Angelfish; ID...    3/7/14 I have kept a marine aquarium in the past and i have now gone back to keeping fresh water fish, could you please tell me what type of Pterophyllum this is, please see attached picture, as i want to set up a biotope with them as the centre piece to my aquarium? Aquarium is the Jewel Rio 300, ph 6.8 , NH3/NH4 0ppm, NO2 0ppm, NO3 10ppm. The tank is planted with drift wood, there are 5 Angels and 3 Ancistrus... Thank you. <Well, this is a wild-type Angelfish of some sort, or at least, a Pterophyllum species with colours similar to those seen in wild fish (as opposed to the tank-bred varieties like Golden Angels, Marble Angels, Koi Angels and so on). It's clearly neither an Altum Angel (Pterophyllum altum) which has a much different body shape, nor the Dwarf Angel (Pterophyllum leopoldi) which has a distinctive spot at the base of the dorsal fin between the two vertical bands on its flanks. There are a bunch of other regional varieties sold under names such as "Peru Angels" and "Peru Altums" and so on, usually at a premium price, and these may or may not be true Pterophyllum scalare, the species upon which the tank-bred Angel was largely derived from (the farmed Angel being a hybrid rather than a true species). So, to cut a long story short, your fish seems to be some sort of "Pterophyllum scalare" though it doesn't seem to have the red eyes typically seen on true wild-type Pterophyllum scalare (whether wild-caught or carefully tank bred). In terms of biotope, the fish we call Pterophyllum scalare actually comes from quite a range of habitats, though invariably ones with slow water flow. Swamps, sluggish streams, vegetated riverbanks, that sort of thing. Water chemistry is fairly variable, rather than the typical extremely soft and acidic water favoured by, say, Altum Angels and of course Discus. A deep (at least 40 cm/16 inches) aquarium with lots of vertical objects (which Angels use for setting territorial boundaries as well as spawning) is recommended. Lighting should be subdued if possible (floating plants are ideal) but to be honest unless your Angels are wild caught they'll be extremely tame and much like goldfish in their readiness to settle down and even beg for food! The classic Angel aquarium has a sandy or gravel substrate (sand is more authentic for South America) some vertical bogwood roots and some tall plants like Amazon Swords (not actually that common in the Amazon!) from the same part of the world. Hope this helps, Neale.>

Re: Angelfish   3/7/14 Thank you very much for your quick response. Just wanted to make sure on which type of angelfish so that i can get it as near as possible to correct biotope. There are five angelfish and three Ancistrus species, no more fish are being added. Thank you again. <Most welcome, Neale.>

Trying to figure out what kind of angelfish I bought   1/20/12
Hi There,
I have a 50 gallon tank that has been set up for over a year with various Tetras and a Pleco. I spent many months researching and trying to figure out what kind of fish I wanted as my "featured" fish. I debated Angels and Discus for quite some time, and finally fell in love with Angels. I followed your advise and purchased 6 of them and so far they are schooling really well and seem to be getting along. Angels are a rare commodity in my area so I jumped on the chance when my local pet shop got 6 juveniles in.
Three of them look to be the tank bred silver with black stripe variety, but have kind of a gold/yellow color instead of silver. They were accompanied by one which is all yellowish-gold, one that is mostly yellow/gold with one black fin on the bottom, and one that looks like it might be a Koi or marbled. I'm not sure, but I would guess because they are all the same size (quite small) that they are siblings.... How can I determine what kind of Angel they are? Also if you have any suggestions for me I am all ears.
Thanks
Tiffany
<Good question... all commercially produced angels (other than Altums) are the same species or dihybrid cross... And these have not been "pure bred" ever in terms of varieties... So, what you have are Pterophyllum scalare (poss. cross), as sport crosses (akin to domestic dogs and cats), that can/do interbreed. Bob Fenner>
Re: Trying to figure out what kind of angelfish I bought   1/20/12
So is this set up recommended for their species?
<S/b fine. See WWM re Angel systems>
Are they typically more or less aggressive with one another than pure bred Angels?
<No discernible pattern of more/less>
 Are the more or less sensitive to ph and alkalinity levels, etc...?
<Ditto. "Real" (as in very) black angels of years back were far more touchy...>
 I know some angels tend to me more aggressive an some tend to be more hardy and easier to keep.
Any recommendations for a new Angel owner?
<Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwangelfishes.htm
and the linked files above. BobF>
Re: Trying to figure out what kind of angelfish I bought   1/20/12
Also, Thank you for your time! I really appreciate what you all do. This is not a hobby for the weak, that is for sure! I love it, and appreciate that there are people out there like yourself who care enough to share you knowledge to the rest of us that aspire to be there one day. :)
<Ah, good. B>

Can an angel change it's stripes? Angelfish With Eyebrows  10/06/06 Hi. My husband and I have a small hobby tank (20 gal) with 2 medium sized angel, a few platies, and some scavenger fish to keep things clean. One angel is mostly black and the other is silver-yellow with black stripes. We can always tell when they're hungry because Blondie (the silver-yellow one) will flash her stripes. So we're used to her chameleon effect. This morning we discovered Blondie had a new black spot, a HUGE black eyebrow. She seems to be doing fine otherwise, water levels are OK, and none of the other fish are bugging her. But it's still weird to see Charlie-Chaplin eyebrows on this elegant fish. Can angles normally change color like that? Should we separate her from the rest of the tank? I've already looked for info online, but there doesn't seem to be much out there. Hope to hear from you soon Jamie < Unless you fish are wild, the genetics of most genetic angelfish are so varied that almost any pattern is possible. I suspect that your angelfish has some marbled angelfish gene in it. It is not a disease and they can all stay together.-Chuck>

Freshwater Dwarf Flame Angel??  - 5/11/06   Mr. Fenner, <Just Bob, please> Enjoyed your appearance a few months ago at the Dallas MAS meeting, as well as your reference books. <A pleasure to share> A question: Is there such a thing as a FRESHWATER dwarf flame angel? <Mmm, have never seen or heard of...> My wife saw a book that described a dwarf flame angel as a freshwater species, but we believe it is a typo or factual error. <Do believe so> All I know of is Centropyge loricula, which is marine.  All my Google searches for 'dwarf flame angels' come up with is the marine fish. Thanks, <All marine angels are strictly marine... Cheers. Bob Fenner>        Beauf Lancaster