How many Angelfish should be kept together?

5 minimum, more if the tank allows: it is a group species, and numbers shape its behaviour and colours alike.

How do you enrich a Angelfish tank?

Hides, plants and decor matched to its zone (in midwater), varied feeding and adequate numbers: aquarium enrichment is layout, not gadgets.

Angelfish: gear and buying guides

The angelfish is a majestic cichlid reaching 15 cm in length and sometimes 20 cm in height including its fins. Its silhouette demands a tall tank of at least 50 cm and a volume of 240 to 300 L for a small group, in soft water between 24 and 28 °C. Peaceful in appearance, it turns territorial when breeding and eats very small fish.

Profile : 15 cm long and up to 20 cm tall, 240 to 300 L for a group, water between 24 and 28 °C.

An accessory from our shop for this use: Programmable automatic aquarium fish feeder (€32.90) · the whole shop

We don’t ship products to your country yet; our practical guide downloads anywhere: Beginner axolotl: aquarium and care (€19)

Species profile

Lifespan: 8 to 12 years
Adult size: 15 cm
Minimum tank: 240 L
Water temperature: 24 to 28 °C
pH: 6 to 7.5
Temperament: A majestic, slow cichlid, peaceful in appearance but territorial when breeding and a predator of very small fish.
Health watch: hexamita (hole-in-the-head) in loaded water · white spot disease after a temperature shock

🩺 Reminder: this page informs, it does not diagnose. For any symptom or health question, your veterinarian remains the only reference.

Angelfish gear, family by family

🍖 Food
A carnivore with omnivorous leanings: cichlid pellets, frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp and krill. Vary the diet to support its slow growth and lifespan of ten years or more.
🧴 Care & grooming
Prefer soft, slightly acidic, well-filtered water with a 25 percent weekly change. Its long fins are vulnerable to nipping: avoid fin-nipping tankmates such as some barbs.
🎾 Toys & enrichment
Tall plants such as vallisneria or large sword plants, vertical roots and branches recreate its native habitat. It likes gliding slowly between vertical structures.
🏠 Bedding & habitat
A 240 to 300 L tank at least 50 cm tall, for a group of 5 to 6 juveniles or a bonded pair. Do not house it with neon tetras or shrimp, which it will eventually eat.
🧳 Travel & safety
Transport each adult in a tall, wide bag, as its fins bend and get damaged easily. Slow 45-minute acclimation in temperate water.
🧰 Accessories
An external filter rated for 300 L, a 200 W heater, moderate lighting and a large net. Budget around 250 to 450 euros to equip the full tank.

🎾 Enriching a Angelfish tank: hardscape, shoal and occupation

Hardscape designed for its swimming zone

With a Angelfish, everything happens in midwater — furnish accordingly: tall background plants, wood and clear swimming lanes organise its space. An aquarium’s enrichment is its hiding places and its currents — not fluorescent ornaments.

Group life: the first enrichment

Kept at 5 or more, the Angelfish shows its true behaviours: hierarchies, displays, coordinated swimming. Below that, chronic stress sets in and colours fade — group size is the species’ first “toy”, before any decor purchase.

Food as occupation

Every Angelfish meal can become a hunt: release prey into the filter flow and move the feeding point from day to day — occupation comes from searching, not abundance.

Quick answers

How many Angelfish should be kept together?: 5 minimum, more if the tank allows: it is a group species, and numbers shape its behaviour and colours alike.
How do you enrich a Angelfish tank?: Hides, plants and decor matched to its zone (in midwater), varied feeding and adequate numbers: aquarium enrichment is layout, not gadgets.

See it in the Planète Pets shop: Tall artificial aquarium plant, 45 to 49 cm, weighted base (€23.90) · the whole shop