Angelfish Tank Size

[Lillypad]

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?

[FrozenFins]

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. 

[Goosedub]

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

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Agreed with everyone else. Angels get big and need more vertical space than what a 20 long has to offer. 

[Lillypad]

Ok! Thanks everyone for your input, I’ll aim for a 20 tall or 29 gallon before getting angels.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

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

[Lillypad]

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.

[AndEEss]

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. 

[Lillypad]

Ok! Thank you. I can’t go that big, so I would just house them separately.

[Lennie]

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

[Lillypad]

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?

[Lennie]

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.

[Lillypad]

Ok, thank you. I’ll think about it. Sounds like a little much at the moment, but maybe someday!

[Andy's Fish Den]

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. 

[anewbie]

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.

[lefty o]

my take is a 37 for a single, need a bigger tank for more. adult angels take up a lot of space per fish.

[madmark285]

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). 

 

[AtomicSunfish]

On 7/12/2023 at 8:03 AM, madmark285 said:

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). 

 

I hope I’m not breaking etiquette by commenting on a year-old thread, but I’d like to revisit this important topic, if I may.

It seems there’s usually some consensus on minimum tank size for most fish, but I don’t really see broad agreement on the basic needs of angelfish. And it’s not always clear whether people are talking about a lone specimen, a centerpiece fish, a breeding pair, a shoal, or multiple pairs.

On the one hand, at about 6” total length, adult angels are definitely in the “medium” size class for cichlids, most of which need 55g. Angelfish can also reach 10” total height, which could make them “large,” but they are very laterally compressed (thin), so all in all, a minimum of 55g seems reasonable.

On the other hand, I’ve heard people say you can breed them in a 20T, or that they do fine in a 29g, 30L, or 40B. These tank sizes are usually more for smaller cichlids. However, angels are very unique in their shape and behavior, and tend to swim less than other species, so it makes sense that they might need less space.

As I’ve mentioned, I recently had to separate my two young angelfish from my young blue acara. They were sharing a 55g, but the acara was tearing the dominant, slightly bigger angel’s fins, so I moved the angels to a 29g. There, the dominant one started bullying the subordinate, slightly smaller one (even though they got along okay in the 55g). So, I rehomed the little guy, and kept the bigger one as a lone fish. Thankfully, he made a complete recovery, and is growing well. But I can’t help but think he should be in a bigger tank. What do you think?

[Tony s]

On 9/9/2024 at 11:15 PM, AtomicSunfish said:

But I can’t help but think he should be in a bigger tank. What do you think?

He probably should be. But you can only use what you have. The thing to remember is angels grow really slowly. And what is 10” now, maybe closer to 14” next year. If your acara is being the problem, maybe it’s him that should move. And yes, people have very strong opinions on angel tank size. I have been flamed before restating coop guidelines that someone didn’t agree with. I, unfortunately, have one breeding pair in that 20g. Mostly for the safety of rest of their old tank mates.  Now if I can figure out how to get the fry to grow. Usually they only last for about 10 days. 

[AtomicSunfish]

On 9/9/2024 at 11:50 PM, Tony s said:

He probably should be. But you can only use what you have.

Ain’t that the truth. I have a 10g, 29g, and 55g, as well as a cat and a dog, not to mention three children! 😁 So, I’m not really in a position to get any other large aquariums at this point. If I don’t think the angelfish is doing well in his current 29g, I may relocate him to the 140g I set up for our school, or else rehome him. Would definitely be sad for me, but the blue acara and festivum in the 55g are doing so well, I wouldn’t want to mess that up.

Edited September 10 by AtomicSunfish

[Tony s]

On 9/10/2024 at 6:36 AM, AtomicSunfish said:

I have a 10g, 29g, and 55g, as well as a cat and a dog, not to mention three children! 😁

Yeah, I hear that. We only have 1 adopted daughter at the moment but have had 4 of other peoples children at once before. That was way too much for us. Especially with the issues they come with. 7 cats, no current dog (my daughter is begging), 12 tanks ( the things we do for kids 😂). And a bunny (4-h project). I actually have an empty 45g. Ran out of places to put it. And what to put in it? 😀. I might put 6 of the other tanks in it to save work. Or goldfish. Haven’t raised goldfish yet. (Thinking like that is what gets me in trouble). Daughter does team dance and team gymnastics. And we run part of a livestock farm. So maintenance is a late night thing. But it’s also good therapy. 😁

[gardenman]

Could you put an angel fish in a 20-long? Yes, if it's the "right" angelfish and the tank is set up properly for it. The wrong angelfish would be an Altum angel. They get way, way too big. If you look at any tank full of young angelfish in a pet shop, you'll notice a good amount of diversity in fin shape and configuration. (Assuming whoever they're getting them from doesn't cull ruthlessly and most breeders don't.) If you're trying to squeeze one into a 20-long, you'll want a shorter, squatter angel without a tall flowing dorsal fin. In short, you want an "ugly" angelfish. The one that no one else wants. The fins could be sharply angled back instead of vertical. The body of even a full-grown "normal" (not Altum) angelfish should fit pretty easily into a 20-long. It's the fins that are the issue. Selecting one with shorter fins would help it fit better. Tank design also plays a role. You obviously don't want three inches of substrate taking up height in the tank. Much more open space with fewer obstacles is required. A thin or nonexistent substrate would be ideal. Get a stubby little angelfish in a 20-long tank with minimal substrate and lots of room to swim and he/she would do fine. And a somewhat deformed, stubby angel will still have the angelfish personality so if that's what you want, you can find the right fish for a 20-long.

[AtomicSunfish]

On 9/10/2024 at 6:35 AM, Tony s said:

Yeah, I hear that. We only have 1 adopted daughter at the moment but have had 4 of other peoples children at once before. That was way too much for us. Especially with the issues they come with. 7 cats, no current dog (my daughter is begging), 12 tanks ( the things we do for kids 😂). And a bunny (4-h project). I actually have an empty 45g. Ran out of places to put it. And what to put in it? 😀. I might put 6 of the other tanks in it to save work. Or goldfish. Haven’t raised goldfish yet. (Thinking like that is what gets me in trouble). Daughter does team dance and team gymnastics. And we run part of a livestock farm. So maintenance is a late night thing. But it’s also good therapy. 😁

Yes, it is good therapy … but I think you have a greater threshold than I for keeping multiple critters. 😆

On 9/10/2024 at 9:13 AM, gardenman said:

And a somewhat deformed, stubby angel will still have the angelfish personality so if that's what you want, you can find the right fish for a 20-long.

Well, I wouldn’t advocate for a 20L, since they’re the same height as a 10g … too short, and a low volume, even for a “stunted” angelfish. At least a 20T gives the angelfish some vertical space. Personally, a 29g is the bare minimum for an angelfish, but I’d rather keep them in a 55g if I can.

Edited September 10 by AtomicSunfish

[Tony s]

On 9/10/2024 at 10:33 AM, AtomicSunfish said:

Personally, a 29g is the bare minimum for an angelfish, but I’d rather keep them in a 55g if I can

I agree, but that male of the pair I have is just plain mean. So, he's in a 20g for the moment. Not ideal, but he and his mate seem to be doing okay. even spawned a few times.

[AtomicSunfish]

On 9/10/2024 at 12:50 PM, Tony s said:

I agree, but that male of the pair I have is just plain mean. So, he's in a 20g for the moment. Not ideal, but he and his mate seem to be doing okay. even spawned a few times.

Yep, I’ve heard 20T works for breeding. I watched a video by Dean from Aquarium Co-Op, where he says he has been breeding them in 20Ts for many years. But it seems to me that a 20L, being as short as a 10g, is just too short, even for an angel with relatively short fins.

Many of the books and websites I’ve read say that 20-30 gallons is the minimum tank size for angels. That just amazes me, given their size. But again, they are thin and relatively inactive, so I guess that makes sense.