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[betinachor]

Pterophyllum Scalare

"Angelfish"


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Also known as:

Pterophyllum eimekei (synonym - no longer valid)

Origin:

Rio Negro and Amazon basins

Water conditions:

Temp : 22 - 29 degrees celcius

pH : 5.5 - 7.5

Size:

10-14 cm

Sex differences:

No reliable sex differences. Female has relatively thick ovipositor.

A trio of angelfish


Pearlscale angel


Comments:

Angelfish are one of the 'bread and butter' fish of the aquarium trade. You will find it hard to find a store whithout them. However, due to years of inbreeding (a result of an 'angelfish disease' that wiped out many breeder's stock in the 80's) good angelfish are hard to find. Many of the specimens you can find in the stores have deformed fins, body shape, gills etc and should have been culled. This is especially obvious in the fancier and rarer (pearlscale, half black, veiltails) varieties, where it becomes even harder to find good stock.

Angelfish should be chosen very carefully before purchase. Check the fins to see that they are straight, the eyes clear and in proportion to the body, check that they have complete gill plates etc. It may be very hard to obtain good stock, but one just has to persevere and continue looking, and resist the urge to buy the less than ideal fish.

Almost all the varieties are available in Australia, with the cheaper ones starting from $3 per fish, up to $10-$30 for larger fish or rarer varieties. In addition, two other species of angelfish are occasionally available here, dumerilii and altum. The altum are a taller bodied variety that is very attractive but are usually wild caught - with the associated parasites and diseases. The dumerilii are often locally bred, and are a longer nosed variety. Angelfish taxonomy is in a bit of a confused state, with some authorities recognising up to 4 species, while others say they are subspecies of each other. A new 'species' that is becoming available in the US is p. leopoldi, though I have yet to see them here.

The best way to breed angelfish is to get a group of 6-8 individuals from different sources, and let them grow up together and pair of naturally. Once they begin spawning, they can get very aggressive, depending on the individual. Breeding pairs given good conditions will tend to spawn like clockwork every two weeks. In fact it may be hard to stop them spawning once they start. However, many of the pairs I have had have eaten their eggs or have not taken sufficient care of them. Coincidentally, my most aggressive angelfish pair also became the best parents, successfully raising the fry to 1/2 cm size.

Angels are not fussy feeders, and will eat anything from flakes to pellets to your favourite neon tetra. They do get to quite a large size, and will readily hunt out small fish to eat.

Profile by Betina Chor

Edited by: perthcichlid at: 6/14/02 10:12:38 pm

[Terry]

There are 3 Pterophyllum that we see in the hobby
P. altum which is refered to as the Columbian Altum they are sometimes available Australia. It is a beautiful fish that most people regard as the ultimate angel. It has long fins and a hooked nose.
P. leopoldi was known as P.dumerilli but it was renamed in the 60s. It has short fins and a Roman nose, they are common in Perth and most states have them.
P. scalare this is the fish that most of the aquarium strains were developed from. It is rare in the wild form.
P. scalare variety known as the Peruvian Altum, it is very similar to the Columbian Altum but its colour is different. I believe this fish is a species that has not been discribed yet.
P. eimekei was first named in 1928 by Dr.Ahl in Germany it was later synonymized with P.scalare so the name eimekei is no longer valid
Terry