What do aquarium scalars eat? Breeding, reproduction and sexual characteristics of angelfish. Aquarium fish angelfish feeding. What to feed the scalar

The floating crescent, winged leaf, or angelfish rightfully takes the place of one of the favorite fish of many breeders, perhaps due to its unusual body shape and soft, but varied and beautiful colors, and perhaps due to its active behavior and accommodating character. This fish is quite capricious and demanding on the conditions of detention, especially the purity of the water and the quality of the food. Therefore, if you have already decided to settle it in your pond, then you need to thoroughly prepare for this.

In the natural environment, fish have chosen for life small rivers of South America with a weak current and an abundance of plants, quiet bays overgrown with reeds, coastal waters, tributaries of the Amazon and Orinoco.

What does a scalar look like?

These cichlids have a high (up to 26 cm) and short (up to 15 cm) discoid body. The dorsal and anal fins are greatly elongated, due to which the body of the fish resembles a crescent. Pectoral fins filiform. They, like the tail ones, sharpen to the ends. Males are less overweight than females and have a large forehead.

The traditional color of the angelfish is silver with black vertical stripes. As a rule, there are four of them: the first passes through the eye, the last through the caudal peduncle, and two intermediate ones through the body. The back is darker than the abdomen. Thanks to intensive breeding work, the color of the fish can not only vary from greenish-gray to silver-olive, but also be black, marble, gold, smoky, green, two- and even three-color. Veil forms of these cichlids are popular.

Modern scalars have three main varieties:

1. Pterophyllum scalare.
2. Pterophyllum altum is a large (up to 20 cm) and tall (up to 40 cm) fish.
3. Pterophyllum leopoldi, or humpback angelfish. Its length in captivity does not exceed 10 cm.

Character

Angelfish are schooling fish, they cannot stand loneliness at all and are distinguished by loyalty to their partner. Therefore, it is better to keep them in small groups of 4-6 pieces.

There is a strict hierarchy in the group: the largest pair gets the best angle, the smaller pair - the conditions are worse, lone fish are exiles and they get access to food last.

Moreover, if such a renegade is resettled, then another individual or even the weakest pair will instantly take his place. To solve the problem, you need to increase either the aquarium or the size of the flock.

Another feature of the angelfish is shyness. If you suddenly knock or suddenly turn on the light, then the fish may experience a strong fright, up to the loss of color.

How to create ideal conditions?

Aquarium. Since some individuals can grow quite large, you will need a rather large aquarium. For example, for two pairs of medium-sized fish, it is better to take a 60-liter container, no less. Moreover, the width of the vessel does not play a big role, but the height of the aquarium should be at least 45 cm.

Temperature. Some sources indicate that they can successfully live in a temperature range of 16 to 35 degrees. However, we would not advise experimenting like this, it is a big risk to undermine the health of your pets. The optimum temperature is 23-26 °C. Acidity should be maintained at 6.5-7.4, and hardness - 18.

Water. A prerequisite is clean water. To ensure it, you need to install a good (bottom or canister) filter, change a fifth of the water weekly and wash the aquarium itself at least once every 2 months. We add that the filter should be without a violent release of water, since angelfish do not like strong currents.

Lighting should be bright, but without a sharp change of day and night.

Priming. It is good to use coarse sand, fine gravel as a soil. Angelfish are not in the habit of digging it up.

Decor. Housing can be decorated with snags, decorative rocks and stone gorges. Caves and plant-shaded areas will serve as shelters. The main selection principle is safety. Objects should not have sharp corners.

What to feed the scalar?

There are no special requirements here, the main thing is that the food is of high quality. These cichlids are willing to eat. You can give dry, granulated food and flakes. They like to eat algae and pieces of leaves of underwater plants. The menu can be varied with minced seafood, ground mussels and shrimp.

It is advisable to equip the feeding place with a special feeder, since due to the shape of the body, angelfish cannot take food from the bottom.

Compatibility

Like other cichlids, angelfish are individualists, so compatibility with other fish is a difficult question, and it cannot be answered unambiguously. It is important to remember that although angelfish are slow, they are still cichlids, and despite their peaceful appearance and small mouth, they are predators. These fish are territorial, especially during spawning. This means that other inhabitants of the aquarium can be dispersed into corners, fearing the wrath of zealous parents.

Most clearly their "cichlid" nature is demonstrated by individuals grown in a species aquarium. To plant a new fish to them is extremely difficult and dangerous for the health of the latter, because the angelfish will attack in a flock, hoping to pinch a piece.

With angelfish grown in a common aquarium with other species and at a low stocking density, things are somewhat easier. Such individuals can be called peaceful, they rarely attack other fish and can get along even with such small fish as, which in nature are their natural food.

Many sources report that scalars do not get along well with and. In most cases, the way it is, the barbs bite the long fins of the angelfish, and they, in turn, can “peck” the slow cockerel. But if small barbs are planted with adult angelfish, then the latter will be afraid of large neighbors all their lives. In cockerels, the character is also different, and if a phlegmatic fish cannot resist the angelfish, then the choleric cockerel, on the contrary, will terrorize it. It must be remembered that it is impossible to recognize such character traits of fish before moving in, so you should not hope for luck.

Excellent neighbors for angelfish are medium-sized haracins, for example. It is difficult for cichlids to keep up with a flock of fidgets, and in the future they will treat these mobile fish calmly. Another, no less wonderful neighbor is dwarf cichlids, such as and. They occupy the lower layers of the water, to which angelfish, as a rule, do not pay attention. The neighborhood with has proven itself well.

With caution, you should plant some catfish suckers - gerinocheilus and ancistrus - to the scalars. With insufficient feeding, they are characterized by predatory habits, sticking to the wide sides of sluggish fish and eating scales.

In general, angelfish are amazing fish both in appearance and behavior. And the one who decides to start this beautiful crescent should know: the main thing is to prepare for this event, and then keeping the fish will not disappoint you!

Angelfish are one of the most beloved and popular aquarium fish. The homeland of these species are the quiet waters of South America with dense algae and a slow current. Aquarium hobbyists began to breed these fish about a century ago. The popularity of angelfish can be explained both by their beauty and noble disposition, and unpretentiousness in food. The more varied the food for angelfish, the better for them.

Here are the most popular types of food for angelfish:

1. Live food is the most preferred food for angelfish. Such food includes bloodworms, tadpoles, daphnia, coretra, tubifex, cyclops. Feeding live food has its own dangers: the angelfish can catch one or another infectious disease. Therefore, it is better to keep such feeds frozen, and defrost and warm before feeding, but not the tubifex - when defrosted, it will turn into a continuous liquid mass.

2. Dry food is no less favorite food for fish. However, one must not forget about the anatomical structure of angelfish and try not to throw them a lot of food, since it is difficult for them to pick it up from the bottom of the aquarium. Special feeders will serve as a way out of the situation. The ideal option is when the food slowly descends through the aquarium, and the angelfish catches it on the fly. Dry foods include granular and flake foods.

Granular feed often contains useful substances, minerals, macro and microelements. If the scalar does not cope with the granules, then they need to be slightly soaked and crushed.

Dry flakes are also good for angelfish. Unlike granules, flakes hardly pollute water.

3. Plant foods, which contain important vitamins, are an important element in the diet of angelfish. These feeds primarily include Wolffia, Riccia and duckweed. A good option would be algae and vegetation in the aquarium - angelfish love quiet nooks where you can hide from the light for a while.

4. Finely grated seafood meat (shrimp, mussels, octopus) and beef heart (previously separated from fat) are an energetically valuable supplement for these fish.

Speaking about the number of feedings per day, an important detail should be noted: the angelfish will eat as much as there is food in the feeder. Therefore, it is important to remember that it is impossible to overfeed it - there will be problems with the stomach. The same can happen if the fish is systematically lacking food. Therefore, you need to feed the scalar 1-2 times a day, not forgetting to arrange a “fasting day” once a week, i.e. one day a week do not feed at all. As for fry of angelfish (fish up to three months old), they need to be fed 3 times a day.

home / Fish / Feeding / How to properly organize the nutrition of the scalar?

Angelfish are considered unpretentious fish in food, but they also have their own preferences. Monotonous and poor-quality food can cause illness and death of fish.

In addition, there are certain rules associated with the frequency of feeding. So, what to feed the angelfish in a home aquarium?

Preferred types of food

Angelfish willingly eat live food. It includes tadpoles, tubifex, bloodworm, daphnia, cyclops, coretra. Many breeders use live food for spawning pairs, because they need good nutrition. But there is a danger in feeding a live product - fish can catch an infectious disease. To prevent trouble, it is better to use frozen food.

Frozen food can be purchased at a pet store or you can freeze it yourself. Feed the scalar with a frozen product after it has been heated.

It is not forbidden to feed large fish with live mormysh. You can buy it in the department for fishermen. Freeze immediately after purchase. To protect the fish from diseases that live mormysh can contain, the crustacean should be put in the microwave for 2 minutes. If the mormysh turned red, it is cooked, you can freeze it and feed it to the fish.

What else can you give scalars?

1. Dry food.
2. Plant food.
3. Ground beef.

Features of dry food

Dry fish food contains a set of essential beneficial vitamins and macronutrients for fish.

Dry product is presented in two versions:

• feed in granules;
• dry flakes.

When feeding dry food, it is important to consider the body structure of the scalar. It is difficult for them to pick up pellets from the bottom of the aquarium, so the dry product should be distributed proportionally. If you throw it at once in large quantities, then the fish simply do not have time to completely cover it.

Many breeders note that angelfish are more likely to eat flake food than granules. In addition, flakes pollute the aquarium less, as they do not create water turbidity. If a fish comes across a solid granule, then it will keep it in its mouth until it dissolves, resulting in a dirty turbidity. And the fallen and uneaten granules at the bottom of the aquarium gradually become limp, which significantly spoils the water.

Plant foods in the diet

Vegetable food is an important element in the diet of many aquarium inhabitants.

The following aquarium plants are suitable for fish:

In some cases, chopped and necessarily scalded cabbage is suitable. But demanding fish may refuse to eat it.

If there is no desire to feed the angelfish with fresh herbs, then you can buy granulated ready-made food. Angelfish eat it in small quantities, it is better to give plant food once a week. It is useful for the growth and life of the fish.

Self-cooked meals

Do not forget about meat feeding for angelfish. This includes mashed shrimp meat, beef heart, minced meat with additives.

There are two cooking options.

First option

Beef heart is very easy to prepare.

All fat is washed off it and washed well. Then the piece is rubbed on a medium-sized grater. The resulting mass is washed again and sent to feed the angelfish.

Second option

100 grams of beef heart is ground in a meat grinder or blender. You can use a grater for this purpose. Grated cabbage, dried nettle leaves, red bell pepper are added to the mass. Additional ingredients are taken in equal proportions with ground beef. A raw egg is added to the mixture.

The mass is laid out on a plate and baked in a microwave oven. Approximate time 1.5-2 minutes, depending on the power of the equipment. The resulting cake is cooled, packaged and the finished food is sent to the refrigerator.

After high-quality freezing, the product should crumble, but you need to track and knead large pieces. If the food is too large, the fish will simply refuse it or choke.

Feeding rules

When building optimal nutrition for angelfish, you should not forget about some rules.

1. Feed the fish two or three times a day. How much food should be given at one time? There are no specific rules in this regard, but the amount that the fish will eat in two to three minutes is considered optimal.
2. Fish do not know the limits in food, so it is better not to feed them than to overfeed them. Excessive zeal in feeding leads to obesity.
3. You can not feed the angelfish with dried mormysh and daphnia. There are no nutrients in this feed, the fish will get sick and will not grow to the desired size.

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How many times to feed the angelfish: feeding

Feeding angelfish is a very delicate issue. On the one hand, these fish are unpretentious and enjoy eating many organic and dry foods. On the other hand, poor-quality or not very suitable food can cause various troubles. In addition, fish should not be underfed or overfed: such abuse or neglect of feeding can cause stress or illness in the fish.

General remarks

How many times to feed the angelfish? This is often asked not only by novice breeders, but also by professionals in the aquarium business.

It must be remembered that the stomach of the fish is very small, and one or two feedings is the maximum for it; the rest of the options will be disastrous. Underfeeding will lead to dystrophy, and overfeeding will lead to serious disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, too much food pollutes the water.

Fry can be fed three times a day as their growing bodies require more food. From three months, you can transfer to feeding twice a day, and then - at your discretion: either once or twice a day.

Feeding angelfish with organic food

Like many other cichlids, angelfish love organic food. Alas, it is not always available from breeders. In addition, care must be taken with it, because it can provoke the development of a bacterial infection. Frozen food is the way out. As ice cream, you can buy daphnia, cyclops, bloodworm, carriage. But the tubifex cannot be frozen: after defrosting, only a liquid slurry remains from it. Spoiled food, of course, should not be given - there is a risk of spoiling the health of the fish.

Organic food can be given once a day - this is enough to get the necessary nutrients.

Dry food for angelfish

Now on the shelves of pet stores there are many options for dry granulated food for angelfish. This balanced diet contains the necessary nutrients - vitamins, micro and macro elements. Angelfish are happy to eat dry flakes, which, by the way, are better than granular feed, since they pollute the aquarium less.

Feeding the fish should take place once or twice a day so that the angelfish maintains its health and cheerful disposition. You can feed pets both dry and granular food. That's all!

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Aquarium angelfish maintenance and care. Scalaria reproduction and breeding. Angelfish compatibility

Aquarium angelfish are very famous and popular. Due to the unusual shape of her body and graceful movements, she has become a brand of many companies and enterprises associated with aquariums.

And not in vain. The angelfish is a worthy fish. Aquarium angelfish are a real decoration of the aquarium world.

Aquarium fish angelfish. Description

The angelfish is a fish belonging to the cichlid family. Their homeland is South America, its central part. In ponds densely overgrown with plants, they acquired their shape. Its name is translated as a winged leaf.

She looks like a leaf. And in Europe, she was given the name angel fish. The flat body allows her to move easily among the plants. Aquarium angelfish grow up to 15 cm in a regular aquarium. If the goal of the aquarist is to grow only them, and all the necessary conditions are created for them, then their size can reach 26 cm.

How long do angelfish live in an aquarium? Well, somewhere around 10 years, although there have been cases when this period has been increased by almost 2 times. This allows you to give preference to it when choosing the inhabitants of the aquarium.

Because if the inhabitants of the aquarium do not live long, and you get used to them, then the death from old age of those who have a lifespan of a little more than 2 years makes the aquarist very sad.

In general, the answer to the question - how long they live, scalars depends only on you - how good your care of your pets will be, they will live so much longer.

Aquarium angelfish content. Angelfish care

The temperature for scalars, in principle, has a wide range. They are kept at a temperature of 22-26 degrees, but they easily tolerate a drop in temperature to 18 degrees. pH of water ranging from 6.5 to 7.4. Since this aquarium fish grows quite large, the capacity of the aquarium should be from one hundred liters, and at least fifty centimeters in height.

For angelfish, keeping small sizes in an aquarium is also possible, but the smaller the aquarium, the smaller it will be. For the scalar, care, oddly enough, it may seem to you, is the same - in the selection of plants, the aquarium must be densely planted with aquarium plants.

But a place free from plants must be mandatory. For angelfish, maintenance and care is very important, as well as for other aquarium fish.

Aquarium fish angelfish feeding. What to feed the scalar

They are not very demanding on food, so the answer to the question of what to feed the angelfish usually does not cause much difficulty. They like to eat any live food - bloodworms, other tubifex.

Do not refuse dry food. But when feeding with dry food, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of her body. It is difficult for her to pick up food from the bottom of the aquarium. It is most convenient for her to eat food that slowly sinks to the bottom of the aquarium.

How many times to feed the angelfish? Well, like most fish 2-3 times a day. The main thing is that they do not overeat. And it also happens when the owner feels sorry for his pets, and he feeds them excessively. But they don’t understand, they eat and eat, for the scalar feeding is the same difficult process as for other fish.

They will eat and eat. Then, over time, they become obese. Well, once a week - fasting day. That is, do not feed at all. How often to feed angelfish? Yes, in principle, just like the rest of the fish, two to three times a day.

Aquarium fish angelfish breeding. Breeding angelfish

Well, let's start with the fact that in the aquarium, which is common, breeding angelfish at home is in principle very difficult, if not impossible. There are too many obstacles to the reproduction of angelfish aquarium fish in a common aquarium.

There are many other fish here, which, as soon as the angelfish have laid their eggs, will immediately eat it, there are also snails, which also do not mind eating as soon as the spawning of the angelfish begins, and the angelfish caviar is laid, and various microorganisms.

If you keep several of them in a common aquarium, then upon reaching the age of puberty, when the angelfish spawning is ready to begin, and if they are kept in good conditions, of course, they begin to spawn quite often, spawning does not even need to be specially stimulated.

If the temperature of the content is optimal, feeding is carried out mainly with live food, and the water is clean, then conditions are created under which reproduction begins in the scalar.

If there are several of them in the aqua, then after some time they begin to divide into pairs, and then they clean the leaves of plants, smooth stones or technical equipment such as a filter pump, well, in general, they choose a suitable place for laying in their opinion and the females lay eggs.

As soon as the scalars have laid their eggs, the males immediately fertilize them. The task of the aquarist is not to miss this moment and when the angelfish eggs are laid, move the eggs to a small, fifteen to thirty liters aquarium in order to control the further breeding of the angelfish.

So breeding angelfish at home is quite possible. The main thing - the desire was - would learn.

Video about breeding angelfish. Happy viewing.

Aquarium fish angelfish species

There are many types of this wonderful fish. Only the most common ones will be listed here:

• black scalar;
• scalar gold;
• white scalar;
• blue scalar;
• scalar veil;
• koi angelfish;
• marble scalar;
• red scalar.

Angelfish: photo of species. By the name of the photo you can determine the name of your scalar.

Aquarium fish angelfish compatibility. Angelfish compatibility with other fish

Aquarium fish angelfish is considered a peaceful fish. But this is a moot point in principle. For the aquarium angelfish, compatibility lies in the fact that the angelfish occupies its own specific territory in the aquarium and tries to drive out the rest of the aquarium fish from there.

Unless of course these fish are not bigger and stronger than her. Well, of course, the angelfish in the aquarium choose their territory near the feeder. If a recently born fish appears close to them, or just a small one like neon, then it will simply eat it. Despite all their peacefulness.

Here they live normally with catfish. They have completely different areas of life. Catfish usually occupy the lower part of the aquarium, and scalars occupy the upper or middle. Therefore, it turns out that they have absolutely nothing to share.

Well, the most compatible species with which they get along is platies. They get along well with labeo and tetras. From personal observations - when they and a flock of Sumatran barbs lived with me, there didn’t seem to be any problems either.

Barbs did not attack large scalars, and when scalars tried to drive barbs, they did not succeed. Sumatran barbs are very fast and evasive. Well, there are types of aquarium fish with which they cannot be kept together. Astronotuses for example.

Or piranhas. But I think before you start an astronotus, you will study the information that is on the Internet very well. You can even find it on this site.

Very interesting fish, my relative claims that it is smarter and more affectionate than a cat. She lets herself be stroked, and almost purrs. It's only a pity that together with her it is impossible to keep anything in the aqua. No fish, no plants, no snails. Well, scalars are also not allowed. Compatibility with scalars in astronotus is completely absent.

Well, the principle of compatibility of scalars with other scalars is also interesting. If you start them from a dozen, for example, then after a while they will break into pairs and begin to sort things out with each other.

Angelfish fight until the stronger and more aggressive pair take their place near the feeder, and drive the rest. The result is the following - while the angelfish are fighting among themselves, the rest of the fish are eating calmly.

Well, angelfish aquarium fish do not have time to eat, because they get leftover food. If they get.

Aquarium fish angelfish (photos and pictures). Various types of these fish. Click on the image to view the photo gallery.

Aquarium fish scalar (video). Enjoy watching the video.

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Angelfish - aquarium fish

Pterophyllum scalare

Angelfish are bright and original representatives of the cichlid family. Due to their peculiar diamond-shaped body, it is almost impossible to confuse with other fish.

There are 7 color options for angelfish: striped, black, gold, blue, two-tone, marble, smoky with simple and veil fins of all these options.

The red scalar is very rare.

Male angelfish have a more convex forehead than females and the body is somewhat wider. When kept together, the fish independently break into pairs. Upon reaching a year, they are ready to breed. The temperature of keeping angelfish is 24-25ºС, during spawning it is slightly higher, about 26-28ºС.

Angelfish most often spawn on broad leaves of plants, less often on glass or other flat surfaces. Then guard and care for the masonry. The larvae hatch on the second or third day. After 4-5 days they turn into fry. From now on, they need to be given ciliates, then rotifers.

In an aquarium with angelfish, it is advisable to install a filter, as well as carry out additional aeration of the water. Also, a prerequisite for keeping angelfish is a weekly water change in the aquarium by 20% of the volume.

What to feed the scalar

These cichlids prefer live food: bloodworms, tubifex, daphnia, insects and their larvae, but they will not refuse dry food either. These fish are very voracious and prone to obesity, so once a week they need a “unloading” day - without food.

Angelfish - video

In the ponds of South America overgrown with dense plants, a small fish was born and gradually acquired a rather bizarre shape. The unusual inhabitant gradually became a real decoration of the reservoirs, and therefore received a beautiful name: "scalar", which translates as a winged leaf.

Aquarium decoration - angel fish

In Europe, a small angelfish was called "angel", while it also became quite a popular inhabitant of aquariums among Europeans. Such fame of these fish is explained not only by the exotic shape and color. It is known that most aquarium fish do not live long: no more than two years, however, the angelfish is considered a long-liver, living in aquariums up to 10 years (with special care, this period can last up to 20 years). The lifespan of the angelfish directly depends on the aquarist and his professionalism. Despite the fact that this fish belongs to non-capricious species, it also requires proper care and a qualified approach to creating living conditions. Aquarists should not forget that this exotic baby comes from the Southern Continent, accustomed to living in an environment with dense vegetation. Therefore, the first condition that contributes to an increase in the life expectancy of angelfish in an aquarium is their maintenance in a properly organized habitat.

It is not difficult to take care of these fish, the main thing is to observe a number of conditions for their comfortable stay in the aquarium:

• saturation of the underwater environment with the necessary flora to create conditions close to natural;
• organization of proper nutrition in compliance with the basic principles and dosage regimen;
• the optimal neighborhood of a small angelfish with other inhabitants of the aquarium world.

How many other representatives will be in the aquarium depends on the volume of the water basin.

Angelfish feel great in dense thickets of underwater flora, as its flat body allows it to easily move between plants. However, do not forget that the free space for this motley baby is vital, especially if the owner wants to grow a larger angelfish. Under normal conditions, this aquarium fish grows up to 15 centimeters in length, while maintaining the potential to reach 26 centimeters in length. Those who are interested in large angelfish should make sure that the aquarium is large enough - up to 100 liters. At the same time, the height of this water house should be about 50 centimeters.

An important role in creating comfort for angelfish is the temperature of the water in the aquarium. In principle, it is considered acceptable within a considerable range, however, for a comfortable state, angelfish need a water temperature of 22 to 26 degrees. At the same time, experienced aquarists are sure that these fish feel good when the temperature in the aquarium drops to 18 degrees, and even for some time they live without problems in an aquatic environment with such a temperature indicator.

Food

The scalar has the glory of an undemanding and unpretentious fish. In addition to the fact that she does not impose excessive requirements on the creation of living conditions for her owner, she, moreover, is absolutely picky in her diet. Solving the problem of what to feed the angelfish, as a rule, does not cause difficulties: this fish willingly eats both dry food and live food. In order to correctly determine the appropriate food for angelfish, it is worth remembering the specifics of the body of the fish. Since her body has a flat shape, it is difficult for her to get food from the bottom, so food that stays on the surface of the water for a long time is considered the most suitable for angelfish. Approaches to the choice of live food are standard - this fish eats bloodworms, tubifex, and any other live food without harm to health. Some experts prefer to feed these fish with chopped seafood: shrimp, mussel meat.

The feeding regimen for angelfish is recommended to be the same as for most other aquarium fish: 2-3 times a day. At the same time, proper care of the fish in the aquarium provides for one unloading day a week: on this day, the fish are not fed. Giving food to angelfish more than three times a day is not recommended, as this will inevitably lead to obesity. Food should be given as much as the fish eat, without increasing the dosage, as uneaten food will pollute the water in the aquarium.

Breeding angelfish

It is believed that angelfish reach breeding readiness by 10 years. Keeping these fish in the same aquarium in preparation for spawning can create a number of problems. Both the male and the female will do everything possible to protect the territory with eggs laid, which will lead to conflicts between the inhabitants of the aquarium.

It is worth keeping a close eye on the scalars, as they spend
a fairly clear and difficult period of preparation for spawning. Vigilant care of the aquarium will allow you not to miss this important period and in time to put the fish in another temporary dwelling with a volume of up to 80 liters. The water in it should be warm, the aquarium can be equipped with large-leaved plants to create optimal conditions for spawning. After a few days, the fry appear in the water, after which the parents should be separated from the kids. Small angelfish live in a separate aquatic environment until they grow up and get stronger, they feed on ciliates or "live dust". It is recommended to feed babies as much as adults are fed: up to 3 times a day.

Creating an Optimal Habitat

Among experienced aquarists, there is an opinion that the angelfish is a rather peaceful inhabitant of the aquarium. However, its peacefulness has limits: coexistence with other inhabitants lies in the fact that the angelfish occupies a certain territory in the aquarium and tries to drive out the rest of the aquatic inhabitants from there. For this motley fish, it is advisable to organize several special zones in the aquarium:

1. In different corners of the aquarium, it is worth planting several plants with wide leaves. This technique will significantly reduce the level of conflict in the water monastery.
2. The interior of the aquarium is complemented by mini-caves, large stones, snags. This will allow the angelfish to find shelter without harming the rest of the inhabitants.
3. The central part of the aquarium should be left as free as possible to create conditions for the free movement of fish.
4. Motley fish are quite shy: they are afraid of bright light, sharp flashes, so it is advisable to distribute plants floating on the surface throughout the aquarium. This will create an additional darkening effect, making keeping the fish more comfortable.

Most often, the angelfish takes a place near the feeder, and therefore drives away from it all the smaller fish, while it can even eat very small ones. Angelfish and large fish live quite peacefully together, since the motley baby cannot drive them away from the feeder, and therefore does not conflict with them. It is advisable to breed a lot of angelfish in one aquarium, which very quickly break into pairs and begin to “redistribute” the territory near the feeder. While they "share the territory", the rest of the inhabitants of the aquarium have unhindered access to the feeder.

In our opinion, angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) are one of the most beautiful aquarium fish.
These South American cichlids are simply mesmerizing with their elegance and beauty of the sail fins, which, like the wings of an angel, support her in measured weightlessness. Actually, it is not for nothing that these fish are called Angels abroad.
Their mannerisms and kinship with elite discus give them an aristocratic gloss inherent only to them.

Aquarists have known these aquarium fish for more than 100 years and during this time they have earned recognition and respect. In addition to these advantages, angelfish have a well-developed intellect, are unpretentious in maintenance and are caring parents.

Latin name: Pterophyllum scalare.
Detachment, family: Perciformes (Perciformes), cichlids, cichlids (Cichlidae).
Comfortable water temperature: 22-27°C.
"Acidity" Ph: 6-7,5.
Hardness dH: up to 10°.
Aggressiveness: non-aggressive 30%.
Content Difficulty: light.

Scaler Compatibility: although angelfish are cichlids, they are not aggressive.

Favorably treat even small, peaceful fish and even livebearers. As neighbors, we can recommend: red swordtails (look great with black sklarii), thorns and other tetras, danios, all small catfish, gourami and laliuses, pelvic parrots and apistograms, and other non-aggressive cichlids.

The minimum volume of the aquarium for angelfish

From 100 liters, one, maximum two angelfish can be planted in such an aquarium. Under good conditions, they grow into fish of impressive size, and given their sweeping fins, it is better to buy an aquarium for them from 250 liters. See how many fish you can keep in X liters of an aquarium (at the bottom of the article there are links to aquariums of all sizes).

Requirements for the care and conditions of keeping the scalar

Feeding and diet of angelfish

The fish are omnivorous and absolutely unpretentious to feed. With pleasure they eat dry, live food and substitutes. Like many aquarium inhabitants, angelfish love live food: bloodworms, brine shrimp, codette, cyclops, daphnia. The scalar food is taken from the surface of the water and in its thickness, the fish do not disdain to walk along the bottom, collecting the remnants of food.

Angelfish have a peculiarity - they can refuse food for up to 2 weeks. So if your angelfish does not eat, there is nothing to worry about.

Feeding aquarium fish must be correct: balanced, varied. This fundamental rule is the key to the successful keeping of any fish, be it guppies or astronotus. The article talks about this in detail, it outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regimen for fish.

In this article, we note the most important thing - feeding fish should not be monotonous, the diet should include both dry food and live food. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the gastronomic preferences of a particular fish and, depending on this, include food in its diet either with the highest protein content or vice versa with herbal ingredients.

Popular and popular fish food, of course, are dry food. For example, all the time and everywhere you can find on the aquarium counters the food of the Tetra company - the leader of the Russian market, in fact, the range of food of this company is amazing. Tetra's "gastronomic arsenal" includes both individual food for a certain type of fish: for goldfish, for cichlids, for loricariids, guppies, labyrinths, arowans, discus, etc. Also, Tetra has developed specialized feeds, for example, to enhance color, fortified or for feeding fry. You can find detailed information about all Tetra feeds on the official website of the company -

It should be noted that when buying any dry food, you should pay attention to the date of its manufacture and shelf life, try not to buy feed by weight, and also store food in a closed state - this will help to avoid the development of pathogenic flora in it.

In nature, angelfish live in the northern part of South America.

In reservoirs with dense reed beds and with stagnant or slowly flowing water. Actually, these natural conditions explain their flattened - disc-shaped body shape, which they need to maneuver among the underwater reeds. They are kept in nature in groups of 10 individuals.

Photograph of the angelfish biotope taken by Takashi Amano

Description of aquarium fish angelfish

The body is round and very flattened on the sides. It has a strongly elongated back and anal fin, which gives the fish the shape of a crescent. Natural - the natural color of the angelfish is silvery with black transverse stripes, however, as a result of successful selection, various colors were obtained, for example, marble angelfish, two-tone, red, black, zebra angelfish and others. In addition, a veiled form of angelfish has been bred - with even longer fins. Angelfish are large, sweeping fish, they can reach up to 15 cm in length, and up to 25 cm in height.

History of angelfish

The Latin name Pterophyllum was given to scalars by the famous Austrian zoologist I.Ya. Heckel in 1840 and it is translated as "pteron" - a feather and "phyllon" leaf, and together "winged leaf".

Before Heckel gave the name Pterophyllum, this fish had already been described several times in 1823. Martin Heinrich Karl Lichtenstein, who gave it the name Zeus scalaris. And in 1931, the fish was described by Baron Georges Leopold Frederic Bagobert Cuvier. He named it Platax scalaris. The angelfish also had the market name "Blattfische", which translates as a leaf fish. This name was given by G.B. Sagratzky, who for the first time succeeded in bringing these fish from Rio Negro to Germany.

Actually, under this name, they first found themselves in Europe, but this name later did not take root. Abroad, the angelfish is called "Angelfishes" or simply "Angel", in Germany "Segelflosser", which translates as a sail.
Some sources say that for the first time scalars appeared in Europe in 1909, but this is not so. Since this year, they have been "delivered", but alas, they are dead. Only in October 1911 was it possible to bring a live scalar. And only from that moment in Europe began the "aquarium-scalar boom": description, disputes, articles in magazines, breeding attempts, etc.

The first successful breeding of angelfish under artificial conditions occurred in 1914 with an aquarist from Hamburg - I. Kvankaru. Its success was repeated only a year later by an aquarist from the USA W.L. Polinn. It is worth noting that at that time the secret of reproduction was kept in the strictest confidence - the scalar was very valuable. However, all the secret when be become clear. Since 1920, angelfish breeding has become widespread.
In Russia, angelfish first bred in 1928. This happened to our aquarist Mr. A. Smironov - in the evening he went to the theater, and at home in the aquarium his heating pad flared up. The water temperature in the aquarium rose to 32°C and the angelfish began to spawn on their own. As a note of humor, I would like to say that everything is as usual with Russians - at random and anyhow.
But, aquarists did not stop at the successful artificial reproduction of angelfish. The second half of the twentieth century was marked by inexorable breeding work on scalars. In 1956, the veil scalar was bred. In 1957, a spectacular black scalar was introduced in the USA. In 1969, again by the American C. Ash, a marble angelfish was obtained.

Types and breeds of angelfish

So, in order to understand the scale of breeding work, we will give only an incomplete list of other derived forms of angelfish: half-black, smoky, albino, red-smoky, red, chocolate, phantom, two-spotted phantom, blue, white, zebra, lace zebra, cobra, leopard, marble- red-gold, red-half-black, pearl, gold-pearl, red-pearl and others.
The latest achievements are the scaleless and diamond angelfish. Therefore, if we talk about the types of angelfish, then there are simply countless of them.

Here is a photo of some angelfish - Pterophyllum scalare

Here is a photo of Pterophyllum leopoldi (as a separate species of angelfish)

and here is a photo of Pterophyllum altum (as a separate type of scalar)


photo of Pterophyllum eimekei (as a separate species of angelfish)

The content of the scalar

Taking into account the selection experiments mentioned above, over a hundred years, angelfish have adapted to aquarium conditions so much that their maintenance does not present any problems. Perhaps the main and obligatory condition for their maintenance is a large and tall aquarium. As previously mentioned, the minimum volume of an aquarium for angelfish should be 100 liters, but its height should be at least 45 centimeters. At the same time, the thickness of the aquarium is absolutely not important for the fish; on the contrary, they are accustomed to living in narrow channels, thickets and crevices. From experience, we can say that angelfish do well in the midst of densely planted long-stemmed vegetation, in which they feel at home - in South America.
The optimum water temperature for angelfish ranges from 22-27°C. However, these fish are distinguished by enviable frost resistance up to 16 ° C and endurance in heat up to 35 ° C.

They are unpretentious and can normally exist in other water parameters both in very soft and fairly hard water. Optimum dH: up to 10 °, Ph: 6-7.5.
Angelfish love clean water, so the presence of aeration and filtration in the aquarium is a must. Should the aquarium water be changed to fresh water weekly? parts.
Angelfish are very hierarchical fish. It is best to keep them in a flock, in which their own ranking will be established - large and strong pairs will dominate, and weaker pairs will receive cuffs. However, such intraspecific aggression is not very scary, especially if the aquarium is zoned. For example, my aquarium plants and decorations are planted and arranged in such a way that the aquarium can be conditionally divided into four “adjacent rooms”. This method helps to avoid excessive aggression and rot of the weak.

Breeding, reproduction and sexual characteristics of angelfish

Sexual differences between male and female angelfish are weakly expressed. They can only be seen when the fish are trimmed at sexually mature age at 9-12 months of age. Until this moment, when buying young individuals in a pet store, no one will tell you who you are taking. When buying juvenile scalars, it can be recommended to take two large individuals, most likely these are males and two small scalars, most likely they will be girls.
To determine the sex of scalars, experience and practice are needed. A seasoned aquarist will distinguish a male from a female in no time, but a beginner will have a hard time at first. To do this, you need to watch your scalars.
Below is a list of typical sex differences between male and female angelfish. Well, photos of course!

The first one is behavior. Boys act like boys, girls act like girls. This is especially noticeable when the scalars break into pairs. In a pair, you can immediately see who is male and who is female.
The second sign is the structure of the body. The male scalars have a 100% distinctive feature - this is a fat bump on the forehead - a hump. The females do not have it. The forehead of the male is convex, the female, on the contrary, is sunken. In addition, the body of male angelfish is more powerful, their back fin is longer and stripes are visible on it (on the back).
The third sign is manifested during the spawning period. The male has a narrow and sharp vas deferens, but the female angelfish has a wide and short ovipositor.

Here is a good photo of a male and female angelfish

(male on the left, female on the right).

After receiving a review of this article from a fish breeding expert Vitaly Chernyavsky, I consider it necessary to supplement this part of the article with his answer, here it is:
“I looked at the article about scalars. As for the signs of the difference between males and females, it’s not entirely true.
1) Behavior is not a criterion. Quite often, 2 females without a male completely even (and in turn) imitate the sexual behavior of the male. Only if you look closely, you can see that the "male" and the female will then change places - and the eggs (naturally unfertilized) will be laid by BOTH fish.
2) There are males without a forehead and females with a forehead.
3) The only clear criterion for sexual differences in adult fish is line of the back and abdomen. In the male: the line of the back and the dorsal fin form an ANGLE, and the abdomen and anal fin form an almost STRAIGHT line. And in the female - on the contrary: the line of the back and the dorsal fin are almost a DIRECT line, and the abdomen and anal fin are almost a straight ANGLE.

Taking into account the opinion of the expert, I also add this drawing, which will help determine the sex of the scalar, based on the angle of its fins.

!!!PAYING ATTENTION!!!
The fact that on the Internet this drawing of a scalar is everywhere distributed with false information - the male and female are confused. This drawing is taken from Ilyin's book "Aquarium fish farming". So there the fish were CONVERTED by the artist.
Well, on the Internet, those who sculpt this drawing on their websites ... they themselves do not cut where the female is, where the male is, thereby misleading everyone.
!!!Everything is correct in this picture!!!

With good and comfortable content angelfish, spawning takes place right in the common aquarium. The incentive for spawning is the replacement of aquarium water with fresh water and an increase in temperature by 2-4 degrees. The masonry substrate plays a very important role in this process. Angelfish often prefer to lay their eggs on a broadleaf plant, but they may also like other places: a filter tube, glass, a grotto wall, etc.
The place chosen by the producers is carefully cleaned of all dirt, and then spawning itself follows. At a time, the female can sweep about 500 eggs, large and even more so up to 1000.

Photo angelfish caviar

The incubation period of caviar is 2 days, during this period the parents vigorously fan the caviar with their fins and clean it of specks, remove the whitened - dead caviar. After the larvae hatch from the eggs, the parents transfer them in their mouths to another leaf. This is done for greater purity and to eliminate the possibility of catching an infection from a rotting caviar shell.

Photo of the larvae of the scalar

Over the next 7 days, the larvae, under the watchful eye of their parents, hang on a leaf. When the larvae run out of nutrients from the yolk sac, they turn into fry. From this time they should be fed.
Starter food for young angelfish should be of high quality, lively and well washed. You can advise - nauplii, nematodes. It is not desirable, but you can feed the fry with any grated dry food (with such feeding, the number of dead fry will increase). It is also recommended to clean the spawning aquarium from food debris and other dirt twice a day.

Photo fry, juvenile angelfish

The above process is a reference example of angelfish breeding.

Often, due to the neighborhood with other fish in a common aquarium, producers are stressed and juveniles too. It doesn't lead to anything good, of course. There were even cases when parents, under stress from their neighbors, ate their offspring. In addition, due to the fact that in industrial breeding of angelfish, the method of spawning is used, it is now difficult to find a conscientious pair of producers who would be able to independently hatch offspring. This is considered a miracle.
In view of the foregoing, usually immediately after spawning, the scalar eggs, with the leaf on which it is located, are transplanted into another aquarium with a volume of 10-20 liters. In this case, all parental functions are shifted to your shoulders. To protect the eggs from fungal diseases, methylene blue is added to the water, whitish dead eggs are regularly removed with a pipette, and a spray bottle with a very very weak aerated water flow is placed under the leaf.

Interesting about scalars
Fashionable trend now GloFish the angelfish did not pass, here is an example of a photo of fluorescent angelfish.