Description
THIS FISH SHIPS VIA UPS NEXT DAY AIR ONLY. IF YOU ORDER THIS FISH, DO NOT SELECT USPS PRIORITY MAIL
From deep in the South American jungle we have an angelfish that is very coveted in the hobby. It is a graceful fish with natural coloration sporting silver, black, red and blue, and it is one of several so-called wild "red back" varieties. This fish is the Sao Gabriel Angelfish, and it is desirable due to the natural coloration and discus-like pattern that develops on the back of the adult or near-adult fish. They sport a background of faint baby blue which is broken up by a burnt red tone, and is usually interlaced with one or two verticle black bars. Please note the specimens currently on hand are approximately 2.75 inches long.
The scalare angelfish is one of the most heavily bred fish in the aquarium hobby, and has a lot of different color forms which have stemmed from the original silver angelfish that was brought into the hobby. This fish is fairly widespread in South America, having been collected from parts of Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Peru, and Brazil, in many river systems and drainages, as well as even in the Amazon river proper.
In the wild this fish would never experience water that is above a 6.0 ph, due to all of the leaves and branches that are found rotting in the water. Also because of those botanicals in the water, the hardness is also usually negligible, as is usually the case with water in South America. In the aquarium, these fish are very adaptable to different water parameters, being able to thrive in water that is strongly acidic, but also all the way up to about an 8 ph. They also don’t seem to mind harder water, even up to around 300 or so ppm, but do note that your eggs may not stay viable to term in a higher ph aquarium. The most important thing to remember is that they need clean water, and as with many cichlids, they make quite a bit of waste for their size so you should have a well seasoned filter. Another thing to note is that these fish are relatively big amongst the fish that we sell. Their bodies grow to be about the same size as an average adult palm, and so with fins included these fish average out to be about 6 inches long and about 8 inches tall, so make sure you have an aquarium of appropriate size for these fish.
When choosing tankmates for this fish, keep in mind that it does get a bit bigger than a lot of the other fish from our store, and if you choose any tank mates that are small enough to end up in your angelfish’s mouth, it will most likely end up inside that mouth at some point, resulting in an expensive snack. Keep this in mind when choosing other fish to keep with angelfish, and you may need to get a larger size of other fish you want in order for them to start off too big to be eaten. That being said, the angelfish are not typically aggressive to other species of fish, and they would be a good addition to a community tank. Just keep in mind that these fish are territorial, mostly to each other, so keep a close eye on your aquarium and be ready to rescue fish in the event of extreme aggression. If you are trying to breed, you will want to start off with a much larger group than you eventually want to end up with, because these fish are notoriously difficult to sex with certainty. These fish ship individually bagged.
Please Note: Live Animals delivered with UPS Next Day Air are 100% covered by our Dead-On-Arrival Guarantee Coverage as disclosed in our Terms & Conditions. Live Animals delivered with USPS Priority Mail are not covered by our Dead-On-Arrival Guarantee Coverage. For complete details, please read our Terms & Conditions prior to ordering.
