Angelfish Species:

The angelfish is one of the most preferred and must haves in any serious aquarium.



This fish comes in a variety of colors and therefore can be most easily identified with their physical structure of being slightly diamond shaped and with long flowing fins. These fish are a favorite because of their relatively small size and affable demeanor. The fish are also easily distinguishable from their vertical lines and patches.



There are even some owners who would bet their lives on the fact that their fish are actually intelligent. These fish are part of the broader classification of cichlids. These are fish that are native to the Amazon basin though some variants can also be found in the Orinoco.

The fish are quite easy to breed and if the breeding pair is healthy quite an impressive brood can result within the confines of an aquarium. This is incidentally also the main cause of their downfall as well because successive generations of inbreeding among the fish have caused a variation in their behavior. This variation causes the fish to not rear their young and even cause a cannibalistic streak among the fish. Ideally, the fish prefer water that is slightly acidic in nature – preferably at a pH level of around 7 or so though this can be flexible considering its natural habitat is widely varying.

The diet of the fish is also equally varied and the diet of the fish should include the standard fish food as well as a mixture of live and dead prey that includes insects, worms, and even sometimes smaller fish. While the fish do belong to a rather larger family of aggressive fish, angelfish are generally not aggressive themselves. However, there is a problem when you mix other species of fish with the angelfish. This is because of a behavior among fish to nip at the fins of other fish. This will cause the fish to lose their fins eventually. A breeding pair will be extremely attached to each other and they will usually pair up for life. The pair will prepare for nesting by clearing a vertical surface of algae together. The female will then lay its eggs and the male then fertilizes them. The eggs then hatch a few days later but are glued to the patch where they live off yolk sacs. When the sacs empty, they detach and feed like the adults do.