I couldn't save their poor little souls.... [32 gallon to stock]

British

I've decided. Saturday when I go to the petshop I will buy four angels. Do you all think a few (three-four) Mollies would be alright with them? When a pair forms I'll give the others to the petshop for free. I'm going to wait off on getting bottom fish, unless I can find a Bristlenose Pleco. Would this be okay until they form a pair:

4 Angels
4 Mollies/Platies
(1 Bristlenose Pleco?)

Sincerely,
British

Twistersmom

I think the pleco would work.
In my opinion, it would be best to avoid any other fish that would swim at the same level.
I have not kept angle fish, so maybe wait on some more replies from angle fish keepers.

NC Frank

Swordtails do very well with angels. I would lean towards swordtails or platies over mollies

British

Ill try to look for some swordtails and platies. Four is good; one male, three females. Can platies and swords interbreed?

NC Frank

yes

British

We don't have swords at our Petsmart, but I'll look around. I'll maybe get a single female sword and three platies. (one male)

artgalnj

FYI, a fish stores will not be able to distinguish a female vs. a male angelfish...trust me! I just bought 3 adult angelfish from a breeder and even he couldn't distinguish male from female. You can't be certain it seems until they spawn. And if they're not fully grown, it's impossible to tell. In fact, I would have SWORN that one of my angelfish was a male...but then she spawned eggs. I was convinced she was a male for several months, turned out I was wrong.

As far as breeding them goes, there's ALOT of work that goes into it. I was just reading a post on the angelfish forum (angelfish.net) about someone who was successfully breeding angelfish for a while, so he knew what he was doing. All of a sudden his fry is dying off at a certain stage and the possible causes to this seem endless. I personally pull the eggs because I don't have what it takes to raise fry. I know alot of people will argue that angelfish make great parents, but they're held in captivity so you have to be very involved in the process and for providing perfect conditions so that they survive.

And one last note if you are going to try breeding. If you buy 3 of the same type of angelfish from the same batch, you most probably will be interbreeding them. The breeder that I bought my fish from was telling me about some of the issues that arise from relentless interbreeding (even physical characteristics). Just some food for thought.

BTW, bristlenose plecos are supposed to be better for angelfish as opposed to common plecos. If your angelfish lay eggs however, you'll have to move the eggs into a breeding tank because the plecos and other fish may have caviar when the lights go out.

Byron

Just a caution, if you have a male and female Platy or Swordtail (they will interbreed as NCFrank correctly said) you will have hundreds of fry for months. I just finished a post in another thread on this topic. Livebearers can mate very young before it is even possible to differentiate males from females without very close observation, and once impregnated, a female stores the sperm and can deliver dozens of fry every 2-3 months for several times. And during this period, it is best to separate her from the male(s) as they will hound her attempting to mate again and frequently the female dies as a result. All males or all females avoids this--provided you find females that have not been impregnated which in a store tank of males and females would be next to impossible.

Byron.

British

Thank you everyone. I have bred Livebearers before, so I know. As far as the angels go, I'm still uncertain. /:

MXS

The whole slit their throats thing