One of the most popular hobbies is aquarium farming. Many people consider it necessary to decorate their home with an aquarium in order to admire its inhabitants, among which you can find fish, turtles, newts, shrimps and crayfish, frogs and other amphibians. Household ponds that contain scalar are distinguished by special refinement and originality.
View characteristic
Aquarium angelfish are South American cichlids. They are very elegant. Its name means “leaf with wings” in Latin, which is no coincidence, as this is confirmed by the shape of the body: flat, resembles a leaf of a strange tree.
Sailing fins that resemble angel wings give them special beauty. It is no accident that in foreign countries they are called Angels. These fish resemble discus fish and also look aristocratic.
Aquarium fish angelfish are distinguished by a variety of colors and shades, as well as body shape options. The standard colors are gray with olive, silver or greenish reflections. The most interesting varieties of these fish are considered marble, black, leopard, koi and veil form. Aquarium fish angelfish have been familiar to aquarists for over 100 years. In addition to exotic appearance, they are distinguished by a well-developed intelligence, unpretentiousness in content. Moreover, these fish are caring parents.
Species history
The first to describe scalar was Martin Lichtenstein (1823). In 1840, the famous zoologist from Austria Hekkel, these fish were given the Latin name.
After the first copies appeared in Europe, many unsuccessful attempts were made to import them again - they died on the way. In 1911, Sagracki was finally able to bring alive to Germany fish that were in their natural habitat. These specimens in Germany began to be called the “Parus fish”, while in other countries they were called the “Angel”. Scalaria in those years were considered very valuable, since no one was able to propagate them. In 1914, a successful case was first registered in Hamburg. The secret of breeding these fish in captivity has been kept for several years. But since 1920, scalar breeding has become widespread. In Russia, this process began in 1928.
Habitat
Wild angelfish live in the northern part of South America, in tributaries of the Amazon River, which flow in Peru, Brazil and eastern Ecuador. A body with a flat shape comparable to a disk helps maneuver among the underwater reeds. The habitat of these fish is river lagoons with stagnant water and dense vegetation. Live in small flocks. They feed on various insects, invertebrates, as well as fry.
Views
Several main types of pterophyllum scalars are distinguished: common scalar, altum scalar (high-bodied) and Leopold's scalar.
As a result of breeding experiments, there is a rather voluminous list of hatched fish. It includes black, smoky, albino, red-smoky, red, chocolate, phantom, two-spotted phantom, blue, white, zebra, lace zebra, cobra, leopard, marble-red-gold, red-black, pearl, gold-pearl, red pearl and many others. Scaly and diamond scalars were the last to be bred. Thus, these fish have a huge number of varieties.
Common angelfish
These specimens are considered the most common and adapted to life in an artificial habitat. They are most unpretentious in content. Breeding scalars of this species is not difficult, they lend themselves well to selection. Fish are very diverse in color and shape of the fins.
Angelfish Leopold
This species of fish is named after Leopold the Third - the Belgian king, who was a lover of zoology. It differs from the other two varieties by the wide occipital part, the direct contour of the back, and the large spot of dark tone at the base of the dorsal fin. This variety can be found very rarely, since its breeding in the aquarium is quite complicated.
Angelfish altum
They are large in size compared to their counterparts. Together with fins, these specimens can reach about half a meter in height. With a sharp transition from mouth to forehead, a depression is formed in them. In color they are distinguished by characteristic red shimmers of black transverse stripes. Fish scales are finer than other scalars. In an artificial environment, they practically do not reproduce. Therefore, individuals brought in from their native habitat are on sale.
View description
The standard appearance of these fish is considered to be an ordinary scalar with a body elongated in height due to the narrow, in the form of a sail, from above and from below, dorsal and anal fins. Due to flattening on the sides, they have a disc-shaped body. The base color is a silver background with black stripes arranged vertically on it. Their brightness is directly related to the state of the fish. This color allows fish in the wild to mask between vegetation and roots. The remaining colors of scalar species, as well as veil specimens, were obtained as a result of selection experiments. When the fish reach puberty, some form long and thin rays on their tails. The size of the scalar is related to the amount of water in the aquarium per individual. The more water, the larger the specimens. The standard size of these aquarium fish is 15-20 centimeters. Provided that the scalars are properly cared for and maintained, their life expectancy is from ten to fifteen years.
Aquarium
Care and maintenance of scalars of medium complexity, so these fish are not recommended for beginner aquarists. The volume of water must be at least 100 liters. In such an aquarium you can put no more than two copies. But it is better that the volume of water be from 250 liters, as these fish have sweeping fins and grow to large sizes. In addition, in a large aquarium, caviar is better preserved from parental eating. It is not necessary to use a lid for keeping these specimens: scalars are inactive and do not jump over the surface of the water.
For aquariums with such fish, soil in the form of coarse sand or fine gravel is used. Design can be done by anyone. The main thing is that it does not clutter up the entire aquarium, since for scalars you need a sufficient amount of free space for swimming. Sharp decorations should also be avoided so as not to injure the fish. Shelters are not required for them.
In order to bring the living conditions of aquarium fish closer to natural conditions, it is better to make the vegetation of the aquarium dense, with long stems. For these fish, moving among such thickets will be a familiar activity. It is desirable that among the vegetation there are wide leaves on which they lay their eggs. A large number of plants will provide not only natural environmental conditions, but also the realization of instincts.
Aquariums need to be filtered carefully so that there is no flow that can cause stress and increase energy consumption in the fight against flow movement, which slows the growth of scalars. It is better to use an external filter.
It is necessary to do aeration in the aquarium, as a result of which the water layers are effectively saturated with oxygen.
Lighting required is moderate. You need to install the aquarium in a place where sunlight does not fall. Darkening of some areas can be achieved with plants.
For a comfortable life, scalar water should be soft and weak acidity.
The optimum temperature of the water in the aquarium is 22-27 ° C. Temperature above 27 ° C is not recommended. An exception may be the spawning period. Sudden changes in temperature can be fatal for fish. Each week it is necessary to partially change the water (up to one quarter of the total volume of the aquarium).
Feeding Features
How to feed a scalar? In this matter, these instances will not cause trouble. Angelfish feed on both live and dry food. When feeding them, it is necessary to take into account the structural features of the body, since it is quite difficult for them to pick up crumbs from the bottom. More suitable would be one that lingers for a long time in the upper layer of water and on the surface.
As a live feed, you can use the tubifex, bloodworms, small crustaceans, earthworms and snails. Feed should be given carefully so as not to overfeed and to avoid bloating. Do not give pieces of chicken, pork and beef origin, as these fish can not digest animal fat. You can give chopped seafood: shrimp and mussels.
As vegetable feed use spinach greens, lettuce.
For saturated flake coloring, dry food with the addition of trace elements is selected. You can also use granular, containing spirulina.
Feeding must be done three times and strictly dosed to prevent the prevention of obesity. One day a week you need to make unloading and refuse to feed. The size of a single serving is measured in five minutes of eating. Excess crumbs, when settling to the bottom, will pollute the aquarium and lead to diseases. The basic rule of nutrition is balance and diversity. Sometimes fish can ignore feeding for a long time period (up to two weeks). This is considered normal behavior.
Scalar compatibility
You can keep these fish in a common aquarium, but you should take into account a number of features. Angelfish is a cichlid that can be aggressive towards small fish. Shrimp and fry are also at risk. Compatibility of scalaria with swordsmen, thorns, zebrafish, various catfish, gourami, mollies, parrots, and pecillia is possible. It should be noted that some of them gnaw fins on these specimens. When kept with viviparous, scalars eat all fry.
Breeding
Angelfish can be bred in a common habitat. But it is also possible in a separate. The difference between the male and the female scalar can be noticed only after 9-12 months of their life. When buying young copies it is very difficult to determine their gender. But you should pay attention to the body structure: the male scalar has a convex forehead, and the female has a hollow forehead. Males are larger, with a longer dorsal fin than females.
For spawning, a constant change of water in the aquarium and an increase in the usual temperature of water by an average of 4 degrees are necessary.
Parents carefully care for their caviar until it turns into fry of scalars.