Freshwater angelfish is one of the most popular fish for aquarium owners.
Freshwater angelfish is one of the most popular fish for aquarium owners. They have an elegant appearance, have a mild
disposition. Other interesting information on Angelfish is that they swim up to
the glass when being observed by people. They are easy to keep due to their
hardiness and can withstand a wide range of water conditions and are able to
feed on a range of foods.
Species and Strains
Freshwater Angelfish come from the Cichlidae family named
Pterophyllum ("winged leaf"). There are three species in this family,
the P. Altum, P. Leopoli and P. Scalare. The P. Scalare is the most popular and
is what you will see in most aquariums. Even though it is referred to as P.
Scalare, it is, in fact, the culmination of generations of selective breeding and
cross-breeding and mutations that now give us such fish as Silver, Gold, Zebra,
Black Lace, Zebra Lace, Smokey, Chocolate, Halfblack , Koi, Leopard, Blue
Blushing, Silver Gold Marble, Ghost and more.
History
Talked about in 1824 by Lichtenstein, then later bred in
captivity in the 1920s and 1930s in the United States . They originate from
the Amazon River, Orinoco River, and Essequibo
River in South
America .
Description
Described as a "silver angel" the Angelfish is not
like other cichlids, they have a flat body with a triangular-shaped dorsal and
anal fin. Angelfish in the sea will often have stripes to help camouflage it.
Angelfish will grow to 4 inches and up to 8 inches in height.
Aquarium Requirements
Freshwater angelfish like to be kept in warm aquariums
around 80F (27C). You should not put more than 8 breeding size angelfish in a
50-gallon tank. When a breeding pair has been established they can have a 20-gallon tank of their own. Angelfish should not be kept with aggressive fish
because they are mild nature and tend to get their fins nipped.
Diet
Freshwater angelfish do well on a mixture of flakes, frozen
and live food. Be careful to not overfeed them though because they will not
stop feeding and this may cause their death. Their favorite foods are blood
worms, white worms, tubifex worms, and brine shrimp. They can still thrive if
not given live foods.
Breeding of angelfish
Breeding of angelfish is an activity that is gaining a lot
of popularity in the aquarium keeping community. Freshwater angelfish come from
the cichlid family and tend to be aggressive sometimes. This guide will give
you a couple tips on how and when to breed your angelfish. There are many
breeds on Angelfish, and most of them have generally the same breeding habits.
The main things you should take into consideration when breeding angelfish, is
temperament and care level.
The first thing you are going to do when breeding of
angelfish is to start to pair off the freshwater angelfish into groups of 1
male, 1 female. You want to start out by purchasing 8-10 angelfish, try to get
an equal number of males and females. After you pair them off, they should bond
together and start to pair off, swapping them out should pose little problem.
Don't get discouraged if the first spawn doesn't turn out as planned. It is
normal for the first batch to get eaten or not to spawn at all, you should just
get a few fry out of the batch. With the fish that do pair up and go off to
spawn, you should be able to get plenty of fry from their efforts.
You should move the fry to a different tank once they hatch
and place them into jars to provide them a place of shelter while they get
their feel on swimming. You should be sure to feed them plenty of newly hatched
Mysis shrimp for the best possible results. This is a more expensive method,
and if your fish pairs take care of their brood, you should just leave them in
the aquarium to allow nature to take its course. A 33-gallon tank should be
able to host about 250 pea-size freshwater angelfish to grow into dime-sized.
If you do this, change the water at least 3 times a week.
Within about 3 months, your freshwater angelfish should grow
a little larger about the size of a nickel. You should keep plants in the aquarium
to absorb the nitrate levels. After a bit of time, pick the best out of the
batch and keep 100 in an aquarium of about 33 gallons to grow them out. It will
take around 6 months to fully pick out the best from your stock. Just remember
that Angelfish do tend to eat some fry when they first spawn, so it is
best to separate them for a little while until the fish can grow a little
larger and fend for themselves.
Well, I hope you found this little article a bit helpful for
breeding angelfish. If you felt discouraged, just remember, it
takes a while to get the hang of this. Breeding angelfish can be difficult, and
it will take a little while before you can completely get it down to a science.
Breeding angelfish is a very rewarding experience, one that I recommend any
serious Angelfish owner try to experience.
The personality and beauty of freshwater angelfish make them
one of the most popular species that people add to their aquarium. They are
very easy to care for and give a person the ability to expand their hobby to
breeding Angelfish and raising fry (babies) smoothly.
Breeders either separate the parents from the eggs as soon
as they are fertilized or allow the parents to stay with the babies in the first
few weeks. Contrary to popular belief, Angelfish are very good parents and
attend to their young, very well. The parents are very protective and are
attentive parents.
Getting six freshwater angelfish from a fish resource is a
great way to find a breeding pair. When the fish reach maturity, they will pair
off and will begin to protect a corner of the tank. In order to be successful,
you will want to create an excellent breeding environment for your fish.
Angelfish do well in a large tank with lots of plants.
Putting an external filter on the tank and covering the
intake hose with a sponge will keep your babies from being sucked into the
filter. The ideal breeding temperature of the water will be about 77 degrees or
25 celsius so you will want to get a reliable heating system for your tank. If
you do not want your Angelfish to breed, keep the water a little cooler.
It will be important to provide plenty of surfaces for the
fish to lay their eggs. Putting an upside-down terra cotta pot in the tank,
leaning a piece of slate against the wall of the aquarium, and having lots of
broadleaf plants in the tank will give your fish a place to lay their eggs. I
know this is not ideal for the aesthetics of the tank, but when breeding of angelfish,
fry safety must take priority!
Once the eggs have been laid , the parents will move the eggs
up to five times depending on how safe they feel. This is done by scooping the
eggs in their mouths and spitting the eggs onto another surface. If there are
other fish in the tank when the parents are caring for their young, they can
get very aggressive so it is a good idea to move your community fish to another
tank when your freshwater angelfish are breeding.
It will take about 3 days for there you to begin to see
activity. The tiny little tails will begin to wiggle from the eggs. The egg sac
is part of the babies’ nutrition, and you will be able to see the sac gradually
disappear over the next few days. Around day five, putting baby brine shrimp in
the tank will assure that there is food for the babies when they begin to eat.
Feeding the fry baby brine shrimp will help them grow faster and healthier.
Your fish will lay about 400 eggs, of which 50 to 200 will
survive. Feeding the babies three times a day, followed by a change of water,
will be important. By keeping a schedule, you will be able to maintain the
temperature and cleanliness of the tank. This is an important thing to remember
when breeding of angelfish because the babies are very sensitive to changes in
their water.
Vacuuming your tank is also important. Keep debris out of
the aquarium because feces and uneaten food can produce toxins that will make
your babies ill. If you accidentally vacuum up fry , just put them back in the
water.
At about 14 days, it will be necessary to move the parent
from the babies. The parents will lay more eggs about every two to three weeks,
and it will be important that the new babies are kept save from the older
babies. The babies will begin to mature at about 3 to 4 months of age and will
be ready to sell.
Freshwater angelfish like to select their own mates and
because of this are unlike other cichlids. It is best to introduce around 6
juveniles into a tank and let them grow up together. Just before a year old,
they will force other fish away from their section of the tank. At this stage,
it is best to give them their own tank.
Freshwater angelfish is one of the most interesting fishes
to breed in a home aquarium. However, the real challenge with these fishes is the identification of the sexes. Given that to an untrained eye, both males and
females are the same; Many people do not understand the difference until one of
the fishes actually starts laying eggs. There are many things you need to take care
of ensuring successful breeding of angelfish for a good shoal.
Pairing the freshwater angelfish
This is the first and most important step in any breeding.
As stated earlier, guessing the sex of the angelfish can be quite challenging.
However, with keen observation and the right timing, you can find out which fish is
the male and which one is the female. The papilla in a gravid Angelfish tends
to be bigger than that of a male. This is the simplest test to distinguish
males from females.
Ideal Spawning Conditions
The angelfishes that are around a year old are in the
perfect shape to spawn. To encourage spawning, ensure that the food fed to the
fishes is tailored for the species and that the tank temperature is
maintained daphnia mosquito larvae and some special shrimp preparations are known to
induce spawning in these fishes.
Angelfish eggs
Just before the angelfish eggs laying, the female may get
aggressive and will have a distinct bulge in the stomach. Typically, if
you have a neat spawning slate in the tank, the female may use that to lay the
eggs. Some females may choose to ignore that and pick some other spot. The male
would closely follow the female and fertilize them.
Remember that the female can deposit eggs multiple times in
the same spawning season, so if the parents eat some eggs, do not interfere as
it is a natural process. Secondly , try to let the couples stay in their natural
environment as much as possible to ensure successful angelfish eggs laying and
fertilization.
Caring for Hatchlings
The eggs hatch within a week of fertilization. During the
hatching process, it is important to protect the eggs from other adults. The
best solution is to move the mating pair to a new tank or move the rest of the
fishes out of the tank.
Once born, the attrition rate in these fishes is very high
so you will see a lot of dead fry and you need to keep cleaning
the water regularly. Ensure a lot of food is available to feed the growing fry.
Also ensure that you have the right kind of food and the right size for the fry
to consume. Small fry cannot eat brine shrimp and you need to take care of
these issues.
Angelfish diseases
Regularly maintaining your tank is a good way to prevent
sickness with your Angelfish. The common angelfish diseases are bacterial and
parasitic. Bacterial diseases are cotton wool disease, dropsy, bleeding or red streaks
on skin and fish TB. Parasitic diseases are Hexamita, ich or white spot disease
and velvet disease.
Angelfish care
Freshwater angelfish are beautiful and captivating members
of the aquarium. Originally from the cichlid family, freshwater angelfish come
in many colors and varieties and angelfish are naturally found in the
Amazon river and the surrounding region. In
this article, I will be going over a few things to consider when you are looking
to purchase angelfish for your aquarium.
The first thing you need to do is to pick out what type of
angelfish you want. There are many varieties with different
temperaments and water conditions they will need to survive. Pick something
that you feel you can manage, or if you have the correct aquarium environment
for them. Many angelfish need slightly acidic water to live happily in. Make
sure you do plenty of research when you are purchasing your angelfish. Know
exactly the water requirements you will need to have for your tank.
Angelfish normally need a water pH level of around 5-6.5.
Freshwater angelfish is one of the most popular pet fish on
the market. They are normally bred in captivity and most are bred for traits
that make them adapt better to a variety of water conditions. You should make
sure to provide your angelfish with plenty of rocks and plants in the aquarium,
as they like to have places to hide. For feeding, angelfish are naturally
carnivores and should be fed a variety of flakes, bloodworms, shrimp and brine shrimp. Angelfish are normally peaceful, but they are natural carnivores
and should not be kept in the same aquarium with other spawning fish.
Freshwater angelfish may run into problems with disease. The
most common disease that can show up in the aquarium is Ich. Ich is noticeable
by white spots along your fish's body, also you can see your fish displaying
behavior such as rubbing against various parts of the aquarium. There are
various remedies to this that are sold around the web. If you suspect that Ich
is in your aquarium, take care of the problem before it gets out of hand.
You can house many other species with freshwater angelfish.
You should just make sure that they are of the same temperament and can survive
in water conditions of around the same level. Also, you should make sure the
fish are around the same size, angelfish can eat fish that are smaller than
them and have a tendency to do so. The best match for an aquarium with
angelfish tends to catfish, or other species of fish that are large and
peaceful.
Well, I have outlined a few things to consider when
purchasing angelfish for your aquarium. Freshwater angelfish make excellent
additions to the aquarium and are very bright fish. If you care for your
angelfish properly, they can provide you with many years of entertainment. As
always, make sure you do plenty of research before you head out and purchase
your very own angelfish. It may take some getting used to, but once you get the
hang of caring for angelfish, you will enjoy them fully in no time at
all.
Angel Fish occupy almost any position in the aquarium, yet
they seem to enjoy standing still for quite a while defying gravity but can
dart away from the stance with very great speed if aroused. They eat flakes
easily; you need to provide a mixture of diet including live food. Please note
that these fish will keep on eating until they suffer from being
overfed, then they go off food, (hunger strike) and it's difficult to get them
eating again, for example, they starve themselves to death.
Water temperature is also important because they are
tropical fish from South America and should
not be mixed with cold-water fish. Angels love to be in schools and are very
unhappy being alone; they do not mix with cold-water fish such as Kois, and
aggressive fish like Gouramis, as these fish loves to nip the Angels tail, this
leads to various forms of disease resulting in death.
Suitable fish that are compatible for your aquarium are
Silver Dollar, Silver Tips, Rainbows and Clown Loaches. With a proper tank
maintenance, Angels will live for years. In the rivers Angels hide between broad
leaves and twigs and it is a good idea to include live plants in the aquarium
for they comfort, also include a piece of slate or broad log for breeding if required.
Breeding is reasonably easy in the aquarium, providing other fish don't eat the
eggs, or finally the young fries.
The female chooses her mate who accompanies her for a while,
and when she is ready to lay her eggs she cleans the area, deposits the eggs,
and both parents fan the water around them to ensure proper circulation. After
about two days, the little ones are hatched , and they survive by eating the
remainder of their yoke sac. After one week, they will be swimming and can
be fed with Brine Shrimp.
It's best to remove them from the tank unless
you have enough plants in the aquarium for the young to hide, as other fish in
the aquarium will eat them. Finally, Angel Fish are very popular in home
aquariums and public display tanks, and these fish will live for years if
desired conditions are met .
Freshwater angelfish requires relatively large swimming
spaces. The general rule is to allocate 4 gallons of water per full-grown
Angelfish. It is also important to keep the tank clean. Young Angelfish require
more frequent water change - as much as 50% of the water should be changed each
day. With a full-grown Angelfish, this can be relaxed to about 20% of water
change every week. A water temperature of 74 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit is generally
advised for non-spawning Angelfish. A slightly higher temperature of about 80
degrees are recommended during spawning.
Freshwater angelfish generally look calm, but they are
actually categorized as semi-aggressive. Certain fish types like Tetras and Platies
can be placed together with an Angelfish in an aquarium. However, many
Angelfish owners choose not to mix them with any other fish types because their
fins are very vulnerable to nipping, even by smaller fish.
As with any other fish type, Angelfish requires proper
feeding and the right environment. Angelfish thrive on flakes and live food,
including shrimp, bloodworm, and even insects on the water surface. Extra care
should be given to spawning fish as they are more aggressive and easily
distressed. It is best to place live plants with broad leaves and decorations
with flat surfaces for them to lay their eggs.
There are many other diseases that can strike freshwater angelfish.
These include the infamous Angelfish virus for which there is no cure yet.
Symptoms of this disease include lethargy, excessive slime, and clamped fins.
The virus can leave an Angelfish infectious infection for up to six months, so it is
important to quarantine sick fish to avoid widespread infection. Hexamita and
Capillaria are parasites that cause fish to lose their appetite and slowly
deteriorate? Ich is another disease that can hit Angelfish. When infected, tiny
white spots appear on the gills and fins and the fish will tend to rub their
bodies on rocks and other decors in the aquarium.
Angelfish types
Flame angelfish
Also present are the tiger-like black stripes that run down
its main body. While most flame angelfish are similar in appearance, they
usually vary regarding the number of stripes present along with the
overall color. Some have more orange than others.
True Hawaiian flame angels are a bright red all over their
body with very little to no traces of orange present. Their stripes are also a
lot narrower than other variants. Flame angelfish collected from the
waters of Hawaii are rare, as most of them are
shipped Christmas and Marshall
Islands .
Once they have been properly acclimated and have adjusted to
the marine aquariums environment, they are hardy fish. They are grazers that
continually nip on live rock, algae, crustaceans and unfortunately on corals as
well . Coral nipping behavior is never a sure thing, but the general consensus is
they usually do not stop once they start nipping .
They will eat dry pellet food along with frozen fish foods
given enough time and are generally worry -free once they have gotten used to
their new environment. They can be quite aggressive, however. They do not
tolerate the presence of other members of the dwarf angelfish family and will
likely harass another flame angelfish to death if kept together in a small
aquarium.
Queen angelfish
The Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus Ciliaris ) is one of the
larger marine aquarium angelfish that the hobby sees quite frequently. They are
also one of the more attractive members of the angelfish that sell well along
with the Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus Imperator) and the French Angelfish
(Pomacanthus Paru). They come from throughout the Caribbean
Ocean and can be found as far up as Florida .
They are big, with adult specimens approaching a length of
about 18 inches. However, in captivity, they are more likely to reach a maximum
of 16 inches. As is common with larger angelfish, they look somewhat different
as juveniles. While adults have a bright blue crown and are mostly blue, green
and yellow throughout their bodies, juveniles have bright blue stripes across
their faces and bodies.
As they grow, these colors will slowly fade. Juveniles also
have an interesting role that they assume in the wild. They pick off parasites
from larger fish, which in essence, makes them a cleaner fish. Queen angels
have a very similar cousin in the form of the blue angelfish. To the common
viewer, they may look entirely alike. The easiest way to tell them apart is to
look for the presence of the blue crown on their forehead, which is only found
in Queen angels.
Multicolor angelfish
The Multicolor Angelfish (Centropyge Multicolor) is a
deepwater species that is sold from time to time in the marine aquarium hobby.
Usually, the fact that it hails from deeper waters would mean it is a harder than
normal dwarf angelfish to rear in captivity. This is untrue as far as the
Multicolor Angelfish is concerned .
The multicolor angel is an especially hardy member of the
genus entropy once it has been acclimated and adjusted to its new living
quarters. Upon purchasing a specimen, they may be shy initially, as they are
used to water without too much light. Multicolor angels are considered aggressive species that will usually dominate smaller aquariums.
Their main body is mostly white with shades of orange,
yellow, and brown on its lower half. It also has a distinctive electric blue
crown on its head. Its anal and dorsal fins are blue to black while its face
and caudal fin are all yellow.
They do not tolerate other dwarf angels and will usually
harass them to no end. Larger aquariums above 150 gallons are needed to keep
another centropyge with the multicolor angelfish.
As they are from deeper waters, ensure there is no swim
bladder damage present as it can be damaged as the fish is brought up rapidly
to the surface. Any specimen that is seen to be tilting side to side or from up
to down should be avoided .
Feeding them is an easy matter, as they will usual sample
anything is thrown this is usually taken care of
overtime. A good mix of foods including frozen meaty foods, greens, and dry
foods are a good way to ensure they get a balanced diet.
