Considering A 75g Angelfish Aquarium - Need Advice

[FLFishChik]

 So, awhile back I bought a 75g Aqueon tank when Petco had  their 50% off sale. I had originally dreamed of a Discus tank, but having watched countless YouTube videos and read article after article, I'm a little apprehensive to delve into Discus keeping. I don't relish the idea of a 50% water change every week on a 75g tank. SO.... my 2nd place dream fish are Koi Angelfish. Actually, mt 2nd place dream fish was Bulgarian Seal Point Angels, but.... I digress.

  So I was thinking 6 to 8 Koi Angel Species only (with a clean up crew like Corydoras or Kuhli Loaches). I Need advice on what sort of filtration would be best... how much filtration, do Angels like flow or not?

  Any of you Angel keepers who want to share photos of your tanks (for inspiration) and what your filtration setup is like and what your maintenance schedule is would be really welcome!

[nabokovfan87]

Oh.... yes. 75G is fun. Alright, let's dive in!

On 8/29/2023 at 5:10 PM, FLFishChik said:

I had originally dreamed of a Discus tank, but having watched countless YouTube videos and read article after article, I'm a little apprehensive to delve into Discus keeping.

I will have to send you a DM.  I know a few really knowledgeable keepers of discus that might be able to guide and ease the stress of keeping them.  I don't know if a 75G is being enough for them would be the only concern. 
 

On 8/29/2023 at 5:10 PM, FLFishChik said:

So I was thinking 6 to 8 Koi Angel Species only (with a clean up crew like Corydoras or Kuhli Loaches). I Need advice on what sort of filtration would be best... how much filtration, do Angels like flow or not?

I think it was Dean and Cory that mentioned about how discus tend to be in very active waters.  Angels I think like it just a bit calmer by comparison.  I don't think it's the type of thing where you need "low flow" but just set the tank up like normal and not a river torrent, then they will be perfectly fine.  I don't know if loaches will bug the angels, but large flat bodied fish might be something to keep in mind.  Corydoras will do fine (sterbai, false Julii, Julii, etc.)

In terms of filtration, run 2 HoBs or run a canister with a spraybar just to make sure you have the coverage (it's hard to get a single HoB to fully churn the water in a 4 foot long tank.  Airstones can also be advantageous for larger fish for this setup as well.

Don't have an angel tank, so here's a discus one. 🙂
 

 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Here’s my 55 gallon Angel tank I’ve had running for 3 years. Took this picture literally 2 minutes ago right before the lights went out:

Currently houses 4 Angels, 4 Dwarf Rainbows, ~15 Cardinal Tetras, and ~15 Albino Cory’s. Ramshorn snails, too. Amazon swords and Jungle Val. Large ACO sponge filter on the left, Fluval HOB on the top right. 
 

Used to house 6 Angels. A while back I pulled out my breeding pair of Pandas that formed and put them in their own tank. Currently raising 2 more Pandas (fry I hatched and raised) to add back to the tank. 
 

~30% water change weekly, consistent Easy Green weekly, and root tabs as needed. 
 

Overall, Angels are pretty easy in my opinion. I give this tank the same treatment as all my others; consistency. 
 

Angels were some of the first fish I got when I started playing with tanks 3 years ago. Fast forward to today, I still have all of them I’ve purchased, plus hundreds of fry I’ve traded to the fish store. If you can handle their pecking and aggressiveness, especially when they’re breeding/guarding eggs you should be fine. An additional 20 gallons would just be the cherry on top for my setup. 

[FLFishChik]

@AllFishNoBrakes - is there a way to hinder them from making so many babies? My intent isn’t really to breed because I don’t have a LFS or Club to trade or giveaway to. I’ve only got the 3 Big Box Pet stores here . It’s kinda the same reason I don’t keep guppies 😂

Edited August 30, 2023 by FLFishChik

[AllFishNoBrakes]

For sure. Out of the 4 Angels in the 55, 2 of them are a pair. When they lay eggs, I simply remove them. You’ll notice there’s a slate on the left side, but typically they’ll lay on a Sword leaf.
 

At this point, I can tell they’re about to breed, and then when I notice them chasing everyone away from one spot I know they’re guarding eggs. I simply find the eggs, snip the Sword leaf, and dispose of the eggs. Peace typically resumes in the tank the following day. 

[FLFishChik]

On 8/30/2023 at 7:08 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

For sure. Out of the 4 Angels in the 55, 2 of them are a pair. When they lay eggs, I simply remove them. You’ll notice there’s a slate on the left side, but typically they’ll lay on a Sword leaf.
 

At this point, I can tell they’re about to breed, and then when I notice them chasing everyone away from one spot I know they’re guarding eggs. I simply find the eggs, snip the Sword leaf, and dispose of the eggs. Peace typically resumes in the tank the following day. 

Awesome, I can definitely do that! Now... would 8 Angels be ok in a 75g with maybe 8-10 corydoras and 8-10 oto's? or maybe Hillstream loaches? I really only want the Angels to be the centerpiece fish in the 'column', but i do need a clean up crew. And I plan on using 2 HOB filters... but Im unsure of just what size I would need and if I also need airstones....

 

 I do plan on it being a planted and scaped tank

[AllFishNoBrakes]

The only answer I can really give is, probably? I do 6 in my 55, so +2 in a 75 would probably work? Also depends on the species and how many males and females you end up with. My breeding Panda male is a monster, and both of my females are much smaller. Altums get huge, so it all depends on what you pick and how many males/females you end up with. 
 

Now, if you end up with 4 pairs (luck of the draw as juveniles are super hard, if not impossible to sex, and then they’d have to pair up) that could be interesting. Just like anything else, it’s a gamble, and you’ll just have to roll the dice and see if it works for you. Also recommend lots of plants and places to hide, especially as they become breeding age. They might be called “Angels”, but they’re definitely cichlids and they get aggressive when they’re in breeding mode. The other 2 I have that aren’t the pair know to stake out their spot in the plants and just hide away while the pair is actin’ a fool. 
 

Would definitely suggest to up the number of Cory’s. I have 15, or maybe 18, in my 55. If it was a 75 I’d be shooting for 15-20, at least. Their behavior as the numbers increases is different than in small groups, and that footprint can definitely provide for a bigger school of Cory’s. 
 

I’ve never done oto’s or hillstreams, so I can’t really comment on those specifically. 

Edited August 31, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/30/2023 at 4:08 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

but typically they’ll lay on a Sword leaf.

hm.... they definitely looked like snail eggs.  One of them might've been a fishy egg.

 

 

On 8/30/2023 at 5:51 PM, FLFishChik said:

Now... would 8 Angels be ok in a 75g with maybe 8-10 corydoras and 8-10 oto's? or maybe Hillstream loaches?

Angels with pretty much everything mentioned will be fine.  Angels like it warmer while there are most corydoras that don't like to get too hot.  The trilineatus, julii, and sterbai would be the ones that do pretty good warm.  Add in a pleco (in lieu of hillstream) and some otos and it should be good.  Hillstreams, otos, they do like a lot of oxygenation from my experience.  I had borneo loaches, they didn't like to get hot, but maybe hillstreams do.  I know there are plenty that keep them in normal angel temps, but my personal choice would be to keep the hillstream at least (and some cory species) off that list of options for the angel tank.

Hm... what would I keep with angels. Tetras, but which ones.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 8/30/2023 at 8:17 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

hm.... they definitely looked like snail eggs.  One of them might've been a fishy egg.

If you’re talking about the Swords I sent you it definitely would’ve been snail eggs. Angels lay hundreds of eggs in a single spawn. Typically, they choose one of the leaves off the giant mother plant your swords came from. Most definitely snail eggs if there was anything on the plants I sent you. Apologies, but shout out to RR!

 

On 8/30/2023 at 8:17 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Hm... what would I keep with angels. Tetras, but which ones.

Cardinals have been great in my tank. They like it warm and get big enough to not fit in their mouths. Plus, it’s hard to mess with the classic red and blue coloration in contrast to plants and the colors of the Angels. Just my $0.02

[Shadow]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwdouzhJOBr/ 

 

This is my 48 gal rimless in my living room. I have 8 Phillipine Blue Angels in it along with about 30 CPDs, Cardinal Tetras, Glowlight Danios & Chili Rasboras, 3 lemon blue eyed bristlenose, plus loads of snails & amano shrimp(prob 6 shrimp so not a load lol). I run a Fluval 407 plus a internal filter with a flow bar on one side. My weekly maintenance is 20% water changes. Its heavily planted which the smaller fish love and give the angels a place to separate themselves which helps with aggression. I will say that I will be moving 4 of them to another 75 gal I have planned in the future just to give all of them ample space to not kill one another when they get fully mature. Right now they just flex on one another like "you gotta a prob bro?" "no, do you have a problem?". 🤣

Edited August 31, 2023 by Shadow

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 8/30/2023 at 8:30 PM, Shadow said:

Right now they just flex on one another like "you gotta a prob bro?" "no, do you have a problem?". 🤣

The shimmy/head shake and slight charge forward to find out who’s top dog is quite funny. “Come at me, bro!” “No, YOU come at ME, bro!”. “Want a piece of this? I don’t think YOU want a piece of THIS”.

 

On 8/30/2023 at 8:30 PM, Shadow said:

Cardinal Tetras

@Shadow gets it. Just something about Angels and Cardinals. 

Edited August 31, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[Shadow]

On 8/30/2023 at 9:39 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

The shimmy/head shake and slight charge forward to find out who’s top dog is quite funny. “Come at me, bro!” “No, YOU come at ME, bro!”. “Want a piece of this? I don’t think YOU want a piece of THIS”.

 

@Shadow gets it. Just something about Angels and Cardinals. 

Yea and they pair well with Danios as well. Something about the busyness of the Danios, the chilled schooling of the cardinals and the pairings, unique personalities about Angels that works so well in that tank. My mother's favorites are the plecos tho, lol. She gets a kick outta how busy they are. I have a black rescue angel in my fish room that is my favorite fish aka Black Phillip or Phillipa(not sure the sex lol). 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/30/2023 at 7:27 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Most definitely snail eggs if there was anything on the plants I sent you.

for sure.  I had to go through with a fine tooth comb.  No snails yet. 🤞

Oh... I have it.  @Shadow helped me remember one.

These guys would go very nicely with the orange (in addition to the aforementioned cardinals, glowlight tetras.



complimentary colors for the orange would be anything that is blue, blue tetra (it's a thing) as well as the blue version of the emperor tetra.  I would also think the purple, standard ones look nicely with them.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 8/30/2023 at 9:36 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

glowlight tetras.

I have those in my 29 that’s currently being converted to a blackwater tank. One of the first fish I bought! They were literally the “canaries in the well” to see if that tank was cycled. They’re pretty rad. Mine have a more highlighted orange stripe and orange eye than the ones pictured. Highly recommend 

[anewbie]

Anything smaller than a cardinal will be eaten by angelfishes and cardinals are iffy so keep that in mind when picking angel tank mates. This is my marble angefish not so different than koi since you ask for aquariums (I'm not overjoyed with the substrate and would use something different if starting over):

[anewbie]

One thing I should have mentioned - just an fyi - but angels are not discus; angels can be vicious monsters while discus are much more tranquile so you might keep that in mind.

[JChristophersAdventures]

I have to say, if I were choosing angels versus discus, there would be no contest... I would choose the discus... the colors, the temperament... is a 50% water change versus a 30% really that much more "work"? And, really when the angels get big, they take up just as much space as the discus. I would simply have fewer pairs in the smaller 75G (can't believe I called a 75G small, lol). I would go for the gold and do what you really want most... it'll all work out. Thanks.

[JChristophersAdventures]

@nabokovfan87 I first saw the Blue/Purple Emperor Tetra on Dan's Fish... they caught my eye then, and seeing them again, I have added them to my list for the 75G tank. Thanks for posting that... btw, is it correct that there are 2 different ones... blue and purple, or is that just variations with the same fish? Thanks.

[FLFishChik]

On 8/31/2023 at 9:08 AM, JChristophersAdventures said:

I have to say, if I were choosing angels versus discus, there would be no contest... I would choose the discus... the colors, the temperament... is a 50% water change versus a 30% really that much more "work"? And, really when the angels get big, they take up just as much space as the discus. I would simply have fewer pairs in the smaller 75G (can't believe I called a 75G small, lol). I would go for the gold and do what you really want most... it'll all work out. Thanks.

Twist my arm, why don’t you! I’m now very tempted, lol

[Odd Duck]

On 8/30/2023 at 6:04 PM, FLFishChik said:

@AllFishNoBrakes - is there a way to hinder them from making so many babies? My intent isn’t really to breed because I don’t have a LFS or Club to trade or giveaway to. I’ve only got the 3 Big Box Pet stores here . It’s kinda the same reason I don’t keep guppies 😂

Bristlenose plecos in the tank will eat the eggs.  Ask me how I know.  Although getting all that fresh protein did trigger the plecos to spawn.  🤷🏻‍♀️ 

 

[Odd Duck]

Also wanted to add that too few angels and they start to be more territorial.  I was down to 8 in my 100 G and they were sparring a lot more and I’m pretty sure they killed numbers 9 and 10.  I’ve added 3 more (got lucky on some almost the same size as mine) and things are settled again with only tiny spars now - quick, half-hearted dashes only.  I’ll probably see if I can add a 3-4 more so I have enough to disperse aggression.  I’m still waiting for another pair to develop from this tank.

[Lennie]

I just wanna mention Discus feels needy. I slightly regret getting myself a pair if I gotta be totally honest here.

Also limiting due to their temperature likings and size I think

 

 

[FLFishChik]

On 8/31/2023 at 1:37 PM, Odd Duck said:

Bristlenose plecos in the tank will eat the eggs.  Ask me how I know.  Although getting all that fresh protein did trigger the plecos to spawn.  🤷🏻‍♀️ 

 

So, I won’t have to worry about Angel fry, but now I’ll have a pleco problem😂

On 8/31/2023 at 2:06 PM, Lennie said:

I just wanna mention Discus feels needy. I slightly regret getting myself a pair if I gotta be totally honest here.

Also limiting due to their temperature likings and size I think

 

 

Yeah, which is one of the reasons I am hesitant to keep them. An expensive fish to die because they were unhappy 

[Odd Duck]

On 8/31/2023 at 1:34 PM, FLFishChik said:

So, I won’t have to worry about Angel fry, but now I’ll have a pleco problem😂

Potentially, but only if you get more than one of the same species of pleco.  🤷🏻‍♀️ Get different species and it shouldn’t be an issue.  One bristlenose, one clown, one blue phantom, one stardust, the list goes on (I like plecos).  😆 

[Lennie]

On 8/31/2023 at 9:36 PM, Odd Duck said:

Potentially, but only if you get more than one of the same species of pleco.  🤷🏻‍♀️ Get different species and it shouldn’t be an issue.  One bristlenose, one clown, one blue phantom, one stardust, the list goes on (I like plecos).  😆 

That sounds like pleco/ancistrus tank rather than discus or angel tank 🤣😝