What You Need - Part 1 of 5

Since starting this blog and posting photographs and video links of my angelfish, I've had several people ask me how difficult it is to successfully keep or breed angels. So over the course of this week, I'll give you a little bit of information. There are plenty of websites and books that go into a lot of detail but I'll try to keep things simple.

Freshwater angelfish can grow to 10 inches tall, as three of mine have already. If you have smaller fish like many tetras, you can get by with one fish per gallon of water. Guppies and neon tetras can thrive with two fish per gallon.

But an angelfish needs a minimum of five gallons. I try not to have more than one angelfish per ten gallons. In my 70-gallon tank when Lindsay and Stevie began to start a family (or sushi bar, if you were one of the other fish watching) 70 gallons was clearly not enough space for these two. They were very territorial. Which is why they now have their own 20-gallon honeymoon suite. (At right: a 60-gallon tank.)

So the first thing you need is an aquarium. The bigger, the better. Height is a big factor, as angels get taller than they are wide (or you are feeding them WAY too much.) I suggest at least a 60-gallon tank is you want to keep 6-8 angels.

Tomorrow... all about filters.