September 30, 2008
Discus (pompadour)
Posted by: Mark : Category: American Cichlids, Cichlids Fish
Coming Soon.
June 27, 2008
Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare)
Posted by: Mark : Category: American Cichlids, Cichlids Fish
Angelfish
Pterophyllum scalare
It belongs to the family Cichlidae
Click here to learn what a cichlid is.
Cost: $5-45, the more expensive Angelfish are the one’s that are either wild, or are of a new cultivated form. The cheaper ones are usually home-bred youngsters.
Short Bio: The Angel seems to be one of the most popular cichlids around, even though most fish keepers don’t know that it’s a cichlid. That’s just because of the unusual shape that the angel fish has.
Origin:
Amazon drainage, South America.
Size:
Both, males and females get to around 5 in (13 cm) long.
Sexual distinctions:
There are some who can say that by physical differences, that they can tell the different sexes, but when it comes to Angelfish the best known way to tell the sexes apart are is to observe the genital papilla during spawning. During spawning the males will be pointed, and the females will be blunt.
Tank conditions:
The tank size should measure, 24 x 16 x 16 in (60 x 40 x 40 cm). For a pair the tank size should be 36 x 16 x 16 in (90x 40 x 40 cm) for a community.
All the conditions below are for both community tanks and specie tanks.
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Temperature 77-82 Fahrenheit (25-28 Celsius). Water, for tank-bred strains the water conditions are not as critical and they can thrive in almost any type of water chemistry. Now, for wild specimens the water chemistry is actually important. For the wild Angelfish use soft, slight acid (Ph 6-6.5) water. Avoid having strong currents in the tank.
The tank should be well planted with bogwood, but for tank-bred strains this is not critical.
The Angelfish will prefer to stay at the top of the tank, and since in the wild there are shoals of Angelfish, so there really is not limit to the number of Angelfish that you can keep in a tank the has adequate space.
Food: In the wild Angelfish eat aquatic invertebrates, but in aquariums will eat any type of omnivore or carnivore foods.
Behavior:
A very peaceful cichlid even during breeding but be warned, may eat small tank mates.
Breeding:
Tank-bred Angelfish will breed in the tank but odds are they will eat the brood, so artificial hatching may be needed. Two females will “pair” and spawn if no male is present.
Here is a video of some very nice looking Angelfish.
