimum sized tank for Angels. The 29 gallon has the required vertical space (18 inches tall). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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