Tips on Queen Angelfish Care!

Queen angelfish or Holacanthus ciliaris are members the family Pomacanthidae. In Greek poma means cover and akantha means thorn. Marine angelfish are comprised of seven genera and approximately 86 species. Queen angelfish populate the shallow water reef systems of the Western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. They are well established off the coastlines of Florida and the Bahamas. Smaller populations exist in the Bermuda triangle and along the eastern shores of South America as far south as Brazil.

Queen angelfish received their royal title from the blue rimmed black speckling found on their heads. This trademark insignia bears a vague resemblance to the shape of a crown. Like all angelfish, the queen has a flat disc shaped body. Juveniles have predominantly dark blue bodies with yellow highlights and vertical striping ranging from light blue to white. Their lips, gill covers and caudal fins are yellow. As the young fish matures its body color will become lighter and the striping will fade away. Adults are blue or bluish green with yellow rimmed scales. Their ventral and pectoral fins are yellow trimmed in and powder neon blue. They have dark blue lips and yellow caudal fins. Queen Angelfish can grow up to 18 inches in length may weight as much as 4 lbs.

This is a large species and will require a large tank. The general rule of thumb is 5 gallons of water for every one inch of fish. In a community environment you will require a minimum 150-200 gallon aquarium. This is a moderately aggressive animal. You will want to house it with similarly larges species who will not tolerate being bullied. This species exhibits territorial behavior toward its own kind in the confines of an aquarium. You can successfully keep and male and female together in the same tank. They are not suitable for marine reef aquariums. Many of the inhabitants typical of reef aquariums are what these fish would consume in their natural habitat.

Queen angels are rated at a moderate to expert aquarist's care level. They are sensitive to anything less than ideal water conditions. They frequently refuse to feed in their new surroundings. Their somewhat specialized diet in nature often leads to illnesses relate to nutritional deficiencies. Queens who make the transition into a life in captivity can easily live for 15 to 20 years.

Queens are omnivorous. Juveniles are cleaner fish whose nutritional intake consists largely of the parasites found on larger fish they tend to in "cleaning stations." An adult's diet consists primarily of sponges and algae. They will also nibble on sea fans, soft coral, and an occasional jellyfish. You may find that you need to purchase live sponges to persuade them to start eating. An abundance of living rock will help in the acclimation process. Aquarists have successfully raised queens on a combination of protein and algae based foods. There are commercially available food products specifically formulated for marine angelfish.

Queen angelfish are closely related to theBermuda blue angelfish, Holacanthus bermudensis. These species have been known to cross inter-species barriers and mate with one another. The natural hybrids produced by this coupling are rarities in the world of saltwater aquatic life.

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Tips on Angelfish Care and Spawning!

The angelfish or Pterophyllum Scalare is a part the Cichlidae family more commonly referred to as cichlids. They have long been a favorite of freshwater aquarium keepers worldwide. They are indigenous to the Amazon River, Orinoco River and Essequibo River basins of South America.
Angelfish are elegant and graceful creatures. Their unique disk shape undoubtedly contributes to their popularity. They come in a variety of color palettes, from unadorned to striped, marbled, black, golden, or Koi.

Because of their popularity they can be found at virtually any store that sales fish. They are inexpensive to buy and easy to maintain. But don't be fooled by the size of the angelfish you see for sale in the fish store.

Angelfish commonly grow to six inches in diameter. Keep this in mind when deciding whether to purchase one as an addition to your fish tank. They can be kept in an aquarium as small as 10 gallons. But 20 gallons and up is preferable.

Angelfish work well in community fish tanks. But a note of caution should be exercised when selecting their tank-mates. They will eat the smaller fish in the tank. So if you want to keep angle fish in your aquarium avoid mixing them with smaller varieties such as guppies or neon tetras. Aside from their instinctive dietary habits angelfish are non-aggressive. So they should not be housed in the same tank with fin nippers such as tetras or barbs.

Angelfish are omnivores. They can survive just fine on your common variety tropical fish flakes. They will also eat brine shrimp, tubifex worms, bloodworms, plant matter, and of course their smaller tank-mates.

Under premium conditions angel fish have an average life expectancy of 10 years. As native of the Amazon River they prefer slightly acidic water of around pH 6.8 and temperatures between 72-86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Breeding Angelfish
It is difficult to distinguish between male and female angelfish until they are about to mate. A few days before mating angelfishes' reproductive organs will emerge from their bodies near the proximity of their anal region. The Females have what is called an ovipositor which basically amounts to an egg layer. Males will have a narrow tube through which semen is excreted to fertilize the eggs.

Angelfish engage in an interesting courting ritual as a precursor to mating. They will lock their mouths together and spin around wildly. This dizzying foreplay is a good indication that the reproduction cycle is about to commence.

Once the formalities are out of the way, it is time to prepare a proper hatchery. The Angelfish will clean a flat surface on which the eggs will be deposited. After a surface is suitably prepared, the eggs are laid and fertilized.

Unlike many fish pieces of the Amazon River, Angelfish are unlikely to eat their un-hatched eggs. In fact, angel fish are known to stand guard over their eggs through the 3-4 day gestation period. Once hatched, both male and female angelfish will herd their young from plant to plant for the next four or five days.

Once the parental cycle has expired, the young fry may appear as a means of nutrition to their parents. It is advisable to remove them from the breeding tank.

Newly hatched fry can be fed liquid fry food or rotifers. A readily available and economic alternative is powdered eggs. Do not over feed them. You will make a mess of your breeding tank. After about a week the fry can be fed newly hatched brine shrimp.

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Give Your Angels the Right Angelfish Care!

Taking care of angelfish requires some important details about water quality which is the first major step in angelfish care. You must know the right water quality for your angelfish for them to survive. By doing some water test first, this procedure will make sure the safety of your angelfish. Angelfish is a topical fish and most of these topical fishes need water quality to live in. Just make sure that the water quality has the right amount and temperature to avoid any health problems to your angels or worst even death.

You must always check the water quality of the aquarium to make sure that your angels will not die from the wrong temperature of the water. This is one of the main key to successful angelfish care. Water quality will make your angels healthy and lively. High temperature or too much heat of the water and too much coldness of the water can kill your angels. Low temperature can slower down the growth of angelfish as well as the expected life span.

Angelfish care also means proper diet and nutrition. Angels may feed on any frozen, live and any cichlid foods. You may feed them some black worms, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, chopped earthworms, blood worms and some gruppy fry. You can also give your angels some frozen fish food if fresh and live foods are not available. Just remember not to overfeed your angels because this could lead to messy tanks. You may use fish feeder if you wish to monitor the feeding. By giving and providing them the proper angelfish care, you will be very successful in breeding them which will result into more beautiful and healthier fry and from this you can avoid any kinds of infections.

Here are some of the supplies you need for angelfish care:

• Angelfish Flake. This is a balanced mixture of animals and plant ingredients. This is packed with vitamins and minerals that will help keep your angels healthy and vibrant.
  Aquarium Filters. This is a must for every tanks or aquariums to help prevent any ammonia build up and to filter out toxic and dirt.
• Lighting. This is one of the most important parts of your angelfish aquarium. It could bring the display alive and could lighten up the colors and patterns of your angels.
  Aeration Equipment. This is also an essential equipment for your aquarium to help regulate the oxygen cycle.
• Aquarium. Make sure to choose the right and proper size for your fish.
  Water Conditioner. This will help neutralizes the odor and ammonia build up on the water on your aquarium or tank.
• pH Stabilizers. This will helps reach the right level of Ph of your aquarium or tank water.

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