Compatibility check
Can Angelfish and Otocinclus live together?
Angelfish and Otocinclus are not recommended together based on the current rule check.
not recommended
Quick answer
This pairing is not recommended by the current rules. The highest-risk factors are marked as fail below; fixable water-parameter overlap alone does not cancel out predation, aggression, fin-nipping, or explicit avoid-tag conflicts.
Factor breakdown
| Factor | Result | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Water type | OK | Angelfish is freshwater; Otocinclus is freshwater. Compatibility pages are generated only for matching water types. |
| Temperature | OK | Temperature overlaps at 24-26 C. Angelfish is listed at 24-29 C; Otocinclus is listed at 22-26 C. |
| pH | OK | pH overlaps at 6-7.5. Angelfish is listed at 6-7.5; Otocinclus is listed at 6-7.5. |
| Hardness | OK | Hardness overlaps at 2-12 dGH. Angelfish is listed at 1-12 dGH; Otocinclus is listed at 2-12 dGH. |
| Adult size and predation | Caution | Adult size differs substantially (Angelfish: 15 cm; Otocinclus: 5 cm). Add cover and avoid housing juveniles with adults. |
| Temperament and aggression | OK | Angelfish (semi-aggressive cichlid) and Otocinclus (peaceful algae grazer) do not have an obvious aggression clash in the dataset. |
| Fin nipping risk | OK | The dataset does not flag this pair as a fin-nipper plus long-finned combination. |
| Schooling and group needs | OK | Plan around full groups, not single display fish. Minimum group sizes: Otocinclus: 6+. |
| Explicit avoid tags | Conflict | Avoid-tag conflict found. Angelfish avoid tags matching Otocinclus: none. Otocinclus avoid tags matching Angelfish: large-predator. |
| Minimum combined tank size | OK | Use at least 40 US gallons (151 L) for the pair, based on the larger minimum tank plus bioload and activity adjustments where relevant. |
Species profiles
- Angelfish - Pterophyllum scalare
- Otocinclus - Otocinclus vittatus
Related compatibility checks
Sources and attribution
Source links are verification references for taxonomy and identifiers. Care values are AI-generated from common hobby consensus and need expert review.
- Angelfish
- Wikidata search - Taxonomy/identifier verification lead only.
- GBIF species search - Taxonomy verification lead only.
- Otocinclus
- Wikidata search - Taxonomy/identifier verification lead only.
- GBIF species search - Taxonomy verification lead only.