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.