Angelfish – Pterophyllum scalar
Species name: Pterophyllum scalare
Common names: Angelfish
Family: Cichlidae
Order: Perciformes
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 6″ in.
Minimum tank size: 25 gallons
Hardiness: Easy to medium
Aggressiveness: Semi-aggressive
Distribution: Amazon River in South America
Breeding: read How to Breed Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalar)
Diet: Should be fed a variety of foods including dry flake, brine Shrimp, black Worms, mosquito larvae, finely chopped earthworms and other meathy food.
Additional information:
Angel Fish are one of the most beautiful kind of tropical freshwater aquarium fish. In the wild, they live in swamps or flooded grounds among roots and plants of the Amazone river basin in tropical South America as well as the rivers of Amapá in Brazil, the Oyapock River in French Guiana and the Essequibo River in Guyana.
Angelfish have a highly compressed lateral body with long fins coming out of the top and bottom. The tail is vertically oriented and may vary in shape depending on the variety. The Angelfish’s true color is white with four vertical bars but there is now a few more varieties available on the market:
Silver: This is the Angelfish’s true natural color. They have a white body with four dark vertical bars. Some have black speckles over the top of the body.
Veiltail: They have elongated fins and are available in all color varieties.
Black: This variety is solid black.
Black Lace: They look similar to the silver angelfish but have a lace like effect on the fins.
Zebra: This variety looks similar to the silver angelfish. They have more stripes which continue on right through the tail.
Blushing: They have a white body with some red on either side of the face below the eye. They are the less hardy angelfish available.
Half Black: They have a white and black body. Usually, the front of the body is white while the rest of the body is black.
Marble: This variety has patterns of black, silver and gold (marble like) instead of the ordinary black bars.
Golden: They range from a solid silvery white to a golden color with no other markings.
Angelfish will do well in slightly acidic water with pH between 6.5 and 6.9 and a dH of 0.6 to 1.2 dH. Frequent water changes must be performed to ensure good water quality.
Live plants are a good addition to the aquarium. They will like tanks with Amazon Sword Plants (Echinodorus) and other boardleaf plants. Plants will help keep the aquarium stress-free and will help remove nitrates and phosphates.
They should be kept singly or in shoals of four or more. Smaller groups will result in dominance battles and bullying.
Do you have experience with Angelfish?
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Article written by www.aquariumslife.com
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i woke to find my female angelfish had past away sometime last night. we had gotten her about a year ago, our male which we got close to about 4yrs now, took to her. i have read so much on the mating pair. i just would like to know if our male will be ok or will he pass from losing his girl? is it posible to get a new female of will that just be a waist of time?
Hello Cindy,
I never tried but according to what I found on Angelsplus.com, your male should accept a new mate. Here is a quote I found:
“The angelfish pair may have a fertility problem (very rare). Switching one of the pair with another mate may help.”