The number of people within the fish keeping hobby looking to keep angelfish in their tanks is higher than ever and this is causing more and more questions about correctly caring for angelfish.
One of the most important things to get right from the very start is tank size and there have been a number of people asking questions about how many angelfish you can keep in a 55 gallon tank recently.
There are a large number of different types of angelfish that can thrive in a 55 gallon tank that has been set up correctly.
The problem is, most people make mistakes that are easy to avoid when they set their tank up that ends up causing problems with aggression with their angelfish.
Due to this, we decided that we wanted to publish this dedicated article on keeping angelfish in a 55 gallon tank to try and help as many of our readers as possible. We should be able to help you avoid the more common mistakes that we see people make to help keep your 55 gallon tank free from problems.
Can Angelfish Live In A 55 Gallon Tank?
Many types of angelfish can live in a 55 gallon tank without issue with most types of angelfish being able to thrive in a 55 gallon tank that has been correctly set up for them.
Depending on the specific type of angelfish you choose to keep in your tank, you may be able to keep your angelfish in a 55 gallon tank for its full life.
The issue is, that some types of angelfish can end up growing to a size where they will need you to upgrade their tank to a larger setup once they grow so keep this in mind when choosing the specific type of angelfish you want to keep.
We will go over the better angelfish types to keep in a 55 gallon tank in the next section of our article but you also have to factor in the space requirements of any non-angelfish tank mates you want in the tank too but we will cover that later in the article too.
What Are The Best Angelfish For A 55 Gallon Tank?
Although there are a wide range of angelfish that you can keep in a 55 gallon tank, the following seven types of angelfish do seem to be the most popular options at the time of writing:-
- Zebra Angelfish
- Marble Angelfish
- Black Veil Angelfish
- Blushing Angelfish
- Gold Angelfish
- Silver Angelfish
- Clown Angelfish
This can come down to things such as price, availability, colors, patterns, shape, and a number of other factors but, the seven types of angelfish above are very popular for 55 gallon tanks right now.
That said, you are able to use a number of other, less common types of angelfish in a 55 gallon tank if you really want to but we will not be looking at any outside of the seven listed above due to how popular they are and most people choosing to keep one of them.
We have our infographic below going over how many of these angelfish species you are able to keep in a 55 gallon tank but as with most stocking options, the tank mates and tank setup will all come into play and have to be factored in.
The Zebra Angelfish
In our opinion, the Zebra Angelfish that is shown in the photograph above is the best overall angelfish option for a 55 gallon tank.
They are relatively beginner friendly due to being peaceful in most situations provided they are not in a small or overstocked tank.
Although they can become semi-aggressive during breeding season, as far as cichlids go, they really are a calm and peaceful type of angelfish to keep.
They are also very popular meaning that they are usually stocked in most local fish stores while also being very fairly priced as far as angelfish go.
Zebra angelfish also look good due to their black and white coloring and as their name suggests, zebra stripe appearance.
Most 55 gallon tank setups should be able to house three zebra angelfish with minimal issues but if you are new to the fish keeping hobby, we would recommend that you start out with a pair rather than three.
They tend to be fine around many other species of fish too meaning that your zebra angelfish should not have any problems with their tank mates in their 55 gallon tank either.
How Many Angelfish Can You Keep In A 55 Gallon Tank?
You can usually keep between two and give angelfish in a 55 gallon tank depending on the size of size of your angelfish.
For example, something like the silver angelfish can usually have between three and five of them in a 55 gallon tank with minimal problems.
That said though, just because you can keep as many as five silver angelfish in your 55 gallon tank does not mean that you actually should and most people will fine they will have a much better job by sticking to three angelfish.
As we always recommend, it is far better to intentionally understock your tank rather than keep it close to the maximum recommended stocking option.
It helps to reduce problems with aggression while also offering a higher quality of life for your angelfish in your tank too.
You may see people online recommending that you use the one inch of fish per gallon of tank rule to stock your tank but this is not applicable to angelfish!
Although that rule can work very well for a number of other fish species, if you use it when stocking a tank with angelfish then you will definitely end up having problems with aggression in your tank.
Our advice would be to research the specific type of angelfish that you want to keep in your 55 gallon aquarium and then research how many of them you can keep in a tank of that size.
We shared our stocking recommendations for the seven most commonly kept types of angelfish in a 55 gallon tank that should be able to help you if you do choose to go with one of those types of angelfish though.
Will Angelfish Be Aggressive To Each Other In A 55 Gallon Tank?
The aggression levels of angelfish will depend on a number of different factors and it can be difficult to predict how most types of angelfish will behave in a tank until they are in there.
Here are some of the things that you have to consider that may affect the aggression levels of your angelfish:-
- Angelfish type
- The personality of the fish
- Tank size
- Tank stocking levels
- Water parameters
- If its breeding season
- The number of hiding spots in the tank
- The number of sight breaks in the tank
- The stress and anxiety levels of the fish
As you can see, there really are a large number of different things that come into play when it comes to the aggression levels of your angelfish that you have to think of.
If you are having issues with your angelfish being aggressive and everything you see online says that the specific type of angelfish you keep are usually peaceful, there is a good chance that there is a problem with one of those factors above.
Our recommendation would be to research a peaceful or at least semi-peaceful type of angelfish and then to understock your tank and to make sure that as many of the points listed above are in order.
This should give you the highest possible chance of keeping a peaceful 55 gallon aquarium tank that has angelfish in it without you having problems with aggression or other common issues.
What Other Fish Can Live With An Angelfish In A 55 Gallon Tank?
Most people who keep a 55 gallon aquarium with angelfish in it will usually want at least one other species of fish in there too.
This may be as a decorative colorful fish or as a member of the tank’s cleanup crew to help control algae and detritus building up in the tank.
In our opinion, the seven best tank mates for most types of angelfish are as follows:-
- Mollies
- Corydoras
- Plecos
- Ram Cichlids
- Dwarf Gourami
- Platies
- Tetras
Now, depending on your experience level with keeping pet fish as well as your budget, there really are a wide range of other options available that you can use if you wanted to.
For the most part though, we really do think that sticking to one of the seven species above will be better for most people and if you are brand new to the fish keeping hobby, you may find that just keeping your angelfish in your 55 gallon tank may be challenging enough even without tank mates.
If you are having problems with shy or aggressive angelfish in your tank then you may want to check out our article on the best dither fish for angelfish.
Dither fish are used to calm angelfish to help reduce aggression levels and to help shy angelfish come out of their hiding spots and thrive in their tank.
We have our cheatsheet going over what we feel are the better angelfish tank mates for a 55 gallon tank below to try and help you workout the roles of each species.
Can You Breed Angelfish In A 55 Gallon Tank?
Many people who start to keep angelfish in a 55 gallon tank end up wanting to breed their fish and although it can work, it can also present a number of problems.
For example, if you are using your 55 gallon tank as a community tank, the other fish in the tank will usually eat large amounts of the angelfish eggs and fry reducing your yields.
Some types of angelfish will also eat their own fry too further reducing the breeding yields of your operation.
If you are having issues with these problems then our article on how to increase your angelfish fry survival rates and if angelfish eat their babies may be worth reading.
Another problem of trying to breed your angelfish is that you will need somewhere to store the fry as they get larger and a 55 gallon tank is usually not suitable due to size constraints.
We have lost count of the number of people that we see on social media who end up stuck with juvenile fish that they have bred and are not able to sell or in some cases, give away for free so consider this problem too.
What Decorations Should I Add To A 55 Gallon Tank With Angelfish In It?
We would always recommend that you add a number of tank decorations and live or fake plants to your 55 gallon tank with angelfish in it.
Decorations such as rocks, driftwood, and fish hides all work well for helping to keep your angelfish as calm as possible to help reduce aggression levels in the fish.
Live plants offer a number of benefits to your tank and are always recommended but both live and fake plants can act as sight breaks in your tank to also help reduce the chances of you having problems with aggression too.
Tank customization is very popular right now with aquascaping and custom tank builds becoming increasingly popular so depending on your budget and the amount of time you have, there really are a huge number of things you can do with your tank.
