Angelfish

Pterophyllum scalare

Angels are regal, beautiful and graceful additions to any larger community tank. Keep in mind that they can grow to many inches. Adults should be kept in at least 25-30 gallons (the bigger, the better, if you have more than one), preferably with other angels they were raised with.

Some of the larger ones, when not given enough room, they can develop an aggressive temperament towards tankmates, especially within the same species. Their unusual body shape allows them to swim in and out of dense reed thickets, and so they should be kept with a lot of vegetation if possible. They are generally slower, more gracile swimmers, disturbed by really hyperactive swimmers such as zebra danios and rosy barbs, and also special care should be taken that they aren't kept with fin-nippers such as tiger barbs.

Sometimes they can also take a little while to really adjust to a new tank, especially large long-finned adults which occasionally come out of the fish store already diseased or "under the weather". Don't let any of this fool you however; the angel is no delicate, fragile fish once it's established in an aquarium. The one shown above is a favorite of mine, a koi beauty that I have had for some time, having started out in the 29gal tank, and now in the 75gal tank. They more than hold their own at feeding time and can turn quite greedy, fighting for food with other fish like wild dogs. Once they get used to a tank, they become real survivers, living through all sorts of conditions and, with good care, living close to ten years (or even more!). There are few things more rewarding than raising an angel from the size of a small coin to a regal 6" adult and watching it school quietly in the plants with others.

They are truly relaxing to sit back and watch, and, maybe its just my imagination, but I think you will notice each has a slightly different personality :-).

Angels are not exceptionally difficult to breed, but will only do so in a species tank of just a mated pair (they will pair off on their own) and a flat rock where they can deposit eggs. The pair will take turns fanning the eggs with their pectoral fins to oxygenate them; remove any that develop fuzzy white fungal infections.

The tiny young must be fed on live foods such as brine shrimp or rotifers and will not take powdered foods.