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How to look afterPterophyllum scalare

Angel Fish

Lichenstein, 1823

(Other members of the genus Pterophyllum)

ADULT SIZE: 15 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Moderately soft and acidic

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 24-28 C

FOOD: Feed Pterophyllum scalare live and dried foods

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru

AQUARIUM CARE: A very well-known and easy to care for species. Thrives in a large tank, with a good varied diet. Several different colour forms have been cultivated: black, white, gold, silver, orange, and mixtures of all of these(see the images for some examples). Generally peaceful, although a little more aggressive when spawning.

The angelfish thrives along the Amazon river, and up its tributaries. It lives amongst dense vertical roots where the stripes of the wild-type fish give it perfect camouflage. An aquarium set-up should be well planted at the edges, but also have roots or driftwood, and an open area for swimming. Best kept with peaceful tankmates; other Amazonian species such as tetras are ideal. Avoid fish with any tendancy to fin-nip.

BREEDING: Breeding is possible, with adult pairs spawning on a pre-cleaned leaf, or stone. As with many cichlids, the parents will guard their fry. If spawning takes place in a community aquarium, it is better to remove the spawning site to a seperate rearing tank, as other fish will eat the larvae.

Have you bred Pterophyllum scalare? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Pterophyllum scalare breeding reports

LINKS:
fishbase

There are many angelfish cultivars; this is the half-black

This is the golden strain of angelfish

The Marble Angel is one of the most hardy strains

Angel fish cultivars are more widely available than the wild type fish. This is an “orange face” angel.

A Gold angelfish in front of a spawning cone; these act as a substrate on which discus and angelfish can spawn

BREEDING: Breeding is possible, with adult pairs spawning on a pre-cleaned leaf, or stone. As with many cichlids, the parents will guard their fry. If spawning takes place in a community aquarium, it is better to remove the spawning site to a seperate rearing tank, as other fish will eat the larvae.

Have you bred Pterophyllum scalare? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

This page summarises breeding reports provided by visitors to this site, along with some statistical analysis. Please feel free to contribute – whatever your experience! 8 breeders have filled in breeding reports, a summary of the results are shown in the graphs below. You can read the full reports here. To add details of your experiences of Pterophyllum scalare, why not fill in a Breeding and maintenance Report.

Remember, each record represents only one persons experience; if you had different results, or used different methods, please share your experiences

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Aphyosemion australe Cape Lopez lyretail
Distichodus sexfasciatus Clown tetra
Hemichromis bimaculatus Jewel cichlid
Nanochromis transvestitus Mai-Ndombe dwarf cichlid
Pareutropius debauwi African glass catfish
Phenocogrammus interuptus Congo Tetra
Polypterus ornatipinnis Ornate bichir
Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi Dwarf african mouthbrooder
Synodontis angelicus Angel catfish
Synodontis nigriventris Upside-down catfish
Synodontis notatus One-spot catfish
Synodontis schoutedeni Jaguar catfish
Tetraodon mbu Giant fresh water puffer

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How to look afterHemigrammus erythrozonus

Glowlight tetra

Durbin, 1909

(Other members of the genus Hemigrammus)

ADULT SIZE: 4 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Moderately soft and acidic

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 23-27 C

FOOD: Feed Hemigrammus erythrozonus small live-foods and fine grade dried foods. Even as adult fish, newly hatched Artemia are very much enjoyed.

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Peru

SEXUAL DIFFERENCES: Females plumper, males slimmer.

AQUARIUM CARE: Glowlight tetras prefer a dark well planted tank, and like other neons will look their best under such conditions. Use a darker substrate, ample planting, particularly at the rear of the tank, with some floating plants to create shaded areas.

Being a typical shoaling characin it prefers tank mates of the same species, and will also shoal with other similar fish.

BREEDING: Breeding requires plenty of conditioning food and soft water. This species is an egg scatterer with very small fry, that must be fed infusoria as a first food

Have you bred Hemigrammus erythrozonus? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Hemigrammus erythrozonus breeding reports

Glowlights like a dark, well planted tank

BREEDING: Breeding requires plenty of conditioning food and soft water. This species is an egg scatterer with very small fry, that must be fed infusoria as a first food

Have you bred Hemigrammus erythrozonus? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

Sorry no records.

The ‘gold’ strain of Aphyosemion australe

The group killifish comprise some 800 described species, and many more undescribed.

DISTRIBUTION: Most are small, highly coloured and inhabit small brooks, creeks and even puddles of temporary water in Africa and South America. Some species also exist in Southern Europe and parts of Asia.

Killifish have some amazing survival techniques; often their small bodies of water dry up, and so some can lay eggs that survive drying, sometimes for many months, whilst others have been known to wriggle across land to find new ponds. In the aquarium most killifish are easy to keep, and some of the more robust species do fine in community aquariums. Lids should always be tight fitting as these guys LOVE to jump!

RECOMMENDED STARTER SPECIES: Aplocheilus lineatus, Fundulopanchax gardneri, Aphyosemion striatum, Aphyosemion australe, Jordanella floridae

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How to look afterHasemania nana

Silver-tipped tetra

(Lütken, 1875)

(Other members of the genus Hasemania)

ADULT SIZE: 5 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Not critical

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 23-27 C

FOOD: Feed Hasemania nana small live-foods and fine grade dried foods

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Brazil

AQUARIUM CARE: This is one of the few tetra species without an adipose fin. Commonly found in aquarium stores, the silver-tipped tetra is a good addition to the community tank. It is an active shoaler so requires open water, preferably with planted back and sides.

BREEDING: Newly hatched fry are very small and require paramoecium as a first food.

Have you bred Hasemania nana? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Hasemania nana breeding reports

BREEDING: Newly hatched fry are very small and require paramoecium as a first food.

Have you bred Hasemania nana? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

Sorry no records.

Have a look at some of these related sites

This page summarises breeding reports provided by visitors to this site, along with some statistical analysis. Please feel free to contribute – whatever your experience!

1 breeder has filled in a breeding report, a summary of which is shown in the graphs below. You can read the full reports here.

To add details of your experiences of Thorichthys ellioti, why not fill in a Breeding and maintenance Report.

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How to look afterGyrinocheilus aymonieri

Golden algae eater

(Tirant, 1883)

(Other members of the genus Gyrinocheilus)

ADULT SIZE: 25 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Not critical

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 23-27 C

FOOD: Feed Gyrinocheilus aymonieri a predominantly vegetarian diet

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from India, Thailand

AQUARIUM CARE: Chinese algae eaters, as their name suggests eat algae. They do not however come from China, or eat alge exclusively – in fact as they get older they often stop eating algae and move on to typical prepared foods.
This is not the only undesirable trait picked up by these fish with age; they actually become quite aggressive particularly in a small tank, and actually graze the mucous coating from slow moving fish such as discus, angelfish, and gouramis

BREEDING: Unknown, unlikely in the aquarium

Have you bred Gyrinocheilus aymonieri ? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Gyrinocheilus aymonieri breeding reports

These are NOT the best algae eaters for small aquariums

BREEDING: Unknown, unlikely in the aquarium

Have you bred Gyrinocheilus aymonieri ? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

Sorry no records.

Have a look at some of these related sites

Cichlids are probably the most popular group of aquarium fish kept today. But cichlids are diverse; they come from a massive range of habitats, from shallow acidic streams in the Amazon jungle, to the deepest lakes in Africa. There are huge variations in their size, temperament, behavioural patterens and consequently the conditions required to keep them.

DISTRIBUTION: Most hail from Africa, Southern and Central America, and a few from Asia. In general, cichlids may be split into several main groupings, those from the great lakes of Africa (Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria), Other African Cichlids, South American Cichlids (these include angelfish and discus) and those from Central America.

RECOMMENDED STARTER SPECIES: Nannacara anomala (Golden dwarf acara), Pelvicachromis pulcher (Kribensis), Pterophyllum scalare (Angelfish)

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How to look afterGasteropelecus sternicla

Silver hatchet fish

(Linnaeus, 1758)

(Other members of the genus Gasteropelecus)

ADULT SIZE: 5 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Moderately soft and acidic

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 23-28 C

FOOD: Feed Gasteropelecus sternicla live and dried foods

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Guyana, Peru, Surinam, Venezuela

AQUARIUM CARE: Does fine in a planted community tank, with some floating plants. This Amazonian shoaler often jumps out of the water to catch insects in flight. This behaviour also occurs in the aquarium, and so tanks should always have adequate covers to prevent losses. They relish all live foods, both worms etc, but are particularly fond of fruit flies.
Like all shoaling characins, hatchetfish need to be kept in a social group of at least 6 individuals, but preferably more.

BREEDING: Unknown

Have you bred Gasteropelecus sternicla? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Gasteropelecus sternicla breeding reports

BREEDING: Unknown

Have you bred Gasteropelecus sternicla? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

This page summarises breeding reports provided by visitors to this site, along with some statistical analysis. Please feel free to contribute – whatever your experience! 2 breeders have filled in breeding reports, a summary of the results are shown in the graphs below. You can read the full reports here. To add details of your experiences of Gasteropelecus sternicla, why not fill in a Breeding and maintenance Report.

Remember, each record represents only one persons experience; if you had different results, or used different methods, please share your experiences

Have a look at some of these related sites

Species Profile | Images | Breeding Report | Similar Species

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How to look afterParacheirodon axelrodi

Cardinal Tetra

Schultz, 1956

(Other members of the genus Paracheirodon)

ADULT SIZE: 5 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Moderately soft and acidic

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 22-28 C

FOOD: Feed Paracheirodon axelrodi live and dried foods

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

SEXUAL DIFFERENCES: Sexing cardinal tetras is not all that easy. Females tend to be fuller bodied than the slightly slimmer males

AQUARIUM CARE: A very common fish both in the wild and aquariums. It is probably one of the most attractive of all aquarium species. It is an ideal community species, however does prefer a shaded area of the tank, so provide floating plants. Cardinals (like neon tetras) look their best in a dark, well planted tank, in a large shoal (10-30 fish). Almost all aquarium-available fish are wild caught in Amazonia.

BREEDING: Breeding can be accomplished in soft acidic water at 24 deg C; a typical plant spawner, that requires quite specific conditions. This is a difficult fish to breed, hence their continued capture in the wild.

Have you bred Paracheirodon axelrodi? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Paracheirodon axelrodi breeding reports

One of the most well known and widely kept of all aquarium fish, due to its peaceful temperament and beautiful colouration.

This species should be kept in a shoal of 6 or more individuals

The effect of a large group of cardinals can be quite stunning in a moderately dark, well planted tank

BREEDING: Breeding can be accomplished in soft acidic water at 24 deg C; a typical plant spawner, that requires quite specific conditions. This is a difficult fish to breed, hence their continued capture in the wild.

Have you bred Paracheirodon axelrodi? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

Sorry no records.