Freshwater angelfish

Pterophyllum scalare · The freshwater angelfish is a fish native to swamps and flooded grounds of the Amazon Basin in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil.

Freshwater angelfish
Photo: Rjcastillo, CC BY 4.0
Freshwater angelfish
Photo: Andrew Butko, CC BY-SA 4.0
Freshwater angelfish
Photo: Tobias Niepel, CC BY 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCichliformes
FamilyCichlidae
GenusPterophyllum
SpeciesPterophyllum scalare

Where it lives

Weedy rivers and swamps of the Amazon basin, Oyapock and Essequibo.

Fun facts

  • In the wild it eats fish fry, shrimp, crabs, prawns, worms, mosquito larvae, and water bugs.
  • It will even snatch small insects that have fallen onto the water's surface.
  • In tanks it happily eats live, frozen, or freeze-dried foods, including cultured wingless fruit flies.
  • Protein-packed tubifex worms and fruit flies can trigger highly significant growth spurts in these fish.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).