Angelfish

Pellets, frozen, live

Eats neons and other small fish. Long fins targeted by nippers.

55gal minimum (a pair); 75gal for a small group. The tank must be TALL — angels are deep-bodied (6+ inches at adulthood) and need vertical swimming room. Tall plants like Amazon swords, vallisneria, and driftwood with attached anubias replicate their flooded-forest habitat. Soft slightly-acidic water (pH 6.5–7.5), temperature 78–82°F. Strong filtration but gentle current. Subdued lighting — they're a forest-canopy fish, not a sun-bleached open-water species.

Pair-bonded mid-water cichlids that establish territory around a vertical surface (driftwood branch, broad leaf, tank corner). Calm when paired, aggressive when defending eggs or fry. Pecking order develops in groups of 4+ — usually 1 dominant pair + subdominants. Stalkers; sneak up on small fish, then strike. Recognise their keeper and beg at the front glass.

Among the easiest cichlids to breed — pair will spawn on broad leaves, flat rocks, or tank glass. Eggs hatch in 2–3 days; fry are 'wigglers' for 5–7 more days before free-swimming. Parents tend the brood for weeks, leading them in tight schools. First-time pairs often eat eggs; persistence (or hatching artificially in methylene-blue water) usually works by spawn #3. Feed fry baby brine shrimp from free-swimming.

Common issues: hexamita / hole-in-the-head (white pinholes on forehead — improve water quality + dose metronidazole), velvet (yellow dust — copper or formalin), gill flukes (rapid breathing, fish rubbing on objects — praziquantel). Angels are sensitive to nitrate; 25% weekly water changes are non-negotiable. Long fins are prone to bacterial fin rot from injuries.