new angelfish owner--advice please

[jeremy1]

ok so i lept before i looked!! i couldnt resist they are so cute.i know their requirements are different than my malawi.so heres the questions part
1)what is the best food to feed them?right now i'm giving them tropical fish flakes.
2)the ph range i've found is supposed to be 6.4-6.8-straight out of the tap my local water is 7.6 how can i get this down?
3)what are they compatible with? i would like to get them into a 55g set up when they get larger and would like to begin planning.
4)does the number and sex of the fish matter in this species? right now i only have a pair and they are quite small.

thanks for any and all input:ty:
jeremy

[AMBUSHPREDATOR]

I would think that the angel will never make it to grow out . If it had been born into 7.6 ph it might make it. ( I grew young Discus out in water of 7.4 ph] However in an african tank : Just too much.

[jeremy1]

no they are not in an african tank.they are all by themselves.but i need to know how to get the ph in this tank down.

[joe_jaskot]

Angels will do fine on flake food. Occasional feeding of live foods is also recommended. You can lower the pH of your water by the addition of peat pellets. Easiest way is to put them in a mesh bag and drop them in your filter. Anglefish are compatible with many different types of fish - characins, catfish, rainbows, livebearers, etc.. Avoid fin nipping fish such as barbs. When small angelfish are better off kept in groups. However, once a pair is formed they will chase the other angels.

[jeremy1]

cool thanks.where can i get pet pellets? is there any special prep for them other than rinsing? what types of live food?

[fischfan13]

Peat moss in the filter.
Malaysian Driftwood.
Tap Water Purifier
Seachem or Kent Buffer

Personally I would add peat into a filter and add some large pieces of Malaysian Driftwoon in the tank. The driftwood may not lower the ph but it will definitely soften the water.

I would start off with at least four and when two pair off move the others.
Larger Tetras (characins) look nice with Angels, as would one or two schools of Cories.

[jeremy1]

dumb question is tap water purifier like prime by seachem? and thanks to all for the advice!!

[AMBUSHPREDATOR]

Make sure any ph raising substrate's and filter media are removed if they're in the tank as well good luck.

[fischfan13]

dumb question is tap water purifier like prime by seachem? and thanks to all for the advice!!


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[Zippo]

Most angels do fine in tap water. Hell they breed like flies in it too. I'd say i raised 14k a year in it. PH here is 7.4. Just watch the hardness and keep it non cement like. :)

[njspider]

I have 9 angels and mine do very well in tap water with some Malasian driftwood.

[BlondeFishGal]

I gotta agree with the folks saying that the tap water readings are fine as is. I mean, unless you are talking about Altums which I doubt you are, I really wouldn't mess with lowering the pH, angels are pretty amazing at adapting and they tolerate a wide range of readings. They breed in tap water, too. Buffers are a pain b/c they will lower the pH readings but it will bounce back unless the carbonate hardness is stable.

I had someone who gave me two young angels, and they ended up bonding (talk about dumb luck!) and spawning and I had angels out the wazoo. I finally split them up b/c I had no spare tanks for grow out once my discus had started to spawn. And for the angels, I did nothing special, and here in Bergen County, we have liquid rock coming out of our faucets.

Yeah, the tannins in the peat and wood will work but do you really need that? I don't think so. In growing out angels (and discus for that matter) I've heard lots of breeders prefer more of the tap water readings b/c they claim it helps with the development of the skeleton. Thus, I always did that, too and never had problems with my fish growing out.

Good luck with the angels. I wish someone would come up with a line of dwarf angels that would stay small and you could keep like, a bunch of them in 20 gallon tank. I'd love that!

[jeremy1]

well thanks for the advice all!!i got some ph buffer seachem makes and am debating on using it.i think some wood might be cool for visual purposes so that might be an option.one question though --- if i dont want to breed and ended up with say 2 males would there be any problems there?or should i try to get a pair.

[njspider]

Personally, I'd recommend against the chemicals. I used to freak out about PH when I first got into fish, but I've been keeping fish for a long time and quite frankly I don't even test PH anymore. Not saying that that is totally the right way to go, but if you change your water, use high quality food, and don't overfeed, your standard pet store angel will be fine as long as its from a quality store or breeder (most important thing IMO). Like I said, I rarely test my water and a have some fish that are pushing ten years old.

As for aggression, I'm overstocked with angels (another tank is on the way), but I've been surprised by the lack of aggression. One of the owners of one of the well regarded fish stores in NJ told me angel aggression is somewhat overblown and SO FAR, I haven't had the problems that I was worried about. Over the past year, I've added a bunch of angels to a tank that had a solitary angel that had been in there by himself for 3 years and any aggression that I have seen is very minor compared to my Africans.