19.5.12
Angelfish is a very beautiful fish that have a laterally compressed look, and has long fins on both sides of its body. Its origin can be traced back to South America. With a little care and caution you can have a nice healthy tank full of angel fish. The water in the tank should ideally be soft, and slightly acidic. Breeding can occur successfully at pH 6.8. The tank being a fresh water one should have live plants. The water quality of the tank is monitored by the presence of live plants. Aquarium plants not only keep the water clear, but put a stop to algal growth and add oxygen. Remember, aquatic plants "breathe" oxygen at night, so a well-planted tank needs an aerator as well. If something goes wrong due to lack of minerals or nutriments, the plants start looking sickly, giving you an indication that the fish is probably going to die. This is not the case always, however plants usually thrive in aquariums where fish thrive too.
Angel fish prefer the broad-leafed aquatic plants while laying eggs. The conditions suitable for angel fish also goes well with the Amazon sword plants and it would be a nice choice to keep in your angel fish tank. Ceratopteris(Water Sprite), Vesicularia dubyana(Java Moss) and Microsorium (Polypodium pteropusor Java Fern) are the other plants on the compatible category.
To keep your angels alive, flake food is alone capable. But the fish will breed faster and thrive healthily if you provide them with a varied range of diet. For example live foods like Black Worms, Adult Brine Shrimp, finely chopped earthworms, Mosquito larvae, and Guppy fry are very nicely accepted, and it's preferable to include them regularly on their diet. Sometimes it is a problem to lay hands on live food. If that is the case then frozen varieties of blood worms or brine shrimp can be used as substitutes. This are easily available in a pet store near you and can be easily availed. Dry foods like raw beef heart with added unflavoured gelatin is another option. Whatever you do make sure that you are not serving any fat with the meat.
The tank size is another important area on which you need to be well educated. If you are planning to raise a pair of breeding pairs then make sure that the minimum size of the tank is 15 gallons. If you want to keep the eggs and fry along with the parents then the correct size would be 25 gallons or more. In that case there would be enough space and the parents would be less tentative on feeding on the fry or eggs. Bear in mind that the 15 gallons I mentioned above is just for breeding purposes, Angelfish require a tall aquarium which is 40 cm, 50 cm (or preferably more) high.
If you are intent on breeding angel fish remember that baby angel fish or fry should be fed with batches of new hatched brine shrimp also called Artemia salina. With time they can be introduced to flakes and dried blood worms. But remember not to put any food in the jar before the fry starts swimming, because they won't be able to eat until unless the yolk sacs develop. Unnecessary feeding will only make the tank unclean.
Your tank with angelfish should be clean and well maintained. Partial changes of the tank water along with regular cleaning and proper filtering is an absolute must. Otherwise your fish may go on a hunger strike. If your tank is well maintained but still they are abstaining from food, try bribing them with live guppy fry or brine shrimp. There are no particular diseases that angel can suffer, apart from the normal topical fish diseases. By "partial water changes" I meant a regular 10% water changes each week, which also depends on size of your fish tank; The bigger, the less maintenance it requires. Maintenance also includes performing water tests with test kits. This way you'll be able to tell pH, hardness at any time, and these tests will also tell you if dangerous substances such as ammonia, nitrates or nitrites aren't present at high level in the tank.
Angel fish prefer the broad-leafed aquatic plants while laying eggs. The conditions suitable for angel fish also goes well with the Amazon sword plants and it would be a nice choice to keep in your angel fish tank. Ceratopteris(Water Sprite), Vesicularia dubyana(Java Moss) and Microsorium (Polypodium pteropusor Java Fern) are the other plants on the compatible category.
To keep your angels alive, flake food is alone capable. But the fish will breed faster and thrive healthily if you provide them with a varied range of diet. For example live foods like Black Worms, Adult Brine Shrimp, finely chopped earthworms, Mosquito larvae, and Guppy fry are very nicely accepted, and it's preferable to include them regularly on their diet. Sometimes it is a problem to lay hands on live food. If that is the case then frozen varieties of blood worms or brine shrimp can be used as substitutes. This are easily available in a pet store near you and can be easily availed. Dry foods like raw beef heart with added unflavoured gelatin is another option. Whatever you do make sure that you are not serving any fat with the meat.
The tank size is another important area on which you need to be well educated. If you are planning to raise a pair of breeding pairs then make sure that the minimum size of the tank is 15 gallons. If you want to keep the eggs and fry along with the parents then the correct size would be 25 gallons or more. In that case there would be enough space and the parents would be less tentative on feeding on the fry or eggs. Bear in mind that the 15 gallons I mentioned above is just for breeding purposes, Angelfish require a tall aquarium which is 40 cm, 50 cm (or preferably more) high.
If you are intent on breeding angel fish remember that baby angel fish or fry should be fed with batches of new hatched brine shrimp also called Artemia salina. With time they can be introduced to flakes and dried blood worms. But remember not to put any food in the jar before the fry starts swimming, because they won't be able to eat until unless the yolk sacs develop. Unnecessary feeding will only make the tank unclean.
Your tank with angelfish should be clean and well maintained. Partial changes of the tank water along with regular cleaning and proper filtering is an absolute must. Otherwise your fish may go on a hunger strike. If your tank is well maintained but still they are abstaining from food, try bribing them with live guppy fry or brine shrimp. There are no particular diseases that angel can suffer, apart from the normal topical fish diseases. By "partial water changes" I meant a regular 10% water changes each week, which also depends on size of your fish tank; The bigger, the less maintenance it requires. Maintenance also includes performing water tests with test kits. This way you'll be able to tell pH, hardness at any time, and these tests will also tell you if dangerous substances such as ammonia, nitrates or nitrites aren't present at high level in the tank.
