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45g freshwater established planted tank with 3 large angels (larger than silver dollar bodies) 6" uaru, geophagus proximus, a school of cories and a pleco - one of my large beautiful calico koi angels recently passed away - am I crazy to be thinking about adding a juvenile angel to replace her fallen comrade - would the other angels make lunch meat of her - everyone else seems healthy - should I just continue with frequent water changes and let things settle down - if the addition of a young angel doesn't work - what would you recommend - just stay the course and enjoy or add something else (congo tetras or a gold ram or two?) - hard to leave well enough alone - thanks for your recommendations and comments -

If the remaining 2 aren't a breeding pair I don't think replacing the third would be a problem since you originally had 3. You could also explain your situation to your lfs and see if they would take back the angel if things go bad.

Good luck

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

thanks - originally had 4 angels - now have 3

I think 3 angelfish are better suited to a 45 gallon than 4 simply for space issues. Why not replace the angel with a school of Diamond tetras? Or, a pair of Blue Rams would look nice too.

You arevery overstocked, especially if you intend to keep another angel. Reactions to smaller fish are quite interesting amongst angels. In most of my experiences, if the size difference is drastic, then there is little aggression, whereas slightly smaller fish are bullied. This is only a generalization, though, as I have had my DDBs chase their own broodlings.

Cup of Life - why do you say the tank is overstocked? I have had the tank with these fish for some time now - the angels hang out mostly in the middle to upper portions of the tank - the uaru hangs out whereever he wants and the geophagus is a bottom dweller along with the cats who occasionally make forays to the top of the tank - the pleco generally hides during the day attached to driftwood - I am diligent about water changes and checking water parameters - the fish do not seem stressed and are voracious eaters - you can calculate inches of fish vs. gallons and come to some general idea of stocking - and I think that is helpful but you also need to apply some general observations about what areas of the tank the fish occupy and diligence regarding water changes, feeding and overall tank maintenance.

I also think that you are overstocked, especially if the Pleco is a common one.


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4 angels and a common pleco are enough to overstock a 45 gallon easily. Even frequent water changes may not help. I say stick with the 3 angels you have (may want to go to 2, but I tihnk 3 is fine) and geta smaller pleco (if the current one is a common pleco)

Any size per gallon conversion is bogus-one cannot delegate a certain number of gallons of water to a given fish. But let's say we use your inch per gallon rule anyways:

uaru amphi-8
p. scalare-6x3
geo surinamensis-7
pleco-18

even without the corydoras, you're still at 51 gallons, overstocked even by size per gallonage formulas, meaning you've got some serious housing issues to think about.


Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 09-Aug-2005 18:28

hi newmand,

the recommendations given here about the tank being overstocked come from a wealth of experience. how long has your tank been set up for? if the fish are still small i personally think that your tank will be overstocked shortly (if not already) as the fish grow. especially the pleco, what kind of pleco do you have? if it is a common pleco they can get to about 40cms which is over a foot! i would recommend changing him to something smaller like a bristlenose. i did a search on your proximus and that fish's max size is 22cm. the urau will get to 10 inches, so these guys dont even have to be fully grown and the tank would still be overstocked. i would suggest moving these guys to another tank or getting rid of them. keep your two angel's as centerpiece fish and work around them

remember the recommendations above were given because people care about the welfare of your fish and want your fishkeeping experience to be a enjoyable one!