Cichlidae

Freshwater angelfish

Pterophyllum scalare

Seven juvenile bars becoming four on silver

• Black
• Silver
• Yellow
• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Freshwater fish
• Africa
• Compressed
• Compressed cross-section
• Medium
• Tropical fish

Graceful diamond-shaped geometry and trailing wing-like fins make the freshwater angelfish one of the most celebrated cichlids native to tropical South America. Its high, laterally flattened silver body is traversed by four dark vertical bars that expand or fade in harmony with stress and social status, while the dorsal and anal fins extend into dramatic elongated points. Thread-like pelvic fin filaments extend well past the body, serving as tactile probes in murky waterways. Native to the Amazon, Ucayali, and Oyapock basins across Peru, Colombia, and Brazil, it frequents sluggish, warm floodplains, swamp margins, and submerged tree roots down to five meters depth. Drifting serenely among submerged branches, this micro-predator feeds on aquatic insect larvae, rotifers, tiny crustaceans, and worms. Monogamous breeding pairs clean vertical broadleaf vegetation and submerged timber, depositing adhesive eggs that both parents guard, fan, and herd diligently throughout larval development. Maximum recorded total length reaches fifteen centimetres.

Sources: FishBase — Freshwater Angelfish, Pterophyllum scalare