Hi!
With this review, I’d like to start a series of posts about the inhabitants of my fish tank!
When I pass by our fish tank, I can’t help but stop to admire the beauty of this underwater world for a while.
A bit of background.
I’ve had a fish tank for 9 months now. My parents-in-law, who have had it for 18 years, wanted to throw it away, but I ended up taking it to our house because I wanted my child to appreciate the beauty of fish and learn more about them. It was hard to persuade my husband, because fish tanks must be maintained constantly, water filters cleaned, soil and lights replaced etc.
So that’s how we got our 53 gallons of beauty.
Right now we keep many species, but this very review is about angelfish.
More information:
Pterophyllum is a small genus of freshwater fish from the family Cichlidae known to most aquarists as angelfish. All Pterophyllum species originate from the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and various rivers in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. The three species of Pterophyllum are unusually shaped for cichlids being greatly laterally compressed, with round bodies and elongated triangular dorsal and anal fins. This body shape allows them to hide among roots and plants, often on a vertical surface. Naturally occurring angelfish are frequently striped longitudinally, colouration which provides additional camouflage. Angelfish are ambush predators and prey on small fish and macroinvertebrates. All Pterophyllum species form monogamous pairs. Eggs are generally laid on a submerged log or a flattened leaf. As is the case for other cichlids, brood care is highly developed.
In their natural habitat, freshwater angels live in soft water that's slightly acidic. For best results, make sure that their aquarium water has a pH of between 4.7 and 8.7, with the ideal range being 6.5 and 6.9.
Again, because angelfish are very accommodating fish, they tolerate a pretty wide range of temperatures. But they do thrive when the water temperature is right in their wheelhouse, between 72° and 82° F (22° and 27° C), with 80° F being a good target.
These fish were the first to appear in our tank. They were sold in couples. The male is probably the one which is bigger and rounder.
These fish are quite undemanding. I wouldn’t say we are aquarium enthusiasts. Not all fish we buy survive. But these seem to be in good health.
Like all fish species, they constantly need filtered water and oxygen. In our tank, oxygen is generated by a volcano plus a special aerator. The bubbles are so tiny.
Water must be replaced weekly, using reverse osmosis.
Food:
Our fish don’t have any feeding regimen (yes, I know it’s bad).
They eat dry food, and seem to have a good appetite, constantly.
Recently, we’ve added a treat to their diet - bloodworms. In this photo you can see their dinner, and it looks like they enjoyed it. We gave them too much at first, and I was afraid they would explode.
We have so many fish, I even stopped counting.
The angelfish are pretty curious. They are never afraid when my son drums on the fish tank with his fingers. They even swim closer to see what’s happening.
The first couple are spotted (Koi). They never change their colors, unlike others (Zebra).
Any stress makes them lose their stripes.
In this photo you can see that their stripes faded. When we change water or clean the tank, they become pale.
These are quite peaceful creatures, but remember that they can eat smaller fish. This happened once, when our parents brought neon fish, which were eaten shortly. Only one survived. Angelfish and he must have had a bargain or something.
