I decided to type up some information on keeping and breeding angelfish so that those of you who want angels but don't know anything about them can learn(hope this will become a sticky).
Angelfish were first discovered in 1823 by a german man named Zeus in Brazil. They were first bred and exported to the US in 1930. There are only three wild species of angelfish, Pterophyllum Scalar, P.Atulm, and P. leopoldi. These beautiful cichlids are well known in the freshwater hobby and are some of my favorite fish. They should be kept in a 29G, that being the smallest tank they can go into cofortablely.
Water Chemistry
Angels like there water more on the softer side, with the PH being between 6.0-7.0, nitrate 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, and ammonia 0ppm. The temperature should be kept between 78-82 degrees faranhite. The water should be kept clean with frequent water changes every week and change 15-20% of the water.
Diet
Feed the angels floating flake foods, bloodworms, and brine shrimp. These foods are very nutritious for angels, especially at a young age or for wanting to breed them. The brine shrimp can be frozen or live, but make sure that they have been cleaned and are fat free so they won't get sick from the foods. Also try some of the cichlid pellets which are very healthy for angels. When you want to hatch your own brine shrimp, get some that are 90% hatch, which means that 90% of the eggs will hatch.
Tank Mates
Here is a list of all the fish that can live peacfully with angelfish.
silver dollars, large tetras(cardinal, black-skrit, silver tip, serpaes), harlequin rasboras, swordtails, mollies, platys(not guppys, the angels will eat them), plecos, gouramis, rams, kribs, apistogramma sp, and golden wonder killies.
Size
Angels will get 4-6'' long and 4-10''tall. Some people have reported there angel reaching 18'' tall, so make sure they are in atleast a 29G and have enough room to swim.
Lifespan
Up to 10 years if kept healthy.
Sexing
Sexing angels is tough, but here are the ways that i use to tell the buys from girls.
males-more active when you approach the tank, have a ''hump'' on there forehead, sperm depositor is pointed like the tip of a pencil, may be longer than females, have slimmer bodies.
Females-not as active as the males when you approach the tank, flat forehead, egg depositor is blunt and rounded like an eraser, may be smaller than males, more plump around the belly area than the males.
Breeding
This is my favorite part of keeping angels cause of how good of parents they are. To encourage angels to pair or breed, change 25% of the water and add 2-3 pieces of slate that are 2''long and 10-12''tall at a 45degree angle. The male and female will peck at the slate, this means that they are cleaning it so it can be there breeding spot. Once the slate is clean, the female will make paces up the slate until her mouth touches the surface. The male will either follow her or wait till she is done with a pace to fertalize the eggs. The female can lay up to 500 eggs with about 300 of them hatching. Any unfertalized eggs will go a milky white and the parents will remove them. The eggs will hatch in 2-3 days and at this time the parents will make a ditch for them to sleep in,they will start to swim in 6-7 days this is when you feed the fry infusoria or baby brine shrimp(live). The parents will gaurd them from any threats(even if you go up to the tank)with the male flaring up at the threat and the female stay with the eggs/fry.
Additional Notes
I recommend anyone to get these remarkable cichlids for a community tank or a species-only tank. It makes you feel good to see that you have beautiful fish that are active swimmers and spawners. I hope that i have put enough information to help those of you who want these awsome fish
Angelfish were first discovered in 1823 by a german man named Zeus in Brazil. They were first bred and exported to the US in 1930. There are only three wild species of angelfish, Pterophyllum Scalar, P.Atulm, and P. leopoldi. These beautiful cichlids are well known in the freshwater hobby and are some of my favorite fish. They should be kept in a 29G, that being the smallest tank they can go into cofortablely.
Water Chemistry
Angels like there water more on the softer side, with the PH being between 6.0-7.0, nitrate 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, and ammonia 0ppm. The temperature should be kept between 78-82 degrees faranhite. The water should be kept clean with frequent water changes every week and change 15-20% of the water.
Diet
Feed the angels floating flake foods, bloodworms, and brine shrimp. These foods are very nutritious for angels, especially at a young age or for wanting to breed them. The brine shrimp can be frozen or live, but make sure that they have been cleaned and are fat free so they won't get sick from the foods. Also try some of the cichlid pellets which are very healthy for angels. When you want to hatch your own brine shrimp, get some that are 90% hatch, which means that 90% of the eggs will hatch.
Tank Mates
Here is a list of all the fish that can live peacfully with angelfish.
silver dollars, large tetras(cardinal, black-skrit, silver tip, serpaes), harlequin rasboras, swordtails, mollies, platys(not guppys, the angels will eat them), plecos, gouramis, rams, kribs, apistogramma sp, and golden wonder killies.
Size
Angels will get 4-6'' long and 4-10''tall. Some people have reported there angel reaching 18'' tall, so make sure they are in atleast a 29G and have enough room to swim.
Lifespan
Up to 10 years if kept healthy.
Sexing
Sexing angels is tough, but here are the ways that i use to tell the buys from girls.
males-more active when you approach the tank, have a ''hump'' on there forehead, sperm depositor is pointed like the tip of a pencil, may be longer than females, have slimmer bodies.
Females-not as active as the males when you approach the tank, flat forehead, egg depositor is blunt and rounded like an eraser, may be smaller than males, more plump around the belly area than the males.
Breeding
This is my favorite part of keeping angels cause of how good of parents they are. To encourage angels to pair or breed, change 25% of the water and add 2-3 pieces of slate that are 2''long and 10-12''tall at a 45degree angle. The male and female will peck at the slate, this means that they are cleaning it so it can be there breeding spot. Once the slate is clean, the female will make paces up the slate until her mouth touches the surface. The male will either follow her or wait till she is done with a pace to fertalize the eggs. The female can lay up to 500 eggs with about 300 of them hatching. Any unfertalized eggs will go a milky white and the parents will remove them. The eggs will hatch in 2-3 days and at this time the parents will make a ditch for them to sleep in,they will start to swim in 6-7 days this is when you feed the fry infusoria or baby brine shrimp(live). The parents will gaurd them from any threats(even if you go up to the tank)with the male flaring up at the threat and the female stay with the eggs/fry.
Additional Notes
I recommend anyone to get these remarkable cichlids for a community tank or a species-only tank. It makes you feel good to see that you have beautiful fish that are active swimmers and spawners. I hope that i have put enough information to help those of you who want these awsome fish
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