Angelfish - Pterophyllum are majestic and popular freshwater ornamental aquarium fish exhibiting quite peaceful behavior in its habitat.
Angelfish and its scientific name Pterophyllum is a small genus of freshwater fish. They are majestic and popular freshwater ornamental aquarium fish exhibiting quite peaceful behavior in its habitat.
ANGELFISH DESCRIPTION:
Angelfishes prefer swampy, flooded and dense vegetated riverine grounds. They prefer to stay in shoals. Most of them come from South and Central America and Africa, with a couple of species from Asia. The smallest species only grow to 5 cm, whereas others are quite drab. They reaches a maximum size of 15-20 cm, while the life span of this fish is 3-4 years in the aquariums and up to 15 years in the wild. They are flat and laterally ‘squashed’ in shape, and are completely peaceful.
They are capable to camouflage among the aquatic plants due to their triangular shape. Wild species of this type have more distinctive dark vertical stripes, allowing them to blend in easier. They also become aggressive towards each other, especially during the mating season. Males fight with other males over mates, and females are protective of their offsprings from other fish looking for food.
Freshwater angelfish were originally standard silver in color. However, due to mutations, breeders have produced a number of interesting and beautiful varieties. Some popular color variations include, but are not limited to: marble, veil, zebra, ghost, albino, black lace, leopard, gold, blushing, koi, smokey, altum, half black, and pearlscale.
Some varieties:
ANGELFISH MALE AND FEMALE:
Young fish do not show gender-specific shapes until they are about 8-12 months old. When they reach full sexual maturity, though, females tend to get bigger bellies as they prepare for egg production and storage. Slimmerbellied fish are more likely male, though males can get a temporary belly if they've just gorged.
Adult male angelfish tend to have more rounded or “bumpy” head shapes than females. Look at your fish’s face from a few angles. More curves mean its probably male, straighter means probably female.
Look at the outline of the fish’s body running from the pectoral fins (the two narrow ones below the gills) to the anal fin (the lower fin just in front of the tail). If the body angles down a bit, the fish is probably male. If it appears to run horizontally from fin to fin, it is probably a female.
Keep watching your fish, and shortly before your fish are ready to spawn you will see a small tube or “papilla” extending from the opening on their undersides. The males have a thinner, pointy tube, and the females have a squatter, rounder tube (for laying eggs). Of course, seeing whether a fish lays or fertilizes eggs is the most certain way to determine gender (hint: the females lay the eggs, the males come by later).
ANGELFISH CARE:
Angelfish are easy to keep as pets and can live up to 10 years, if they are given proper aquarium conditions. Because of their lateral bodies, it is better for owners to house these species in tall aquariums, with a capacity of at least 20 gallons per fish. Larger tanks give these fish more space for a better feeling of security. On a weekly basis, a partial water change of at least 1-2/3 the tank’s volume must be done. The spawning tank should be slightly acidic of optimum pH 6.7.
They prefers soft and slightly acidic water with temperature between 24 to 26 °C for maintenance and 26 to 28 °C for spawning. Day length for angelfish should be 8 to 12 hours. Broadleaf aquatic plants like the Amazon sword plants, Java moss, water sprite Ceratopteris spp, and Java fern make good choices for an angelfish aquarium since they allow these fish to lay their eggs on a natural surface.
They accept all types of foods such as, commercially available frozen brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, cladocerans, glassworms, krill, ground beef heart and formulated feeds.
Most of the time your filtering system will provide more than enough oxygen. But when it doesn’t, you should consider buying a separate aerator. If your fish is struggling to breathe oxygen closer to the surface of the tank, it’s a warning sign telling you that an additional oxygenator is required immediately.
In pet stores, the freshwater angelfish is typically placed in the semiaggressive category. Some tetras and barbs are compatible with angelfish, but ones small enough to fit in the mouth of the angelfish may be eaten. Generous portions of food should be available so the angelfish do not get hungry and turn on their tank mates.
ANGELFISH BREEDING:
Angelfish pairs form long-term relationships and usually breed for life - if one of the parent dies, the widowed angelfish will refuse to mate with any other angelfish. Under ideal conditions, it generally takes a year for breeders to pair off. The pair is identified as one isolated in the aquarium as they protect a particular territory for spawning. They have a habit of eating their first spawn completely especially when the parent fishes are disturbed. The behaviour of the breeding pair entails male fishes attacking other males, or females dancing around their mate. Breeding pair should be fish that are strong and healthy.
This fish lay 100 to 1000 eggs on a flat leaf or an underwater log, which hatch after a few days. Baby angelfish, also called “fry”, stay inside the egg for a week after hatching while consuming the remaining yolk in the egg sac. Angelfish fry become free swimming as soon as they detach from their eggs, feeding from nutrients in the water and on plants.
Angelfish pair is formed by raising a group of 3-4 months old fish together and allow them to pair. The fish pair attempts to breed in about eight to ten months. They lay 100 to 1000 eggs on a flat leaf or an underwater log. The eggs usually are small (approximately 1.5-3 mm) and round. Egg size depends on the availability and quality of food fed to the spawners.
Fertilized eggs are transparent in colour while unfertilized eggs are white and are remove by the female fish. Ones angelfish laid eggs they should be remove from the spawning tank as they may eat their own eggs if starved.
Hatching takes place within 3-4 days. Hatchling should be fed with artemia nauplii and infusorians and become free swimming larvae within 6-7 days. 10-15 days old angelfish larvae are grown in aerated 5 gallon tank for easy feeding. Larvae attained marketable size in 6 to 8 weeks.
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