Angelfish
are one of the most popular aquarium fish, and they certainly add a lot of
grace and beauty to a tank. However, they are not always the easiest fish to
care for unless you know about them and their needs.
You've
probably seen many lovely young angelfish at aquarium stores, but how much do
you really know about them? Here are some very important facts that can help
you decide if these fish are the right breed for your home aquarium.
1. Members of the Cichlid Family
Angelfish
are freshwater members of the cichlid
family, and they
originate from South America. This group includes other popular fish such as oscars, Jack Dempseys, parrot fish and
discus.
2. Carnivorous
Angelfish
are naturally carnivorous, so they need to be fed the right foods to help them
reach optimum size and remain healthy. It's usually best to offer a daily
feeding of flakes or a pelleted diet formulated for
angels, and then supplement the fish with live
feedings of
freshly-hatched brine shrimp, bloodworms and daphnia grown from your cultures
to avoid contaminated sources.
3. Can Grow Nearly Ten Inches
On average,
well-cared for angelfish will reach about six
inches tall upon
adulthood, which is about a year and a half old. If they're housed in very
large tanks and are not overcrowded, they can reach nearly ten inches, although
this would be quite rare in captivity.
4. Best Housed with Their Kind
Anglefish
are often thought of as community fish, meaning they can live with a variety of
other tropical species. While this is true when they're young, angels become
more territorial
and aggressive as they
mature. For this reason, it's usually better to house them in a separate tank
as adults.
5. Need Specific Tank Conditions
Always keep
angelfish in the largest size tank you can support, and make sure you have a
good filtration system that doesn't create excessive currents in the water
since angels aren't the most agile swimmers. The right water conditions can also lessen stress on your
angels and keep them healthier and happier.
Ideally,
these fish prefer:
- Temperature range of 74 F to 78 F when just kept as pets
- Temperature of 80 F for spawning
- Average pH range of 6.5 to 6.9
6. Very Prone to Ick
Ick is an
opportunistic parasitic condition that can strike at any time the conditions in
the tank are right, and angelfish are highly
susceptible to it. The
parasite can spread from one fish to another, and it can also exist in the tank
on its own before attaching to a fish. Overcrowding, poor water conditions and
improper diet can all contribute to ick infestation.
7. Egg Layers
Fish either
give birth to live babies or they lay eggs that are fertilized and hatched
later. Angels fall in the egg laying category. The female
prefers to deposit her eggs in neat rows on a piece of submerged slate leaned
against a wall of the tank. The male will follow up behind her and use his own
papilla to fertilize each egg individually.
If the
fertilization was successful, you'll notice the fry begin wiggling their tails
in about two days, even though they're still attached to the slate. The fry
will become free swimming sometime around day five, and they will begin eating
on their own around day seven once they have absorbed the yolk sacks from their
eggs.
8. Males and Females Look the Same
Unlike some
breeds of fish, you usually can't tell a male angel from a female just by
looking at them unless the female is ready to breed. Both sexes have an organ
called a papilla located between their anal and ventral fins.
When the
female becomes gravid, which means she is carrying eggs, her papilla becomes
slightly enlarged and has a blunt tip. When the male senses a gravid female,
his papilla also enlarges slightly, but it has a more pointed tip. This is the
main way to distinguish between the sexes, but it's not foolproof.
You can
always be certain that any angel that lays eggs is a female. Any other angels
in the tank that don't become gravid or don't respond to a gravid female may
either be more females or males that aren't interested in pairing up and
breeding.
9. Many Varieties of Freshwater Angelfish
The original
freshwater angelfish was a standard silver type. However, mutations in the standard coloring have
occurred, and breeders have capitalized on them to create many interesting and
beautiful varieties. One of the most recent is the Phillipine Blue, which
actually displays some blue coloration as seen in the following video of a
breeding pair and their seven-day-old offspring.
Other
popular varieties include, but are not limited to:
- Marbles
- Zebras
- Leopards
- Half blacks
- Veils
- Golds
10. Marine Angelfish
There are also many species of marine angelfish in an array of colors that rival the rainbow, and
each has its own care requirements. If you think you're up to the challenges of
maintaining a saltwater tank, you'll find fascinating specimens at any aquarium
shop that
By Kelly Roper
Small Pets
Breeder
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