best fish tank mates

As most readers of my articles now know, I work at a retail pet store in my beloved freshwater fishes section. There are a number of common questions that I expect to hear every day. One of these questions is “what can go with what fish?”In this section we will cover Angelfish tank mates, the answer to the question of "what can go with Angelfish" is often quite surprising and the variety of fish available, not only in my store but in any good fish store, means that the hobbyist can revive that ‘kid in a candy store’ feeling that we all have when stocking a new tank or adding to an already established aquarium.Some of the fish listed below might not seem right to some readers because they have been told information by other keepers, just remember this is a hobby and there isn't any set rule of fish only recommendations, what might not work for one keeper may work for another, there are lots of different factors to take on board like tank setup, size, décor and size and age of fish.

However I have tried to come up with the most varied list as possible.Due to the variety of Dwarf Cichlids, it may be hard to choose one that's right for your tank.Some people might say that Kribensis are ok, this is, however, a fish that I would say completely depends on the decor of your aquarium because a pair can get very territorial and aggressive so I personally would recommend them, but again some people have had success introducing this fish.
freshwater aquarium fish for sale in kolkata(Other various Agassizi cichlids will do).
four foot fish tanks for saleBest kept in harems with 1 male to 3 or 4 femalesBeautiful little cichlids with many colorful variations, my favourite being the Golden Ram and the Electric Blue Ram.
fish tank shops in lancashire

Best kept in groups.When choosing sharks to house with angelfish your aquarium needs to be set up properly to accommodate them, for example, lots of open space, a good length aquarium and adequate hiding space. If that's correct then choose sharks of a similar length to your existing fish.
best glass cleaner for fish tankDue to typical shark behaviour, it's best to have areas for angelfish to essentially relax because they can get stressed by the erratic behaviour of the shark.
best fish tank for guppiesThis shark is just the albino version of the Rainbow Shark.Need lots of open space and a large tank to accommodate an adult shoal.
where to buy aquarium fish in atlantaIn the wild upto 18 inchesSpends most of its time bottom feeding and living mainly on algae, also removes soft growth from plants.

When selecting Barbs, if you're unsure, ask your local fish store which are placid barb species. Remember even the small barbs can be nasty. Tiger Barbs, for example, are notorious fin nippers and are defiantly no good for angelfish.Barbs can also get quite large, the Tinfoil Barb listed below can get up to 18inches long and do best in groups of 5 or more, so make sure you can accommodate adults.They are avid plant eaters and capable of giant jumps.When buying try to get a mixture of sexes and roughly 10 fish, you will notice them looking healthier and more natural.Gourami is an easy one to choose, many hobbyists choose these fish as water parameters are closer to that of Angelfish. There isn't much else to say because the care for both is very similar, the only thing to consider however is bare in mind the species of Angel you have and always ask in the store you got them from the estimated adult size.Become sexually mature at around 3-4 inches, won't even eat the smallest of young fishes.

Thrives with plenty of light and lots of algae and heavily planted.Females should not be prevented from breeding as they are prone to ovary troubles if eggs aren't discharged.This section was an easy one, most bottom dwelling species of fish will be safe from angelfish, it also means that you can house some decent cleaners in your aquarium. Things like the medium to large Plecs will be fine and bottom dwelling catfish like Corydoras will not get bothered by angelfish, nor will they bother them.As with all Corydora there is barely difference within behaviour, bottom feeding fish needing very fine gravel or sand as to not damage barbels.Nothing special to say about the Bristlenose, basic pleco, easy to care for.Beautiful delicate looking fish yet very resilient and hardy, there isn’t much needed to know to care for them properly. Best kept in groups and without any other smaller bottom feeders. Angelfish can grow up to 7 inches long and as described in the article are said to be semi-aggressive and this is a list of probably my favourite and other store owners.

I have heard rumours however that if housed with small livebearers and larger tetras that the angelfish will ignore them in maturity. This, however, is disputed and untested by myself and other aquarists.Before selecting fish that do grow larger, make sure you can house the adults or, (and this isn't recommended by me) are able to rehome them at the store you got them from.Green spotted puffer fish (Tetraodon nigroviridis) or the spotted puffer, leopard puffer as it’s also called is a unique fish. Its back has saturated green color that contrasts beautifully against its white abdomen. The fish uncommon body shape and its pugdog-like face, protuberant eyes and little mouth add even more unusualness to the fish appearance. Green spotted puffer behavior is also quite far from the one peculiar to other fishes – it’s a very playful, active and curious fish. You may also say that the fish has a personality – it recognizes its owner and becomes very active when it sees him. Spotted puffer will quickly gain your affection, yet keep in mind that green spotted puffer fish care is rather difficult, since it has some special requirements to tank conditions.

Adult green puffer fish requires complete change of its tank water parameters, that’s why it’s recommended for more experienced aquarists. Leopard puffer fish juveniles can live in freshwater, but the adult fish requires water with high salinity level. Also leopard puffer’s teeth grow very fast and it needs to have some snails with hard shells in a tank to keep the fish teeth worn down. Green spotted puffer was first described in 1822. Green puffer habitat is in Africa and Asia, its area of distribution spreads from Shri Lanka to the North of China. As we’ve already mentioned above, the fish is also known as spotted puffer, leopard puffer fish. It inhabits in freashwater and brackish lagoons, streams, rivers and floodplains, where you can encounter the fish both in a school or just by itself. Green spot puffer feeds on snails, crustaceous and other spineless species as well as on plants. In the wild the fish lives in a brackish water. Its juveniles spent their life in freshwater since they are born during the rains season, therefore the juveniles go through the water change from brackish to freshwater and then to saline water.

Please, mention that it’s advisable to keep adult green spotted puffers in brackish water. Tetraodon comes from Puffers family and it has quite a serious weapon to protect itself: strong jaws and 4 crushing teeth-like plates in its mouth instead of teeth. The fish doesn’t have pelvic fins, however due to the strong pectoral fins Tetraodon is very manoeuvrable – it can swim backwards and hover over some place in the water. Green spotted puffer fish size may be up to 15 cm and its lifespan is up to 10 years. Tetraodons are famous for their ability to ‘puff up’ themselves with air or water if they see some signs of danger. When the fish inflates its spines come outwards and this way tetraodon protects itself from being eaten. Green puffer as well as other tetraodons has some substances in its flesh which become poisonous if its enemy eats them. Green spot puffer isn’t a fish that any aquarist can keep in its tank. Though it’s rather easy to grow its juveniles – they are quite ok with freshwater, the adult green puffer requires brackish water.

Also due to the fact that the fish are scaleless, they are more prone to illnesses and treatment. Green puffer needs more spacious tank than other species. So, one adult fish in average requires a tank of not less than 35 gallons capacity. One of the problems you will encounter is that green puffer’s fast growing teeth have to be worn down continuously. For this purpose green spotted puffer food should contain lots of hard-shelled shellfish. Green puffer won’t eat dry feed, its diet should consist of live feed – earth worm, large blood worm, small fishes and, what is the most important, snails – for example, malaysian trumpet snail or Ramshorn snail or ramshorn snails. One more time, it’s crucial for green puffer to have live shellfish in its diet. The fish have 4 dentoid plates in their mouth which grow through all their lives, so they need to wear them down when eating hard-shelled snails. For the same purpose small grained sand should be used as a tank bottom substrate – tetraodons use it the same way as snail shells to wear their teeth down.

If tetraodon doesn’t have enough of feed sooner or later it inevitably will start nipping other fishes’ fins. That’s why you mustn’t keep tetraodons with long finned fishes. Be careful when feeding tetraodon – don’t overfeed them! The fish are gluttonous and they can eat quite a lot. In the wild it spends all its life searching for feed, hunting and there’s no need to do this in a tank, so the fish gets fat and dies quite early. Taking into account the size of adult green spotted puffer species you’ll need a tank of about 35-50 gallons capacity. However, you can keep the juveniles in a smaller tank. You’ll need a very powerful filter when keeping green spot puffer in a tank, since there are lots of leftovers after they feed. Besides, the fish inhabits in rivers and it needs some flow to be created in a tank. It’s desirable to install external filter that pumps about 5-10 tank volumes in an hour. Don’t forget about weekly water renew (about 30%).

The water should be salted a bit: one tablespoon of salt for 20 liters of water is quite enough. Tetraodons can be successfully kept in freshwater (especially the juveniles), however sometimes they may get ill in it – in this case you should add some salt into the water. The fish is very sensitive to the level of ammonia and nitrates in the tank water. Proper water parameters are the following: temperature 24-28°С; If you have plans to keep several tetraodones in a tank, take into consideration that the fish is rather territory-dependent one and if they don’t have enough space for each there will be fights. Lots of covers will be required in the tank, so the fishes could avoid each other and the tank should be spacious, so each fish could have its own territory. Keep in mind – tetraodons are poisonous! Don’t touch or feed them with bare hands! It’s possible to keep tetraodons with small fishes only at the early stages. I carried out the experiment – I put several guppies into the tank with 7 small green tetraodones (4-5 cm long each).

Tetraodon juveniles didn’t show any interest to the small fishes, however at that they had good and diversified diet. Spotted puffer size may be up to 15 cm (6 in). The older the fish is, the higher are chances that it’ll treat small fishes as feed. When buying tetraodon, please consider that it grows to become a large fish and some time later it’ll be impossible to keep it in one tank with small fishes, even provided with good and variable diet. If species tank still isn’t an option for you, you may take African cichlids as green spotted puffer tank mates. Malawian cichlids are good tank mates for green puffer, since their aggressiveness doesn’t hurt tetraodons in any way because they are very unlike cichlids in their appearance and Malawians don’t even take them for fish. However, tetraodons aren’t compatible with small and long-finned fishes. You can’t keep them together with neons, Carassius auratus, guppy and etc. Also when choosing green spotted puffer fish tankmates you should consider that the fish requires brackish water.