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Angelfish

Family: Cichlidae

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Albino Angelfish Pterophyllum scalare Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   Timid, temperamental, and delicate, the Angelfish is familiar to every freshwater aquarist.

   The Angelfish is a graceful disk shaped cichlid. Though it was named for the marine angelfish, it bears little resemblance to these fish or even to any other fish in the Cichlid family. They are found in nature with black bars on a silver colored body. Some mutations are also found in nature where these fish are without bars, are solid black, and have lace forms. These mutant forms have become fixed forms by captive inbreeding. Today there are many color and finage varieties including the Silver Angelfish, Zebra Angelfish, Marbled Angelfish, Veiltail Angelfish, Blushing Angelfish, and even with much effort, a Gold Angelfish.

   The Angelfish is considered a community fish, but it is a cichlid and may not be as sociable with smaller fish. They will school peacefully when they are young, but tend to pair off and become more territorial when they are older. Being a bit timid, they can be frightened by shadows and fast movements. They will feel most at home and comfortable in a warmer aquarium that has hardy plants placed around the inside perimeter, has some rocks and roots, and has an open area in the center for swimming.

For more Information on keeping freshwater fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:
   The Angelfish was described by Schultze in 1823. They inhabit slow moving waters of rivers in South American: the central Amazon River basin and tributaries to Peru, Brazil, and eastern Ecuador. Though the Angelfish sold today is often referred to as being Pterophyllum scalare, wild specimens vary widely from the long established captive bred varieties.

Status:
   This species is not listed on the IUCN Red List.

Description:
   The Angelfish are found in nature with black bars on a silver colored body. The laterally compressed body has a distinctive diamond shape and pointed snout. They have oversized extended dorsal and anal fins, these and the tail fin are long and flowing. In mature fish the tail fin can develop streamers on the outside corners. The pectoral fins are very long and delicate.
  Some mutations also found in nature are where these fish are without bars, in solid blacks, and in lace forms. Today there are many popular varieties available, including:

Size - Weight:
   The Angelfish reaches a length of about 6 inches (15 cm) in length.

Care and feeding:
   Since they are omnivorous, the Angelfish will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food or pellet everyday. Feed brine shrimp (either live or frozen) or blood worms as a treat. You can even feed them lettuce or spinach. Feed mosquito larvae sparingly as they will tend to overeat it, which could kill them.
   A minimum 40 gallon aquarium, though a larger tank would be suggested if keeping several. They need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Provide hardy plants placed around the inside perimeter along with some rocks and roots, but keep an open area in the center for swimming. They prefer subdued lighting. These fish do not burrow and will not damage plants as much as other cichlids. Do water changes of 15 to 20% a week depending on bio load. They are subject to diseases that ail all freshwater fish.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
  These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: 2-10° dGH
   Ph: 6.0 to 7.5
   Temp: 75-82° F (24-28° C)

"Silver" Angelfish Photo © Animal-World

Social Behaviors:
   Though they are considered a community fish, Angelfish will get territorial as they get older. Being in the cichlid family, smaller fish do not do well with them. They will pair off, developing a strong nuclear family, and defend a territory in which to breed. A nice thing about Angelfish is that they don't burrow or disturb plants!

Sexual Differences:
   There are no distinguishable differences except in breeding season, then the papilla on the male is pointed and on the female is blunt. The males sometimes make a loud grating sound with their jaws when mating.

Buy Angelfish From LiveAquaria.com

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Angelfish are egg layers.The female lays up to 1000 eggs on leaves. If the parents don't eat the eggs, the larvae and fry are carefully guarded. See the general description of how to breed Cichlids in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:
   Angelfish are readily available online and in fish stores in many different color and finage varieties.

Author: Clarice Brough, CFS

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Latest Comments
I recently got an angelfish and I had to get a new tank because they will eat the other small fish that I have. They really are beautiful though. the crazyfish lady 2009-03-15
I have three beautiful angels in a fifty gallon tank, currently housed with three silver dollars and a featherfin catfish. My favorite is the biggest one, around 3 1/2 to 4 inches which is a gold variety with a couple of black blotches and spots on the middle of either side of its body. It was the most aggressive among the three(one gorgeous marble which didn't grow as fast as my favorite one but still eats nicely and a smokey half-black that is the most energetic which is introduced with my silver dollars), but now it has calmed down, being the most passive fish I have. I have double filtration, weekly water change, zero ammonia and nitrite and very little nitrate. I feed them 2-3 times daily with a variety of flakes, earthworm flakes, spirulina flakes and tubifex(freeze-dried). The two are now 9 months in my tank and the other one is three months I think. I am not expecting a pair cause I started wrong by introducing only two, but who knows, just might get one. My biggest expectation is for them to have the best finnage and health among all the fish I kept. Calvin 2008-12-23
Hi! I have had a "Koi" Angelfish for a year and a half now! I got it when it was as small as a penny! just a baby fry! Now he is so big, almost 3 inches in diameter! He recognizes me when I walk in front of his tank, and makes these clicking sounds with his mouth when he wants me to feed him :) So smart! y3m3k 2008-11-29
I recently aquired a pair of gold angels. They are thriving in the my amazonian aquarium and only have share it with a trio of bronze corys. I hope to add more angels in the future and possibly obtain a breeding pair. They are great for tanks with other slow moving peaceful fish but will consume any small shoaling fish such as neons and other small tetras. Rory Mackenzie 2008-10-03
Hi! I just got a few marble angelfish today and they are as everyone thinks, angels. I also got a few dalmation-spotted mollys and they got along great with my angelfish! Even though one of the dalmation spotted mollys showed aggressiveness they just do that over food sometimes when they are just announced to each other. Megan Russell 2008-08-24
Some of the coolest comments:
Angelfish are one of the most popular of all tropical fish because of their unusually flat bodies and amazing long fins. Some people think of angelfish as aggressive and a non community fish, this of coarse may happen but not all the time. I have had 3 angelfish in my community tank and two of them were so peaceful and passive but one of the was an aggressive little devil. These guys like their water to have a ph of around 7 and like their water to be about 27 C (80 F). Oh, and here's a little tip, if you need to remove them from your tank try not to use a net to catch them because it can seriously injure their delicate, long fins. The Fish Guy 2009-03-10
I am surprised by the responsiveness of my juvenile angelfishes. When I walk past my aquarium they all, but one in particular more, swims back and forth in front of me hoping to be fed, I assume. It steals my heart. The hardest part is trying not to overstuff them, as they are voracious eaters. In my opinion they are not the least bit shy and are not easily startled like other feisty fish. They are gentle fish most of the time and they coexist well with the rest of their tank mates. Be wary of barbs that may attack them and nip their beautiful fins, like my tiger barb which nearly decimated the fins of my marble angel; as a matter of fact he no longer has a tail!- Mirella Aldaba, 22 Mirella Aldaba 2006-09-18

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Author: David Brough. CFS.