Community tank with one Angel....

[gores95]

Hey guys. Been a while since I posted. I am just about done (I hope) with fishless cycling of my 40 Gallon Stretch Oceanic tank. Just waiting on those pesky nitrites! For the record the tank's dimesions are as follows: L 30.5" x W 21" x H 18.5". I have a big piece of resin driftwood in the tank with some tall plants so I've been told perfect for Angels. I had posted pics a while ago in the gallery but here are a couple of old ones. I know have a couple of small plants on the front right and left of the tank:





I am now thinking this setup would work very nicely for my tank. I was really looking to fill all spaces of the tank with some top, middle and bottom swimmers. Here is my "Community with one Angelfish" plan:

7 Silver Hatchets
7 Cories
6 Congo Tetras or 8 Harlequin Rasboras or 8 Rummynose Tetras
1 small Angel (I know they get big fast!)

Not sure if their frenetic pace and size of the Rasboras and Rummynoe would either drive the Angel crazy or end up as a meal!!! The Congos get a little larger and are slower so that is not an issue. Could I get away with two of the three from line 3? I had originally thought about getting one Red Tailed Black Shark OR one Bristenose Pleco but I don't want any undue agression though and both could get a little large...around 6" correct? I would also need some real driftwood for the pleco and both likes caves.

As for only getting one Angel over the two I had originally planned...I have heard that with two a couple of bad things can happen:

1. They could drive each other crazy
2. They could breed and then terrorize all other members of the tank.

I guess I could do three or more Angels but then I heard they pair off and the others should be returned to the LFS. I would rather not have to return any fish.

What do you all think? With my plan am I correctly stocked? Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Marc

[TheOldSalt]

First of all that's a gorgeous root, even if fake. Wherever did you find it?
Next, kudos on such careful planning. Mixing african, asian and south american fishes is going to pose a challenge in regard to keeping them all happy simultaneously, but if your goal is to avoid spawnings, then that should actually work in your favor.
I have to admit that in over 35 years of doing this I've never kept angels and congos together, and as such I don't really know what would happen. My first instinct tells me it would be a bad idea that would result in a shredded angelfish. I could be wrong. It would certainly look cool.
Congos are active swimmers that would bother the angel, but maybe the angel would get used to it. The other fish would all be fine EXCEPT for the Redtailed shark, which is the only fish on the list I'd absolutely leave out of this tank.

[gores95]

Thanks for the reply TOS. I have read your posts here often and respect you knowledge! I actually read about the fact that Angels are compatible with Congos on this site:

http://timstropicals.com/Compatibility/NameResults.asp

Are Congo's agressive? I thought that at a little larger than Rummynoses and Harlequins and a little calmer they would be better suited for Angels.

If I skip the congos should I go with BOTH Rummies and Harlequins? Or is my tank not a big enough footprint for these two schoolers? I don't want to have lots of confusion in there!

Thanks.

[SueM]

Beautiful tank Gores.
Congos are one of my favorite Tetras, I have kept them successfully with Angels for years. But they are a larger Tetra, so maybe think about lowering their count to 4 and adding a couple more Rasboras or Rummynose. Other then that, I think your livestock plan will make for a wonderful tank