Thinking About Returning to An Old Fish and Tankmates for that Fish

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Hey y'all! As y'all know, I've been rummaging through profiles on various fish breeds to find a beauty to put in my 55-gallon long tank. Throughout my search, one fish keeps popping back up in my mind...Angelfish.

I've kept angelfish multiple times; almost every rendition of my tank has had an angelfish (except for now), and I know how to take care of them well. I've also kept many tankmates with them, most good (Like corys, livebearers, my striped Raphael, and my late Pleco), some stupidly bad (like when I put a pair of massive electric blue deepwater haps with a loner angelfish, you can guess what happened to the angel...).

Anyway, all that to say, I want some oddball tankmates to put with a few angels. If I could get some suggestions, that would be awesome.

Many thanks for considering my request.

 

[Deadeye]

Given you already have the raphael cat, I’d personally stick with some of the peaceful Amazon species in that case.
Look into farowella/twig catfish. That would be a good oddball.
Hatchetfish aren’t uncommon, but have a good oddball look and would mix well.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Given you already have the raphael cat, I’d personally stick with some of the peaceful Amazon species in that case.
Look into farowella/twig catfish. That would be a good oddball.
Hatchetfish aren’t uncommon, but have a good oddball look and would mix well.

What about plecos? Would they work?

 

[Deadeye]

As long as you don’t get one too big for the tank. A farowella is very much like a pleco as well (not sure how they compare as workhorses).
Suckermouth cats aren’t my specialty so I can’t comment on all the varieties out there (there’s a lot).

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

As long as you don’t get one too big for the tank. A farowella is very much like a pleco as well (not sure how they compare as workhorses).
Suckermouth cats aren’t my specialty so I can’t comment on all the varieties out there (there’s a lot).

One of the "phantom" plecos might work, as I've had a Green Phantom before. I wish I had a bigger tank to have a Royal pleco, as they are my favorite species. For anyone who knows a lot about plecos, are there any Royal pleco species that can go in a 55-gallon?

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

As long as you don’t get one too big for the tank. A farowella is very much like a pleco as well (not sure how they compare as workhorses).
Suckermouth cats aren’t my specialty so I can’t comment on all the varieties out there (there’s a lot).

I will see about farowellas, I've seen them in person before many times, and they look fantastic. My only problem with them is that they are so tiny in the stores where I live. I'm scared about putting them with adult angelfish as they would probably slurp em' up like spiky noodles.

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

One of the "phantom" plecos might work, as I've had a Green Phantom before. I wish I had a bigger tank to have a Royal pleco, as they are my favorite species. For anyone who knows a lot about plecos, are there any Royal pleco species that can go in a 55-gallon?

The "phantom" Hemiancistrus all do get rather large, and I'd be hesitant to say an adult would be fully comfortable in a 55G, though smaller juveniles should be able to stay in one for a good few years; L128 would probably be a decent candidate in that case. L476 grows slower IME, but smaller specimens are almost never imported and as such it's difficult to judge. As far as I'm aware, Panaque bathyphilus is the smallest Panaque- but they still reach a decent size, at ~40cm SL. There are some Hypostomus and Panaqolus species that superficially resemble Panaque, but none get very close IMO. Very few would likely do alright in a 55G long-term. Then again, it always seems like plecos grow agonisingly slow (except when you stop caring; seems as though they suddenly shoot up ~3in overnight!), and a small specimen might do alright for some while.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

The "phantom" Hemiancistrus all do get rather large, and I'd be hesitant to say an adult would be fully comfortable in a 55G, though smaller juveniles should be able to stay in one for a good few years; L128 would probably be a decent candidate in that case. L476 grows slower IME, but smaller specimens are almost never imported and as such it's difficult to judge. As far as I'm aware, Panaque bathyphilus is the smallest Panaque- but they still reach a decent size, at ~40cm SL. There are some Hypostomus and Panaqolus species that superficially resemble Panaque, but none get very close IMO. Very few would likely do alright in a 55G long-term. Then again, it always seems like plecos grow agonisingly slow (except when you stop caring; seems as though they suddenly shoot up ~3in overnight!), and a small specimen might do alright for some while.

So I could have any royal pleco species (as long as I get it small) and keep it in my tank for a few years before it outgrows it?

 

[fishhead0103666]

So I could have any royal pleco species (as long as I get it small) and keep it in my tank for a few years before it outgrows it?

A Royal pleco is similar to a clown loach as in slow growing.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

A Royal pleco is similar to a clown loach as in slow growing.

So that's a yes?