Angelfish Stats
Minimum Tank Size: 29 Gallons (132 Litres)
Care Level: Moderately Easy
Water Conditions: 5-7.5 pH and Soft to Medium
Temperature: 23-29 °C (73-84 °F)
Maximum Size: 6 Inches (15 cm)
The term angelfish is a blanket term used to describe a small family of cichlids native to South America. The family is comprised of three separate species – Pterophyllum altumi, Pterophyllum scalare and Pterophyllum leopold.
Angelfish can be found in nearly all of the major rivers in South America, including the Essequibo, Orinoco and Amazon River. They spend much of their time lying in ambush among aquatic plants and submerged tree roots and their naturally occurring lateral strips provide the perfect camouflage for this environment.
These fish are among the oldest aquarium fish in the hobby, and to this day, they are still one of the most popular fish to keep. Angelfish were first bred in captivity nearly 100 years ago, and most of the fish available now are captive breed. Because of their captive bred origins, most can adapt to a wide variety of water conditions, whereas wild caught still require soft water.
Angelfish grow relatively large in the aquarium, and though they only grow to about 6 inches (15 cm) in length, their compressed bodies make them seem much larger. Because of their body shape, the commonly quoted one gallon per inch of fish should never be used to determine minimum aquarium requirements with angelfish.
If they are well cared for, it’s not unusual for an angelfish to live for 10 years in the home aquarium, and there are many well documented cases of them living longer. It seems that the key to angelfish longevity is a well planted aquarium, and the health of the plants is often a good way to gauge the health of an angelfish.
Housing
Unlike many other common cichlids, angelfish don’t require overly large aquariums. A pair of angelfish can live quite comfortably in a 29 gallon aquarium, but if you are planning to breed angelfish, you should choose a large aquarium – something in the 40 gallon range.
By providing a larger aquarium, you not only ensure that the water parameters will be more stable, but you will also provide adequate space for the angelfish to herd around their offspring. In a 29 gallon tank, things quickly become cramped for the parents and the fry, and it can be much more difficult to keep the water quality up for the baby fish.
While many fish will benefit from the addition of aquatic plants, with angelfish plants should almost be viewed as a requirement. One of the easiest ways to keep angelfish happy and healthy is with a vibrant and diversely planted tank.
Without question, the best plants to provide for angelfish are Amazon sword plants. Not only is this a hardy and attractive beginner plant, but it also plays an integral role in the breeding of angelfish. Some other plants that also make good choices are vallinerisa, Java moss, water wisteria and water sprite.
Any tank containing angelfish should also include numerous hiding places, which helps to mimic their natural environment. This can be accomplished through the strategic planting of tall plants, or through the use of driftwood. The ideal setup would allow for the angelfish to hide its entire body behind the driftwood or the plants, but partial coverage will also work.
When choosing a filter for an angelfish tank, you should always choose the best filter within your budget. A high quality HOB (hang on back) is usually a good choice, but a canister filter can provide superior filtration – for well over double the price.
I would strongly recommend choosing an Aquaclear Power Filter
Feeding
Feeding angelfish is usually quite easy, and most will happily accept commercial foods. If an angelfish refuses to eat, it’s usually an indicator that something is very wrong. Some angelfish are known to go on a food strike if the water quality degrades beyond a certain point. So always test your water first if your fish stops eating.
In the wild, their diet mainly consists of small fish, invertebrates and insects. This diet should be replicated as closely as possible in the home aquarium, and this can be accomplished by feeding them a high quality flake food, with regular feedings of frozen and live food. I personally recommend Hikari Micro Wafers, which is one of the best foods on the market.
Live food can be difficult to obtain at times, but feeder guppies, blackworms and adult brine shrimp can be found at most fish stores. If you decide to feed them guppies – which are one of their primary foods in the wild – they should always be obtained from a reputable source. Most of the ones found in pet stores are riddled with disease, and nothing will sicken your angelfish faster than adding a parasite ridden guppy to their diet.
When it comes to frozen foods, they will readily accept bloodworms, blackworms, daphnia and brine shrimp. With that being said, they seem to prefer the more meaty offerings, and their favorites are bloodworms and blackworms.
Breeding
Angelfish form long term relationships with their partners and will usually breed with no intervention from the aquarist. They don’t require a breeding trigger, and a word of warning – they will breed continuously upon reaching sexual maturity. So always have a plan in place to deal with vast quantities of fry before you start breeding angelfish.
While most wild angelfish are excellent parents, some of the angelfish available in the aquarium hobby have become so inbred, that they have lost all parental instinct. They are more than happy to devour all of their eggs or fry, so this can add an element of difficulty to breeding some angelfish.
Most angelfish generally reach sexual maturity a few weeks before their first birthday, though some will become sexually mature well before this. Once they are ready to spawn, they will pick a broad leaf plant similar to an Amazon sword, and spend several days cleaning the surface. They will remove any algae and debris from surface, and once it is suitable clean, the female will deposit her eggs.
If no suitable plants are available, they may also lay their eggs on any flat rock in the aquarium, or barring that – on the aquarium glass itself. The female will deposit a straight line of large eggs that are easy to see, so you can always tell when your angelfish have bred.
If you are worried about the angelfish devouring their young, the parents can be removed from the tank, or the eggs can likewise be removed. But it’s important to note, that if the eggs are removed, the parents will continue to spawn every 7-10 days, and you can end up with a staggering amount of eggs.
Should your angelfish still have their natural parental instincts, they will take turns fanning the eggs with their fins until they hatch. Upon hatching, the fry will become free-swimming within a few days, and the parents will take over protecting them and herding them around the tank.
The fry should be fed just before they become free-swimming, and they can be fed baby brine shrimp, microworms, or any of the commercially available fry foods. After around two weeks, they should be large enough to accept finely ground flake food.
Should one angelfish die that has formed a relationship with another angelfish, it is unlikely – though not unheard of, that the angelfish will ever breed again. It may be best to remove a fish that has seen its partner die from a breeding tank, and try with another pair.
It should also be noted that the P. Altum species is notoriously difficult to breed, and these instructions mainly cover the other two more commonly available species.
Compatibility
While angelfish are often considered semi-aggressive, they are one of the few cichlids that may do well in a community tank. Many species of barbs, tetras and minnows can be added to an angelfish’s tank, though you should always be sure that any fish that you add are larger than an angelfish’s mouth.
If a fish is small enough for an angelfish to eat, it won’t last long and if you decide to add any guppies or neons to their tank, they may not survive the night.
Hi Rob I’ve got a question about angelfish a friend of mine in the UK has a problem with his angelfish dying he claims they have white syringy poop. He has had his tank water tested at a fishlab near his location and they say his water conditions are perfect for angelfish. He says the water temp is around 80-82 degrees. He feeds tetra pro color flakes daily and frozen blood worms as a treat once every 3 days apart. He recently over a period of two weeks 4 or 5 of his angelfish have died including his breeding pair. Now he also per chased a couple of fish from a local seller. Rob I’m not an expert but I told his it sounded like a intestinal infection or a parasite of some sort. I wanted to ask you and get your opinion and if you are thinking the same thing as I am what treatment do you recommend and what prevention do you recommend? I’m already thinking of what to tell him to do but I really need a second opinion to reassure my own opinion. Before I got telling him do’s and don’ts on how to fix and prevent it from happening again. Also do you Allow pictures to be posted up by followers of you site just to share with others ?
Hello Jonathon. That definitely sounds like a parasite problem, which is odd if the conditions are good. Has anything new been introduced to the tank, or any live food? In a situation like this you’d be safe putting the temp up to mid 80s to encourage them to eat, and feeding them an anti-parasite food. I would go with either Praziquenti or Metronidazole (I prefer Metronidazole), both of which will need to be eaten by the fish. Assuming that he has any healthy fish left, I would also recommend moving the sick ones to quarantine tank until this is dealt with.
I hope this helps.
And the comments only allow you to post links to images, but if you want to e-mail it to me admin@aquariumtidings.com I will post if for you in the comments.
Can u please advise how MUCH flake food to feed 2 adult angelfish and how OFTEN ? Thank u, Rebecca
The best rule to follow, is to feed your fish as much as they will eat in 3 minutes. If you watch them, and they’re leaving a lot of extra food, then you are overfeeding them. Also, don’t worry about them appearing hungry, since cichlids will always beg for food if given the chance.
Hi there, I have a 48 gallon with a breeding pair of angels (adult size), a 26 gallon again a breeding pair, a 20 gallon with 6 angels ranging in size such as 2 are dime size and 4 quarter size. My husband has a 46 gallon community tank with almost 40 fish. His tank has NEVER had a problem with water quality, but my 3 tanks are frequently having high leves of nitrates/nitrites, My husband does a 10% water change every week, I have treated my 3 tanks with stresszyme, AmQuel plus and aquarium salts, but the problems relieve itself for a cpl of days and then the cycle starts again. Would putting a snail or pleco in each tank solve my problem if it is an overfeeding issue & Once they lay eggs again I should remove the snail/pleco correct? or is their something else I should be doing? All my aquariums have plants, maybe they need more plants to lower the levels, I am not sure. If you could give me some advice on what I should do it would be greatly appreciated as I don’t wanna loose my angels as they are like my babies. Thanks In advance laura. My email is LLwarford@hotmail.com if you wish to email me, I am in dire need for some ssuggestions/solotions 🙂
Nitrates are relatively easy to deal with, and they can be dealt with by removing any dead plant matter, upping the size of your weekly water changes to the 15-20% region, and give your filters a really thorough cleaning. In most cases that should bring the nitrates down.
The nitrites are much more worrying, as that is potentially very harmful for your fish. There is something wrong with the aquarium itself, and for some reason it isn’t full cycled. What is your substrate composed of? If it’s sand, toxic pockets can form in it, and the fish digging in it can release it into the aquarium. I solve this in my tanks by having lots of Malaysian trumpet snails to burrow through the sand substrate.
If that’s not the issue, then I would look at your maintenance. How do you clean your filter? If you’re cleaning it with tap water, then it may be killing off all of the beneficial bacteria. Also, do you turn off your filter during water changes before the water has been treated? It’s important to do this if you have chlorine in your water.
Beyond that, it could only be overfeeding or overstocking. It doesn’t sound like your tanks are overstocked at all, so I would try to lower your feeding for a while. A snail or pleco would only add to the problems right now, unless you went with very small snails. Avoid anything like an apple snail until you have the water condition under control.
Also, what kind of filter are using? I like to use to sponge filters in conjunction with my other filters in my problem tanks. They allow a huge amount of bacteria to grow on them, and they can really help bring problem water conditions under control in a matter of weeks.
My 46 has a fluval 206 cannister, the 26 & 20 gallons gallon have fluval C3. Thanks so much for your response. On another note, my 2 koi’s in the 26 just laid eggs like 30 hours ago, some eggs tirned white, but the rest are almost an amber color, they are on the intake tube and the aquarium has a colorful background, so I am just wondering if that colr is normal or is something else causing it?, It appears to me that the male is much more mature than the female, big difference in size. I have been feeding all angles now otwice a day, in a very minimal amount, the parents with the eggs don’t seem to be eating much either…is that also normal? Thanks bunches…Laura 🙂
The white eggs mean they are unfertilized. There could be many reasons for this, so I wouldn’t worry too much.
As for the Angel, when you say it’s not eating much, does it mean they have no interest in the food? Or they’re just eating sparsely?
All eggs are gone to fuzz and I gave the eggs in the 26 gallon a 50% water change, but I did notice, theat the male Koi had a lil bit of cloudy eye and so did my marble, so I put my standard angelfish in the comunity tank and quarantined the koi and marble in the 48 gallon, I treated them with fungus cure 32 hours ago, is that what I should have done or is their a better cure I should be using? Thanks bunches, laura 🙂
I would do two things. First of all I would check your pH. pH can sometimes cause issues if it drops too low (around 6.0 ph). Otherwise the eye issue should be dealt with by using an anti-biotic, although it could also be caused by internal parasites. I would start with doing a large water change (around 40%) and that would deal with the pH issues for a short while at least.
oh and the kois were just eating alot more sparingly
Is it better to have 2 or 3 angelfish in a tank?
It all depends on the size of your tank, and three is somewhat of an odd number. There is a good chance that a male and female will form a breeding pair, and if your tank isn’t large enough, the remaining angelfish will likely get constantly bullied. In anything smaller than 55 gallons (208 litres), I wouldn’t try to keep more than two angelfish though.
How do I identify the differences between name and female angel fish
There are a few things you can look for when sexing angelfish. The males body will be angular, while the female’s is rounder and more plump. Also, the male’s head will have a hump on their head, while the female won’t have one. The dorsal fin is also slightly different, and the female’s is in line with her head, while the male’s is at more of a 90 degree angle. You will also see slight differences in the tubes, with the males being more open, while the female’s tapers a little bit.
Unfortunately, there’s no real easy way to sex them, and you’ll need a mature fish, and a skilled eye to sex them.
I have hard water and 8.2 ph. I’ve been told no worries. What do you think??
I heard that around the 8 mark is good
Hey Rob I was wondering if I could just have one solo angelfish in a community tank
You should be fine with a centerpiece angelfish in a tank. I know a few people who built a community tank around a single angelfish. But just make sure you don’t keep any small fish with it like neon tetras. Angelfish will eat smaller fish.
I have had sevral angle fish over the years but recently I had an angle fish develop a mass on its mouth (it looks like the fish has swolen lips) it also has fins that look worn. I thought it might be a fungal issue so I treated it with a standard store fungal treatment but it dident go away. None of the other tankmates look ill Including the other angle fish in the tank. Now I’m wondering if it could be some kind of fish cancer?
It’s far more common for it to be some kind of fungal growth, though I have seen several fish over the years with mouth tumours. Do you have any pictures of it?
You can send them to admin@aquariumtidings.com
hi Rob i have just got my friend an aqua style 850 curved glass aquarium but am am looking after it until his place is ready i have just add two angel fish and two black ones which i dont know name of as he got those ones but they have a white mark on head and white tail with a strip of black , is it ok to put a sucker fish in the tank
oh also how many anels can i put in this tank
That’s around 165 litres (44 gallons) right?
A suckerfish should be fine, but you should stick with one of the smaller ones like bristlenose plecos. A common pleco would quickly outgrow that tank.
Hey Robert do you know if silver tip tetras can go with angelfish
You might run into some problems with that combination. In my experience, silver tip fish can be very aggressive and nippy. They may cause problems for angelfish, unless you have a very large, densely planted aquarium.
Hi, my Angelfish just laid more eggs with swimmers in there. What do I do, if anything?
There’s not much you can do, unless you have another tank setup and you can remove the items they laid the eggs on. But angelfish are usually pretty decent parents, so you might see some survive if they parents protect them.
What do you think are the most compatible tetras with angelfish
Are you set on tetras? I often like to keep bottom dwellers like catfish with my angels.
But if you want tetras, stay away from the small ones like neons, as they will be eaten. Also, avoid ones that have a similar shape to angels, like black skirt tetras: they will be attacked. But some good ones are rummy-nose tetras, emperor tetras, lemon tetras, and many others.
If not tetras do you know of any other smaller schooling fish compatible with angelfish
Cherry barbs would probably be a decent choice, and harlequin rasboras might be alright, too – though a bit small.
Hi Rob Are angelfish compatible with cherry shrimp? If not are there any shrimp that are?
They are somewhat capable, though they will eat the hatchlings, and large angelfish may eat the adults. The key is to provide a tank with plenty of hiding places for the shrimp, and they reproduce so fast, they should keep up with any that are lost. Just remember there’s always a chance you’ll get a fish with a taste for cherry red shrimp though.
I just lost a small Angelfish as the pump on the filter stopped working overrnight, I cleaned the filter and got it going but the smaller one was dead and the larger one is swimming at an angle and not eating. I would like to save big whitey if I can . My husband asked me to look after them!
I have two angelfish in a tank and all they do is fight I had to put a screen divider in how