Interesting Facts about Angelfish

Angelfish belong to the Cichlidae family. They look like a disc on edge and have long fins at the top and the bottom. Their scientific name is Pterophyllum scalare, where Pterophyllum refers to a 'winged leaf' and scalare refers to 'a flight of stairs'. This is quite descriptive of the fish that looks like a leaf with its dorsal fins looking like a ladder.

Freshwater angelfish is more triangular in shape compared to the marine variety. It usually grows only up to only around 6 inches in length. On the other hand, the saltwater angelfish can grow up to as long as 16 inches.

These fishes are in abundant supply which keeps them quite reasonably priced and their selective breeding has ensured that they are available in a variety of different colors. They come in an array of colors and you can choose the orange and purple Coral Beauty or the beautifully bright yellow Lemon Peel and these are only just a few colors that you can find in angelfish.

In short, if you are looking for an inexpensive and gorgeous pet, try out this beautiful fish.

Angelfishes are very territorial and picky about their living space. Also, since they can grow up to a size of 16 inches, depending on the variety, the tank size should be at least 15 gallons.

This can go up to 75 gallons depending on the length that the variety chosen can grow up to. This will ensure that the fully grown pair and their herd have enough space to move around and the parents do not eat their eggs or their young.

You can identify that spawning is about to occur when the ovipositors appear in the females for releasing the eggs and thin and pointed tube appears for their fertilization in the males. This is the only way to differentiate male fish from the female ones.

The spawning site is selected and cleaned. After a few test runs by both the female and the male, the spawning will begin. The female passes over the site and deposits the eggs followed by the male which moves in and fertilizes them. This continues happening till the time around 1000 eggs have been laid.

The parents then continue to fan the spawn for better circulation of the water around the hatchery. As soon as the eggs turn white, they are removed by the parents. It is best to provide the parents as much peace and quiet while the eggs are hatching.