Angelfish - Add Some Beauty to Your Aquarium

Angelfish are perhaps one of the most popular aquarium fish. An extremely graceful fish, angelfish are one of the easiest egg laying fish to breed as well. They grow large, up to six inches long, and a full-grown angelfish will be even taller than they are long. They prefer soft, slightly acidic water.

Angelfish can live on only flake food, but they will do better and probably breed if they have a varied diet. Brine shrimp, black worms, and mosquito larvae are all great foods for angelfish. Frozen bloodworms also help keep the diet varied when live food is not available. Angelfish need a large tank, at least fifteen gallons for two of them. If you want more than two, or if you are planning on breeding them, have a tank of at least twenty-five gallons.

In the wild, angelfish are usually silver, which is a white body with four dark vertical bars. Some silver angelfish have black speckles as well. Zebras are angelfish that have black vertical strips that extend through the tail. One of the most popular angelfish colors is the black fish. These fish are solid black. Black lace angels are similar to silvers, but they have a lace-like effect on the fins. Half-black is an interesting color variety, where the front of the body white and the back of the body black. Marble angelfish look like Dalmatians, with a white body and black spots throughout. Golden angelfish have no coloring, other than silver or golden coloring. Blushing angelfish have red cheeks and no other coloration.

There are two varieties of angelfish that come in all colors. First are the pearl scale angels. These fish have bumpy-looking scales and are in all color varieties. Veiltail angelfish have longer fins, and also come in all varieties. Veiltails' fins are easily damaged.

Angelfish are some of the easiest egg laying fish to breed. If you are interested in breeding angels, start by buying six potential breeders. Put these in a twenty-gallon tank, and let them grow. As they reach maturity, breeding pairs will separate from the group. It is difficult to tell males from females, but once they pair off, you will know that you have a male and female in the pair. Once they have paired off, move the pair to a separate tank that has large, flat decorations. The fish will choose a breeding site. They will clean the site two or three days before spawning. Watch them carefully during this time, as you will not want to miss the spawning! The fish will lay between 200 and 300 eggs. The eggs usually hatch in three or four days. If you feed your adults well, it is possible to leave the fry with the parent fish. Keep in mind that fry are fragile, and all 200 will not survive to adulthood.

If you do not want to breed angels, you will enjoy adding them to your community tank. Avoid putting angels in tanks with fin nippers, as they have large, delicate fins. Other than that, angels do well in a community tank, and will put a touch of class into your tank.