THE ANGELFISH

THE ANGELFISH IS A CICHLID

        The angelfish is the most, beautiful, of all freshwater aquarium fish. Just one look at the angelfish gracefully gliding through an aquarium, one could only then come to realize just how beautiful this fish actually is, and why it is one of the most popular and sought after aquarium fish in the industry.  The angelfish is a Cichlid, pronounced, sick-lid.  This family consists of over hundreds of species. Conservative estimates it to be around 1,300 to possibly even hundreds more, that have yet to be identified or discovered.  People don’t realize how incredible a cichlid actually is.  Cichlids are very intelligent, probably the smartest of all freshwater aquarium fish. All cichlids provide some kind of parental care, with one or both of the parents tending to their eggs and young fry.  Cichlids are devoted parents, watching a pair tending to their eggs and their young is a fascinating site. Cichlids are found in freshwater, although a few are also found in brackish waters, (waters where freshwater from streams mix with the salt waters from the oceans).  Cichlids are also egg placers, meaning they carefully place their eggs on some kind of object, like a plant leaf, stone or something they feel confident with and will be able to protect their eggs. The Cichlid males are most always larger then the females. One very easy identifying characteristic of a cichlid is, they only have one pair of nostrils.

The Angelfish

       Around the world there are currently three valid, recognized species of the angelfish.  The Pterophyllum scalare pronounced (tare-oh-fill-um ska.lare), (Lichtenstein, 1823), Pterophyllum Altum (Pellegrin, 1903), and Pterophyllum leopoldi, (Gosse, 1963).  They are easily recognized by their relatively flat or laterally compressed body, they have a triangularly shape created by the elongated dorsal and anal fins, there body is a silvery color with black or brownish vertical bars, and they have a pair of long ventral fins (sometimes called feelers).  They can grow to approximately 9 inches long and 10 or 15 inches high, depending on the angelfish species.  They are found along the shallow river banks and among tree branches, roots and vegetation in South America, specifically, the Amazon, Rio Negro, Rio Orinoco and the Guyana rivers. After the discovery of the P. scalare in 1823, experts believed that this species would not breed in captivity.  As angelfish popularly increased, so did the knowledge of keeping this wonderful fish and were then later bred in captivity. Around 1911, angelfish reached the Unites States, a gentleman named Paullin from Philadelphia; which at that time was considered to be the center of fish keeping in the United States, was able to breed the angelfish. This was the first known and documented spawning of the scalare in the United States. Angelfish are often found in nature with the cichlasoma fistiuum, another cichlid from South America.

P Leopoldi

        The P leopoldi is definitely the least seen of the three angel species.  People called this fish the dumpy angelfish, in a reference to its more squatted appearance.  The dorsal and anal fins of the leopoldi aren’t as dramatically extended as the altum or scalare.  They are rarely imported and very little information has been gathered on their care, breeding habits or water chemistry requirements but would assume they would be close to the wild scalare.  The fish is characterized by a silver body and black bands, typical of the wild freshwater angelfish, but sports a dark spot found at the base of the dorsal fin, and has a longer nose then the other two species.  For a true identification, it has 26-30 scales in a horizontal line immediately above the lateral line, they have 29-32 dorsal rays, 19-22 anal rays and they have a straight pre dorsal contour.  This fish to date has not been bread in captivity or at least there is no documented proof of breeding in captivity.

P. Altum

        The P. Altum is a giant wild caught angelfish in the hobby.  It is easily the most beautiful of the three species.  Anyone who has seen an altum will agree to the fact that they are quite distinct from the leopoldi or scalare.  Its body shape is similar to the scalare but the forehead is more steeply sloped and the body is much taller.  The fins are also more elongated.  The body is a silver gray with a greenish iridescence.  Four dark brown to cinnamon colored bands cover the body, and has one or two faint bands that are also present. They grow quite a bit larger then the average scalare, reaching to vertical heights from, anal fin to dorsal fin 12-15 inches, and lengths from 7-9 inches.  To properly identify the altum, it has 46-48 scales in a horizontal line immediately above the lateral line; they have 28-29 dorsal rays, 28-32 anal rays and a notched pre dorsal contour.  The altum has been successfully bred in captivity, but only a few times.  The Altum Angelfish likes to have warmer waters than the other two angelfish, typically 86-88 degrees Fahrenheit.

P. Scalare

        The P. Scalare has a silver body with 4 dark black vertical bars running along its sides. It was imported around 1920.  Now through selective breeding, and the interests of improving coloration and fin size, there are now numerous mutations of the domestic P. scalare. The Albino, golden, gold-marble, black, black-marble, Smokey, half black, stripe less, zebra, blushing, pearl scale and veil tail.  I won’t attempt an in-depth discussion on the genetics of the angelfish, but if interested, the angelfish society at   http://www.aquaworldnet.org/   has articles by Dr. Joanne Norton.  A must read for the serious Angelfish hobbyist.  The size of the P. scalare is around 5 inches long and 9 or 10 inches tall.  The water parameters for the Wild scalare and the domestic scalare are quite a bit different.  The wild has a pH range of 6.5 – 7.2, 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit.  The domestic angelfish has a wide range of pH, from 5.5-8.0 and there temperature is about 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit.  To properly identify the scalare, they have 30-40 scales in a horizontal line immediately above the lateral line, and 23-29 dorsal rays, 24-28 anal rays and a notched pre dorsal contour.

Conclusion

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