How Many Angelfish Should You Keep In A 37 Gallon Tank?

In short, you can put 2-3 adult angelfish in a 37-gallon tank. However, the answer to this question depends on a few factors, like the size of the angelfish and whether or not you plan on adding other fish to the tank.

Generally, you can keep 2-3 adult angelfish in a 37-gallon tank. Although, if the angelfish are particularly large, you may only be able to keep 2 angelfish. If you plan on adding any other fish to the tank, along with a few angelfish, you’ll need to take their size into account as well.

When you’re stocking a tank, it’s important to take into account the adult size of the fish that you want to add. This is because fish continue to grow as long as they get enough food and space.

As angelfish are cichlids, meaning they’re related to other well-known fish such as Oscars and discus. The problem with cichlids is that they’re known for their aggressive behaviors, which can include everything from fin-nipping to full-blown territorial disputes. Therefore, it’s important to only keep a small number of angelfish in a single tank.

When stocking a 37-gallon tank, the maximum number of angelfish that should be included is 3. The main reason is due to the potential size that adult angelfish get, which can reach up to 6 inches in length.

What Tankmates Can Be Kept With Angelfish

There’re a few things to take into consideration when picking tank mates for your freshwater Angelfish.

You shouldn’t pick fish that are large enough so that they will not fit into the mouth of your Angelfish. If you intend on keeping smaller-sized fish, for example, Neon tetra or small Cherry barbs, then Angelfish can eat them easily.

Although every fish has their own personality, Angelfish is a cichlid, and they are known as territorial. Some Angelfish won’t eat their tank mates even if they can fit into their mouth and some will eat them. So, although it really depends on the individual fish that you have, to stay on the safer side, you should avoid keeping smaller fish that can easily fit into the mouth of your Angelfish.

Something else to consider while selecting tank mates is the fish should not be fin nippers. This is because Angelfish have long fins and they are also not very quick to swim, so fin nippers can really give them a hard time. So, it’s best to avoid picking fish that would be potential fin nippers along with your angelfish.

As previously mentioned, every fish has a different personality. So, there are some people that have kept fin nippers like Tiger barbs with their Angelfish successfully.

Additional Tips

If you still want to keep small-sized fish that could potentially fit into the mouth of your Angelfish.

And/or if you really want to keep some fish that are known to be fin nippers, then a large heavily planted tank will greatly increase your chances of success. This is because a large heavily planted tank will provide a lot of hiding places to fish.

Here are some good examples of Angelfish tankmates

Plecos
Plecos are compatible with a lot of freshwater fish as they tolerate a wide range of water parameters. They generally don’t bother Angelfish. 

Plecos just need some aquarium plants and algae to feed on. As they’re algae eaters, they also help to keep your tank clean.

When they get bigger, you should start providing them with some algae wafers for their proper growth.

Dwarf Red Gourami
The Dwarf red gourami is another good tank mate to keep in an Angelfish tank.

There’re some other types of Gouramis like the Gold and Blue Gouramis that can be a little bit more aggressive, so you should avoid keeping them with Angelfish.

Platys
Platy fish are a great example of being tank mates for Angelfish. Platys are very peaceful and they won’t bother your Angelfish. They’re also not too small that they’ll fit into the mouth of your Angelfish.

Catfish You can safely keep different varieties of Catfish with Angelfish. This is because Catfish are bottom dwellers and they, therefore, spend most of their time searching for food near the substrate of the tank so they will not bother your fish.

They’re also big enough that they won’t fit into the mouth of your Angelfish.

Tetras You can keep different types of Tetras like the Black skirt Tetra and Glowing Tetra with Angelfish. Although you have to be very cautious while keeping them as some tetra fish may nip on the fins of your Angelfish. So, you’ll need to keep an eye on them regularly.

You shouldn’t keep Tetras that are very small in size like Neon tetra as they can easily fit into the mouth of your Angelfish.

How To Choose An Angelfish?

There’re a few things that you need to keep in mind when choosing Angelfish for your tank.

• The first thing you should avoid is choosing a full-grown angelfish. That’s because half the fun of having a tank is to see your fish grow.
• The second thing is to watch the head of the Angelfish closely. As you should choose the one which has a thicker face. Angelfish that have thicker faces is a sign of healthy Angelfish.
• The third thing you should look at when picking an Angelfish is to closely look into the eyes of the Angelfish and avoid choosing the one which has a cloudy eye. Usually, this happens due to disease, so you don’t want this kind of fish in your aquarium.