Angelfish
 

I'm trying to decide between a few different angelfish for my tank.
They are:

- Eibli Angelfish
- Coral Beauty
- Bicolour Angelfish
- Koran Angelfish
- Flame Angel

Now keep in mind that my tank is only 39 gallons. I do know that the Koran Angel's can get up to a foot in length (in the wild at least), but all three LFS that I visited today said that the Koran will actually remain quite small in my aquarium. Is this complete BS just so they can make a sale? Because if I could keep a Koran it would be a no brainer for me to get one. Next on my list is probably the Eibli. I've actually never seen one until today. They are a really neat looking fish. I haven't found much online about...well anything. Has anyone had any experience with them? Same questions for the other 3 fish. What would route would you go if you were in my position?

Thanks for your time everyone!

--- Joel

Koran
http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_...pcatid=412&N=0

Koran will still grow too big for that size tank.

Minumum tank size for a Koran angel is well over 100 gallons. Your tank is suitable for only dwarf angel species, which includes all of the remaining choices you listed. All are good for captivity, so its just a matter of chosing which you like best.

Here's a page on the eibli. Says it can grow to 6". Minimum tank size is 30g, however, I would never put a fish that can grow to 6" in a 3' tank unless there were plans for a future tank upgrade....

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=457

Bi-colours also grow to 6", and imo, not suitable for a smaller tank, etc....

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=433

Coral beauties grow to 4", which is more suitable for a smaller tank, imo...

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=438

Flames grow to 4" as well....

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=444


Don't know if any of these angels will pick at an anemone. Perhaps those with experience on this issue will offer their opinions.

I assumed that the LFS were basically looking for sale w/ the Koran. At full size it would almost have trouble turning around in my tank.

As for the Eibli and the Bicolour; how long do you think it would take for them to grow to their full size of 6"? There certainly are plans for an upgrade down the road, however, it probably wouldn't be any sooner than 12 months and that's a long shot.

What do you guys think about tangs? A yellow tang is probably the only one I'd want to go with as I've heard most of the other ones are pretty tough to keep.

I have a koran in my 170 and its over 6" and 2 " fat and still growing hes 2 yrs old and changing into adult size.

and tangs in a 39 gal will not work either... IMO

Don't take this to heart but if you are asking about Tangs for a 39 gal tank, I think that you have not exhausted your reading to the and looking up all the right material. Having a tang in a small tank means lots of feeding and your tank parameters will change much quickly they need lots of rooom to swim

IMO.




angels that you can keep is easy in a 40 gal tank
Bi color
Coral Beauty
Flame angel
Cherub angel
Lemon peel
Potters angel
that is what i would go with

The only reason I thought of a tang is because they are more reef safe than an angel. As you can probably tell, I'm looking for a "larger" fish as my center piece fish. Eventually I kind of want to have my tank stocked like this:

- An angel
- 2 false perc clown's
- 2 fire fish
- mandarin goby (once my tank is more established)

That's sort of where I want to be. I don't think that would be overstocked and it would give a nice colour variation. Has your bicolour been easy to keep Asmodeus?

Not to rain on your parade even more...

But a Mandarin is not a good choice for a tank that size. It need a much bigger system with a nice big fuge pumping out tons of pods.

Bottom line is , your system will not be able to produce enough pods to keep the mandarin alive. Take it from me... I was an ass and tried. However, when I bought mine it was eating prepared foods.. dont' let this excite you and think "oh its eating prepared foods, lets take it home" Because as soon as you do that... and the fish is swimming about your live rock, it notices it's natural food source (pods) swimming around and then takes to those. That's what happened with mine.. it just flat out stopped eating mysis .

I know how annoying it is to want a certain fish and not be able to keep it, or have people tell you what you can and cannot keep. Just keep in mind.. we're trying to save you hassels and problems that will come later. It's all for the best, trust us :smile:

Cheers

Thanks for the advice Scott. I actually never new that a Mandarin had size restrictions, but it makes sense. Maybe a couple scooter benny's would be a good a alternative? What do you think about the Firefish?

It really is tough work making the right choice!