Pterophyllum scalare (Lichtenstein, 1823)
Suggested pronunciation: tair-oh-FILE-um SCALE-air

Species description

• Physical description....
• Pterophyllum scalare have an extremely laterally compressed body and a small head ending in a pointed terminal mouth.
• The body is shaped like a diamond.
• The dorsal and anal fins are tall and the pelvic fins are long and flowing. They have an overall triangular appearance.
• The caudal fin is large and fan-shaped.
• The distance between the tips of the longest rays of the dorsal and anal fins exceeds the length of the body.
• In most Angelfish, the eye is dark red (right).
• The wild form body colour is silvery-white with 4 dark vertical bars running through it.
• The first stripe passes through the eye, the second usually starts in front of the dorsal and anal fins, the third is usually through thedorsal and anal fins and the fourth is at the base of the caudal peduncle.
• There may or may not be fainter dark bars running parallel to the more pronounced stripes.
• Taxonomy....
  • Kingdom: Animalia
    • Phylum: Chordata: Sub-phylum: Vertebrates - Group: Fish
      • Class: Osteichthyes (Bony Fish): Sub-class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fish)
        • Order: Perciformes (Perch-like Fish)
• Family: Cichlidae: Subfamily: Cichlasomatinae
  • Genus: Pterophyllum
    • Species: scalare
• Geographical variants....
  • There are no known wild geographical variants.
  • However, there are many man-made varieties of Angelfish that do not occur naturally in the wild - they have been selectively bred for colour and finnage.
  • There are nine basic colour types of Angelfish with many variations on these.
  • The basic types are:
    • Silver (wild type),
    • Albino,
    • Black,
    • Half Black,
    • Marble,
    • Gold Marble,
    • Gold,
    • Zebra and
    • Smokey.
    • Pearlscale and Veiltail are not colour variations, but are genetic variations of the scales and fins.
• Similar species....
• The Angelfish is a unique-looking cichlid and looks like no other genus.
• There are two other species of Pterophyllum - altum and dumerilii.
• While they are superficially similar, there are distinct differences.
• Pt. altum have an extremely high dorsal fin and a distinct dip in the snout.
• Pt. dumerilii have a different shaped head, shorter fins and more pointed dorsal fin. They also have a black spot at the mid-point at the base of the dorsal fin.
• Images:
• Pterophyllum scalare (left); Pterophyllum dumerilii (right)

Habitat information

• Pterophyllum scalare are fairly abundant fish along the length of the Amazon River and extensively over the Amazon basin.
• They have not been reported from the Rio Negro, where both P. altum and P. dumerilii are found.
• They inhabit soft acid waters that contain numerous tree roots and vegetation and are also found in the floating meadows of the Amazon basin.
• They are found in Peru, Ecuador and Brazil in grassy, shore areas along the banks of lakes and slow-moving rivers, where there is little current.

Aquarium care
The following information relating to tank size, decoration and tank mates is indicative and intended to be used as a rough guide only.
Most of the information under tank ideas relates to setting up a biotope tank - where the fish and plants all come from the same region or country (eg. the Rio Xingu or Southeast Asia).
Other possible tank mates are listed under Compatibility and there are many plants and decorations that can be used - just ask us.

• Tank ideas....
  • Angelfish do best in a deep tank of at least 40 centimetres height, to accommodate the height of their fins and so they don't look cramped in their tank.
• Young fish can be kept in a 60 centimetre (25 inch) tank until they reach about 6 centimetres in size.
• Example - Planted tropical community tank
  This tank represents the edge of a small clearing on the river bank, so there will be both shaded and open space areas. This is not a biotope tank
  
  • Tank capacity: 363 litres
  • Tank type: HR-1500B
    • 150 centimetres (60 inches or 5 foot) tank
    • 3 x 40W fluorescent tubes
  • Fish ideas:
    • 2 x Pterophyllum scalare
    • 3 x Corydoras leopardus
    • 5 x Gasteropelecus sternicla
    • 12 x Moenkhausia pittieri
    • 5 x Melanoteania lacustris
    • 5 x Glossolepis incisus
      
    • 2 x Sturisoma barbatum
  • Building the tank:
    • Background - external printed dark blue or black.
    • Substrate - 3mm black gravel and river sand; roughly 10:50kg ratio - mix the black gravel through the sand to create a dappled effect.
    • Decoration - Driftwood to create a fallen tree trunk effect.
      
    • Plants - Suitable plants include Cryptocorene wendtii, Dwarf Ambulia (Limnophila sessiflora), Hairgrass (Eleocharis acicularis), Giant Red Bacopa (Bacopa caroliniana), Rotala wallachii, Straight Val (Vallisneria spiralis) and Crystalwort (Riccia fluitans). To reflect the lush vegetation of an Amazonian rainforest river, the tank should be well-planted.
    • Plants with broad leaves, such as Radicans Sword (Echinodorus cordifolius) provide spawning sites for Angelfish.
• Maintenance and Disease....
  • Pterophyllum scalare thrive in the normal conditions of a well-managed tropical fish community tank.
  • The Angelfish appreciates a well-planted tank with lots of open swimming space.
  • Angelfish will often tire of the same food and need a varied diet. They may stop eating if they are fed the same food all the time.
  • Beware of buying Angelfish with short dorsal fins (in proportion to the size of the body) or where the long rays are shorter in the middle of the fin. This can sometimes be the result of the fins being chewed and may grow back - but in some cases is is a genetic defect that won't grow.
  • Hard, alkaline water will stress Angelfish, making them susceptible to many diseases.
  • Good filtration, without turbulence, is the best environment.
  • Angelfish are sensitive to a build-up of nitrogenous waste materials and to heavy metals or medications. Frequent, partial water changes, especially those done with the use of a gravel cleaner, help enormously in preventing problems.
  • Blackwater Tonic can be used to give a tannin-stained look to the water - similar to the blackwater habitat.
  • Water parameters:
    • pH: acid to neutral (6.0-7.0)
    • Hardness: soft (3-12dH: optimal 6dH)
    • Temperature: 25-29oC.
• Compatibility....
  • Angelfish can be more aggressive than many people realise.
  • They should be combined in tropical community tanks containing other medium to large sized fish of similar temperament.
  • Angelfish can be kept singly or in a small group in the tank. A group of Angelfish also do well in a planted species tank.
  • Fast-moving, nippy fish such as Tiger Barbs and Head and Taillight Tetra or Black Widow Tetras are not recomended as tankmates unless they are kept in a largish school, as they will try and nip the trailling fins.
  • Angelfish are not to be trusted with small fish and shouldn't be kept with them, especially Neon Tetras (the natural prey of Angelfish). Angelfish can rightly be blamed for many a mysterious Neon Tetra disappearance.
  • Many of the smaller tordeo-shaped Tetras, Rasboras and Danios will be at risk with Angelfish.
  • Better choices are the larger, more oval-shaped Tetras (such as Bleeding Heart or Diamond Tetras) and larger Cyprinids.

• Breeding....
  • Because Angelfish are not easy to sex when small, if you want a pair it is best to grow up a group and they will pair off themselves. Then you can remove the pair and start breeding.
  • An 80 litre tank is suitable for breeding Angelfish.
  • Angelfish are monogamous pair-forming open substrate spawners. They will lay on the glass, a piece of slate at a 45 degree angle, the broad leaf of a plant or a terracotta pot.
  • They will thoroughly clean the chosen spot before laying eggs.
  • The female may lay between 100 to 500 eggs at one time, depending on the maturity of the female. They may spawn over about a two hour period.
  • The parents may eat their first spawns.
  • Both parents care for the eggs and fry. They will fan the eggs to keep water circulating around them and remove any infertile or fungused eggs.
  • If the water conditions are to their liking, the eggs will hatch in around three days. The parents will move the wrigglers from spot to spot around the tank.
  • The fry will be free-swimming in about one week.
  • Nearly all Angelfish available to the hobby are captive-bred.
  • The best food for fry is newly-hatched Brine Shrimp.
    Special breeding notes....
  • Failed spawnings usually mean water conditions are not to their liking - they need soft, acid water and a slightly elevated temperature to be successful.
  • Condition the pair well on live foods before attempting to breed them.
  • Angelfish fry can be difficult to raise. If the eggs are removed from the parents (generally to stop them being eaten) the tank they are placed in should be treated with Methylene Blue to minimise fungusing.
  • Ed. Note: The juvenile Angelfish at right is the offspring of one of the Silver Veiltail pairs that were in the five foot planted display tank (pictured top).

Special comments

• Angelfish are hardy and make an excellent beginners fish.
• They shouldn't be introduced straight into a new tank, but after the tank has cycled and the ammonia has been removed (around 4 weeks).
• Newly introduced fish may be shy at first, but will soon become tame enough to eat from their owner's fingers.

Some of the varieties available are:

Images:

• Silver.... (Silver below left; Silver Veiltail below right)
  • The Silver Angelfish is the "wild" form.
  • The Silver has a silver body colour and black vertical bars.
  • A beautiful Veiltail variety has been bred.

• Black Lace.... (below left)
  • These are the stepping stone between the "wild" Silver colour and a solid black.
  • Fry of Black Lace will be 25 percent Silver; 50 percent Black Lace and 25 percent Double Black.
  • The main difference between these and the Silver is the intensity of black patterning in the fins - giving a lace effect.
• Smoky.... (below right).
  • The Smoky Angelfish has an overall smoky silver grey body colour, without the contrasting black stripes of the Silver.

• Gold.... (Gold Veiltail below left; Gold below right).

• These may range from a solid silvery-white colour to a golden colour.
• The body will have no markings.
• The head and back will have a mantle of solid gold, extending slightly into the dorsal fin.
• This is a recessive gene.

• Marble.... (below left)
  • The strong vertical stripes are replaced by a mottled pattern of black over silver.
  • A variation of the Marble is the Koi, (below right) which is a mottled black, silver and gold.

;;;

• Albino Angelfish.... (below left).
  • A true albino with pink eyes.
  • These are from wild type angelfish.
  • The Albino gene is a recessive, true breeding trait.
  • All Albino Angelfish will have a pale yellow to orange crown similar to the Gold.
• Black Veiltail Angelfish.... (below right)

• References....
  Web sites
  Fishbase
  Books
  The Aquarium Fish Handbook (Silverdale Books, 2002)
  Aquarium Fish (Hermes House, 2002)
  Aquarium Fish Facts (Quantum Books, 2002)
  The Complete Aquarium (Covent Garden Books, 2000)
  Encyclopedia of Fishes (Fog City Press, 2004
  Popular Freshwater Tropical Fish (Parragon, 2002)
  The Complete Encyclopedia of Tropical Fish (Grange Books, 2000)
  A Practical Guide to Tropical Aquarium Fish (Coombe Books, 1995)

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