Lionfish

A Lionfish is any of several species of venomous marine fish in the genera Pterois, Parapterois, Brachypterois, Ebosia or Dendrochirus, of the family Scorpaenidae. The lionfish is also known as the

Pterois antennata in Schönbrunn Zoo, Vienna, Austria

Turkey Fish, Scorpion or Fire Fish.^[1] They are notable for their extremely long and separated spines, and have a generally striped appearance, red, green, navy green, brown, orange, yellow, black, maroon, or white.

Antennata Lionfish, Peleliu, Palau

Native environment

The lionfish is native to the Indian Pacific oceanic region. This range extends from western Australia and Malaysia east to French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands. In addition, the range also extends north to southern Japan and southern Korea and south to parts of coastal Australia.^[2]

Although the lionfish is not native to all regions in the world, these fish continue to spread throughout many parts of the world.^[3] Due to a recent introduction, the lionfish has been spotted in the warmer coral regions of the eastern Atlantic Ocean around the Azores and extending into the Mediterranean Sea, and also in the Caribbean Sea (Cozumel, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Belize, Roatan, and Puerto Rico as of 2010) and in the Red Sea .^[4] It has been speculated that this introduction may well have been caused when Hurricane Andrew destroyed an aquarium in southern Florida.^[5]. However, a more recent report ^[6] states that NOAA ecologist James Morris Jr. has discovered that a Lionfish was caught off Dania, FL prior to Hurricane Andrew, as long ago as 1985. Morris indicated that the "most likely vector" was release of fish and/or eggs into the wild by people in the aquarium trade. DNA from captured lionfish in this region shows that they all originated from the same six or seven fish.^[7] The lion fish has also a low breeding system.^{[clarification needed]} Pterois volitans lionfish has also been found in waters near Long Island , New York, where as a 'tropical fish', it was not expected to be able to survive.

Treatment of invasive Lionfish in the Caribbean varies - in Cozumel they are frequently captured alive in order to collect a bounty that has been placed upon them, while in Roatan they are frequently killed on sight by local divemasters, with as many as five or six killed during a single 1-hour dive.

Size

There are many types of lionfish that vary in size. The Common Lionfish, or Devil Firefish, generally reaches a size of 30 cm to 35 cm (12 inches), while smaller lionfish, like the Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish, Dendrochirus brachypterus, are typically the size of a tennis ball, not including fins. In the Caribbean where lionfish are non-indigenous, they grow to a size of up to 55 cm.

Warnings

The NOAA encourages everyone (divers and fishers) to be extremely cautious and avoid contact with the venomous spikes of the lionfish. Usually, lionfish are not aggressive toward humans and will almost always keep their distance when given the opportunity, so they pose a relatively low risk. In addition, their stings are not deadly, but they are very painful.^[8]

Venom

Red lionfish in warning posture

The lionfish is one of the most venomous fish on the ocean floor. Lionfish have venomous dorsal spines that are used purely for defense. When threatened, the fish often faces its attacker in an upside down posture which brings its spines to bear. However, a lionfish's sting is usually not fatal to humans. If a human is envenomed, that person will experience extreme pain, and possibly headaches, vomiting, and breathing difficulties. A common treatment is soaking the afflicted area in hot water, as very few hospitals carry specific treatments.^[9][10][11] However, immediate emergency medical treatment is still advised, as some people are more susceptible to the venom than others.

Feeding

Lionfish are voracious predators. They do not use their spines to capture prey; only for protection from their own predators. When hunting, they corner prey using their large fins and then use their quick reflexes to swallow the prey whole. They hunt primarily from late afternoon to dawn. In captivity, lionfish can be trained to eat frozen krill and mysis.

Predators

The lionfish have very few natural predators, but the grouper and other fish have been found with lionfish remains in their stomachs.

Read more »

Clownfish

Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. About twenty-nine species are recognized, one in the genus Premnas, while the remaining are in the genus Amphiprion. In the wild they all form symbiotic mutualisms with sea anemones. Depending on species, clownfish are overall yellow, orange, reddish, or blackish, and many show white bars or patches. The largest can reach a length of 18 centimetres (7.1 in), while some can be as small as 10 centimetres

Clownfish
Ocellaris clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciforlmes
Family:	Pomacentridae
Subfamily:	Amphiprioninae

Ecology and habitat

Clownfish are native to warmer waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans, including the Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea. While most species have restricted distributions, others are widespread. They are generally highly host specific, and especially the genera Heteractis and Stichodactyla, and the species Entacmaea quadricolor are frequent partners. The clownfish feeds on small invertebrates which otherwise potentially could harm the sea anemone, and the fecal matter from the clownfish provides nutrients to the sea anemone. Clownfish are omnivores. Algae accounts for around 20 to 25 percent of its diet in the wild (and should also account for its amount of algae diet in captivity as well). It has also been suggested that the activity of the clownfish results in greater water circulation around the sea anemone. In addition to providing food for the clownfish, the sea anemone also provides safety due to its poison.

Clownfish and certain damselfish are the only species of fishes that can avoid the potent poison of a sea anemone. There are several theories about how this is accomplished:

• The mucus coating of the fish may be based on sugars rather than proteins. This would mean that anemones fail to recognize the fish as a potential food source and do not fire their nematocysts, or sting organelles.

• The coevolution of certain species of clownfish with specific anemone host species and may have acquired an immunity to the nematocysts and toxins of their host anemone. Experimentation has shown that Amphiprion percula may develop resistance to the toxin from Heteractis magnifica, but it is not totally protected, since it was shown experimentally to die when its skin, devoid of mucus, was exposed to the nematocysts of its host.^[1]
  

  

  A pair of pink anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion) in their anemone home.

Clownfish live in small groups inhabiting a single anemone. The group consists of a breeding pair, which cohabit with a few non-reproductive, "pre-pubescent", and smaller male clownfish. When the female dies, the dominant male changes sex and becomes the female.^[2] This life history strategy is known as sequential hermaphroditism. Because clownfish are all born as males, they are protandrous hermaphrodites (pro=first; androus=male).^[3]

Clownfish lay eggs on any flat surface close to their host anemones. In the wild, clownfish spawn around the time of the full moon and the male parent guards them until they hatch about 6 to 10 days later, typically 2 hours after dusk.^{[citation needed]} Clownfish are omnivorous: in the wild they eat live food such as algae, plankton, molluscs, and crustacea; in captivity they can survive on live food, fish flakes, and fish pellets. They feed mostly on copepods and mysids, and undigested food from their host anemones.^{[citation needed]}

Depending on the species, clownfish can lay hundreds or thousands of eggs. Clownfish were the first type of marine ornamental fish to be successfully bred in captivity on a large scale. It is one of a handful of marine ornamentals whose complete life cycle has been closed in captivity. Members of some clownfish species, such as the maroon clownfish, become aggressive in captivity; others, like the false percula clownfish, can be kept successfully with other individuals of the same

In the aquarium

A clownfish swimming.

Clownfish are now reared in captivity by a handful of marine ornamental farms in the USA, Clown fish were the first species of Saltwater fish to successfully be Tank-raised. Tank-raised fish are a better choice for aquarist, because wild-caught fish are more likely to die soon after purchasing them due to the stress of capture and shipping. Also, tank-bred fish are usually more disease resistant and in general are less affected by stress when introduced to the aquarium. Captive bred clownfishes may not have the same instinctual behavior to live in an anemone. They may have to be coaxed into finding the anemone by the home aquarist. Even then, there is no guarantee that the anemone will host the clownfish.

When a sea anemone is not available in an aquarium, the clownfish may settle in some varieties of soft corals, or large polyp stony corals. If the fish settles in a coral, it could agitate the fish's skin, and, in some cases, may kill the coral. Once an anemone or coral has been adopted, the clownfish will defend it. As there is less pressure to forage for food in an aquarium, it is common for clownfish to remain within 2-4 inches of their host for an entire lifetime.

Read more »

Description and ecology

Description and ecology

A school of false moorish idols, Heniochus diphreutes

Butterflyfish mostly range from 12 to 22 centimetres (4.7 to 8.7 in) in length. The largest species, the lined butterflyfish and the saddle butterflyfish, C. ephippium, grow to 30 centimetres (12 in). The common name references the brightly coloured and strikingly patterned bodies of many species, bearing shades of black, white, blue, red, orange and yellow. Other species are dull in colour. Many have eyespots on their flanks and dark bands across their eyes, not unlike the patterns seen on butterfly wings.^[2] Their deep, laterally narrow bodies are easily noticed through the profusion of reef life. The conspicuous coloration of butterflyfish may be intended for interspecies communication. Butterflyfish have uninterrupted dorsal fins with tail fins that may be rounded or truncated, but are never forked.

Generally diurnal and frequenting waters of less than 18 metres (59 ft) (though some species descend to 180 metres (590 ft)), butterflyfish stick to particular home ranges. The corallivores are especially territorial, forming mated pairs and staking claim to a specific coral head. Contrastingly, the zooplankton feeders form large conspecific groups. By night butterflyfish hide in reef crevices exhibit markedly different coloration.

Their coloration also makes butterflyfish popular aquarium fish. However, most species feed on coral polyps and sea anemones. Balancing the relative populations of prey and predator is complex, leading Hobby aquarists to focus on the few generalists and specialist zooplankton feeders.

Butterflyfish are pelagic spawners; that is, they release many buoyant eggs into the water which become part of the plankton, floating with the currents until hatching. The fry go through what is known as a tholichthys stage, wherein the body of the post-larval fish is covered in large bony plates extending from the head. They lose their bony plates as they mature.^[2] Only one other family of fish, the scats (Scatophagidae) express such an armored stage.

Etymology

The family name derives from the Ancient Greek words chaite ("hair") and odontos ("tooth"). This is an allusion to the rows of brush-like teeth found in their small, protrusile mouths.

Taxonomy, systematics and evolution

The Chaetodontidae can be, but is not usually, divided into two lineages that arguably are subfamilies. The subfamily name Chaetodontinae is a little-used leftover from the period when the Pomacanthidae and Chaetodontidae were united under the latter name as a single family. Hence, Chaetodontinae is today considered a junior synonym of Chaetodontidae. In any case, one lineage of Chaetodontidae (in the modern sense) contains the "typical" butterflyfishes around Chaetodon, while the other unites the bannerfish and coralfish genera. As the "Perciformes" are highly paraphyletic, the precise relationships of the Chaetodontidae as a whole are badly resolved.^[3]

Before DNA sequencing, the taxonomy was confused about whether to treat these as species or subspecies. Also, numerous subgenera have been proposed for splitting out of Chaetodon, and it is becoming clear how to subdivide the genus if that is desired.^[4]

The fossil record of this group is marginal. Their restriction to coral reefs means that their carcasses are liable to be dispersed by scavengers, overgrown by corals, and any that do fossilize will not long survive erosion. However, there is Pygaeus, a very basal fossil from the mid-late Eocene of Europe, dating approximately from the Bartonian 40-37 million years ago (mya). Thus, the Chaetodontidae emerged probably in the early-mid Eocene. A crude molecular clock in combination with the evidence given by Pygaeus allows to place the initial split between the two main lineages to the mid-late Eocene, and together with the few other fossils it allows to deduce that most living genera were probably distinct by the end of the Paleogene 23 mya.^[5]

Read more »

Butterflyfish

The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. Found mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, there are approximately 120 species in 10 genera^[1]. A number of species pairs occur in the Indian and Pacific oceans, members of the huge genus Chaetodon. The raccoon butterflyfish, Chaetodon lunula, is sometimes placed in the genus Rabdophorus

Butterflyfish look like smaller versions of angelfish (Pomacanthidae) but unlike these lack preopercle spines at the gill covers. Some members of the genus Heniochus resemble the Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus) of the monotypic Zanclidae. Among the paraphyletic "Perciformes", the former are probably not too distantly related to butterflyfish, whereas the Zanclidae seem far less close.

Read more »

Marble

Marble (M/+ or M/M or M/g or M/Gm)

Marble expresses with much more black pattern than Gold Marble does. The marbling varies from 50% to 95%.

Black Hybrid (D/g or D/Gm)

Cross a black with a gold, and you get black hybrids. A very vigorous black, that may look brassy when young. Does not breed true.

Gold Pearlscale Angelfish - P. scalare

Pearlscale (p/p)

Pearlscale is a scale mutation. The "pearlscale" angelfish is also called the "diamond" angelfish in some regions due to the gem-like iridiscence on its scales. The scale have a wrinkled, wavy look that reflect light to create a sparkling effect. Pearl develops slowly, starting at around 9 weeks of age. In can be inhibited by stressful conditions. It is recessive, requiring both parents to contain the allele. It looks best on light colored fish like Gold, Gold Marble, Albino, Silver and Zebra. It is difficult to see on dark fish and blushing angelfish.

Black Ghost (D/+ - S/+)

Same description as a Ghost, with a darker appearance due to the Dark gene. Very similar to a Black Lace without complete stripes. Ghosts generally have more iridescence than non-ghosts.

Albino (a/a)

Albino removes dark pigments in most varieties. Some, like Albino Marble will still have a little black remaining on a percentage of the fish. The eye pupils are pink as in all albino animals. The surrounding iris can be red or yellow depending on the variety of Albino.

Read more »

Blue Blushing

Blue Blushing (S/S)

This is a wild-type angelfish that has two Stripeless genes. The body is actually grey with a bluish tint under the right light spectrum. An iridescent pigment develops as they age. This iridescence usually appears blue under most lighting.

Silver Gold Marble (Gm/+)

A Silver angel with a single Gold Marble gene. This is a co-dominant expression of Silver and Gold Marble, so you see traits of both.

Ghost (S/+)

A fish that is heterozygous for Stripeless. This results in a mostly silver fish with just a stripe through the eye and tail. Sometimes portions of the body stripes will express.

Gold Marble (Gm/g or Gm/Gm)

A gold angel with black marbling. Depending on whether the Gold Marble is single or double dose, the marbling will range from 5% to 40% coverage.

Marble Angelfish - P. scalare

Read more »

Blue Blushing

Blue Blushing (S/S)

This is a wild-type angelfish that has two Stripeless genes. The body is actually grey with a bluish tint under the right light spectrum. An iridescent pigment develops as they age. This iridescence usually appears blue under most lighting.

Silver Gold Marble (Gm/+)

A Silver angel with a single Gold Marble gene. This is a co-dominant expression of Silver and Gold Marble, so you see traits of both.

Ghost (S/+)

A fish that is heterozygous for Stripeless. This results in a mostly silver fish with just a stripe through the eye and tail. Sometimes portions of the body stripes will express.

Gold Marble (Gm/g or Gm/Gm)

A gold angel with black marbling. Depending on whether the Gold Marble is single or double dose, the marbling will range from 5% to 40% coverage.

Marble Angelfish - P. scalare

Read more »

Strains of Angelfish

Strains of Angelfish

Most strains of angelfish available in the fishkeeping hobby are the result of many decades of selective breeding. For the most part, the original crosses of wild angelfish were not recorded and confusion between the various species of Pterophyllum, especially P. scalare and P. leopoldi, is common. This makes the origins of "Domestic angelfish" unclear. Domestic strains are most likely a collection of genes resulting from more than one species of wild angelfish combined with the selection of mutations in domesticated lines over the last 60 or more years. The result of this is a domestic angelfish that is a true hybrid with little more than a superficial resemblance to wild Pterophyllum species. It would be inaccurate to say that they accurately represent any species of wild angelfish, although they most resemble P. scalare and are frequently referred to as such.

Domestic angelfish have been bred and crossbred for several decades. There are hundreds of mutations of little importance by themselves. Much of the research into the known genetics of P. scalare is the result of the research of Dr. Joanne Norton, who published a series of 18 articles in Freshwater and Marine Aquarium (FAMA) Magazine. Those articles are reprinted at http://theangelfishsociety.org/genetics.htm .

Silver (+/+)

The silver angelfish most commonly resembles the wild form of angelfish, and is also referred to as "wild-type". It is not, however, caught in the wild and is considered domestic. The fish has a silver body with red eyes and three vertical black stripes that can fade or darken depending on the mood of the fish.

Gold (g/g)

The genetic trait for the gold angelfish is recessive, and causes a light golden body with a darker yellow or orange color on the crown of the fish. It does not have the vertical black stripes or the red eye seen in the wild angelfish.

Zebra (Z/+ or Z/Z)

The zebra phenotype results in 4 to 6 vertical stripes on the fish that in other ways resembles a silver angelfish. It is a dominant mutation that exists at the same locus as the stripeless gene.

Black Lace (D/+) / Zebra Lace (D/+ - Z/+)

A Silver or Zebra with one copy of the Dark gene. This results in very attractive lacing in the fins. Considered by some to the most attractive of all angelfish varieties.

Smokey (Sm/+)

A variety with a dark brownish grey back half and dark dorsal and anal fins.

Chocolate (Sm/Sm)

Homozygous for Smokey with more of the dark pattern. Sometimes only the head is silver.

Halfblack Veil Angelfish - P. scalare

Halfblack (h/h)

Silver with a black rear portion. Halfblack can express along with some other color genes, but not all. The pattern may not develop or express if the fish are in stressful conditions.

Sunset Blushing Veil Angelfish - P. scalare

Sunset Blushing (g/g S/S)

The Sunset Blushing has two doses of gold and two doses of Stripeless. The upper half of the fish exhibits orange on the good ones. The body is mostly white in color, fins are clear. The amount of orange showing on the fish can vary. On some the body is a pinkish or tangerine color. The term blushing comes from the clear gill plates found on juveniles. You can see the pinkish gill underneath.

Koi Angelfish - P. scalare

Koi (Gm/Gm S/S) or (Gm/g S/S)

The Koi has a double or single dose of Gold Marble with a double dose of Stripeless. They express a variable amount of orange that varies with stress levels. The black marbling varies from 5%-40% coverage.

Leopard (Sm/Sm Z/Z) or (Sm/Sm Z/+)

The leopard is a very popular fish when young, having spots over most of their body. Most of these spots grow closer together as an adult so it looks like a chocolate with dots on it. (Smokey x Zebra)

Read more »

Angelfish in the fishkeeping hobby

Angelfish in the fishkeeping hobby

A group of Pterophyllum Altum.

Angelfish are one of the most commonly kept freshwater aquarium fish, as well as the most commonly kept cichlid. They are prized for their unique shape, color and behavior. Many hobbyists consider angelfish to be a relatively intelligent fish, able to recognize their owners.

Species

The most commonly kept species in the aquarium is Pterophyllum scalare. Most of the individuals the aquarium trade are captive-bred. Sometimes, Pterophyllum altum is available. Captive bred P. altum are usually not available. Pterophyllum leopoldi is the hardest to find in the trade.

Care

Angelfish are kept in a warm aquarium, ideally around 80 °F (27 °C). They will do best if fed a mixture of flake, frozen and live food. Care should be taken to not overfeed, they will continue to eat even what they do not need to. This will lead to a buildup of fats resulting in inactivity and early death. Angelfish will do best if kept in an acidic environment, pH should be below 7.5 (note: 7.5 is still slightly alkaline - acidic is defined as below 7.0). All angelfish will prefer water with a pH of at most 7.0. Though most Pterophyllum scalare will thrive in a wide range of pH values. Even though angelfish are a member of the Cichlid family they are generally peaceful, however; the general rule "big fish eat little fish" applies. Aggressive fish should not be kept with angelfish because their flowing fins are vulnerable to fin nipping. Some smaller more aggressive fish may even nip at the fins of these fish.

Breeding

P. scalare is relatively easy to breed in the aquarium, although one of the results of generations of inbreeding is that many breeds have almost completely lost their rearing instincts resulting in the tendency of the parents to eat their young. In addition, it is very difficult to accurately identify the gender of any individual until they are nearly ready to breed.

Angelfish pairs form long-term relationships where each individual will protect the other from threats and potential suitors. Upon the death or removal of one of the mated pair, breeders have experienced both the total refusal of the remaining mate to pair up with any other angelfish and successful breeding with subsequent mates.

Depending upon aquarium conditions, P. scalare reaches sexual maturity at the age of six to twelve months or more. In situations where the eggs are removed from the aquarium immediately after spawning, the pair is capable of spawning every seven to ten days. Around the age of approximately three years, spawning frequency will decrease and eventually cease.

When the pair is ready to spawn, they will choose an appropriate medium upon which to lay the eggs and spend one to two days picking off detritus and algae from the surface. This medium may be a broad-leaf plant in the aquarium, a flat surface such as a piece of slate placed vertically in the aquarium, a length of pipe, or even the glass sides of the aquarium. The female will deposit a line of eggs on the spawning substrate, followed by the male who will fertilize the eggs. This process will repeat itself until there are a total of 100 to more than 1,200 eggs, depending on the size and health of the female fish. As both parents care for the offspring throughout development, the pair will take turns maintaining a high rate of water circulation around the eggs by swimming very close to the eggs and fanning the eggs with their pectoral fins. In a few days, the eggs hatch and the fry remain attached to the spawning substrate. During this period, the fry will not eat and will survive by consuming the remains of their yolk sacs. At one week, the fry will detach and become free-swimming. Successful parents will keep close watch on the eggs until they become free-swimming. At the free-swimming stage, the fry can be fed newly-hatched brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) or microworms. It is generally accepted that brine shrimp are the superior choice for fast growth rates of fry.
Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels
Full resolution‎ (1,024 × 768 pixels, file size: 621 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

P. altum is notably difficult to breed in an aquarium environment.

Read more »

P. scalare

P. scalare

Pterophyllum scalare, the species most commonly referred to as angelfish or freshwater angelfish,^[8] is the most common species of Pterophyllum held in captivity. Its natural habitat Amazon River basin in Peru, Colombia,

Pterophyllum leopoldi

and Brazil, particularly the Ucayali, Solimões and Amazon rivers, as well as the rivers of Amapá in Brazil, the Oyapock River in French Guiana and the Essequibo River in Guyana.^[9] It is found in swamps or flooded grounds where vegetation is dense and the water is either clear or silty.^[9] Its native water conditions range from a pH of 6.0 to 8.0, a water hardness range of 5 - 13 dH, and water temperature ranging from 24 to 30 °C (75 to 86 °F).^[9] It was originally described as Zeus scalaris in 1823, and has also been described be several different names, including Platax scalaris, Plataxoides dumerilii, Pterophillum eimekei, Pterophyllum dumerilii, and Pterophyllum eimekei.^[10]

Read more »

P. leopoldi

P. leopoldi

Pterophyllum leopoldi

Pterophyllum leopoldi, also referred to as the teardrop angelfish, long-nosed angelfish,^[3] dwarf angelfish, or Roman-nosed angelfish,^[4] is a river dwelling angelfish species that originates from rivers in the Amazon River basin along the Solimões River, Amazon River, and Rupununi River.^[5] It is distinguished from other members of the Pterophyllum genus by the absence of a pre-dorsal notch and by the presence of a black blotch at the dorsal insertion on the 4th vertical bar.^[3] The species was originally described as Plataxoides leopoldi in 1963 by J.P. Gosse,^[6] and is frequently misidentified as P. dumerilii when the species is imported in the aquarium trade.^[7] P. leopoldi is the smallest of the angelfish species and the most aggressive.

Read more »

History

History

The freshwater angelfish was first talked about by Lichtenstein in 1824. Being scientifically named Pterophyllum scalare (pronounced: Ter'-o-fill" lum ska-la're), the meaning of Pterophyllum is; "winged leaf".

It was not until the late 1920s to early 1930s that the angelfish was bred in captivity in the United States.

In 1963 another species of Pterophyllum were discovered, P. leopoldi, this species was described by Gosse. In the beginning they were first described under another name, with P. leopoldi becoming the valid scientific name. Prior to that a species by the name of Pterophyllum altum had been discovered in 1906 by Pellegrin. There may still be undiscovered species in the Amazon River. New species of fish are discovered with increasing frequency, and, like P. scalare and leopoldi, the differences may be subtle. Scientific notations describe the P. leopoldi as having 29–35 scales in a lateral row and straight predorsal contour. Whereas, the P. scalare is described as having 35–45 scales in a lateral row and a notched predorsal contour. The leopoldi show the same coloration as scalare. Leopoldi can show a faint stripe between the eye stripe and the first complete body stripe and a third incomplete body stripe between the two main (complete) body stripes that extends three-forths the length of the body. Whereas, the scalare's body does not show the stripe between the eye stipe and first complete body stripe at all, and the third stripe between the two main body stripes rarely extends downward more than a half inch, if even present. The leopoldi fry develop three to eight body stripes, with all but one to five fading away as they mature, whereas scalare only have two in true wild form throughout life.

Angelfish were bred in captivity for some 30 years prior to leopoldi being described; possibly longer outside the United States.

[edit] P. altum

This Pterophyllum altum has adapted well to life in captivity.

Pterophyllum altum, also referred to as the Altum Angelfish, Deep Angelfish, or Orinoco Angelfish,^[1] occurs strictly in the Orinoco River Basin and the Upper Rio Negro watershed in Southern Venezuela, Southeastern Colombia and extreme Northern Brazil.^[2] The species is the largest of the genus and specimens exceeding 50 cm in height (from tip of dorsal to tip of anal fin) have been reported in the wild; in aquariums, specimens are known to have grown to over 40 cm. Its natural base color is silver but with three brownish/red vertical stripes and red striations into the fins. The species may show red spotting and a blueish green dorsal overcast when mature and when aroused exhibits a black operculum spot. Characteristic of this species is an acute incision or notch above the nares (supraorbital indention). All true Orinoco Altum specimens show this trait, whereas commercial hybrids product of crosses to Pterophyllum scalare, that are occasionally performed by breeders to sell them as "Orinoco Altum", may not exhibit the Altum Angels are more frequently found in the well oxygenated, extremely soft waters of Upper and Middle Orinoco tributaries shed from the Guyana Shield Highlands, preferring a pH range between 4.5 to 5.8. These are very transparent blackwaters with almost nil conductivity. Temperature range in these waters is between Template:Convert/. They are also found in the Atabapo River and Inirida River floodplain, down the Casiquiare and Guainía floodplain where the Rio Negro is born, before entering Brazilian territory. Unlike P. scalare(mentioned above) which prefer to spawn on the submerged leaves of plants and trees in the flooded rainforest, P. altum prefers to spawn on submerged roots and tree branches in a moderate water current. This species is recommended for intermediate to advanced aquarists due to the detailed maintenance it requires for proper health. Pterophyllum altum is the national fish of Venezuela and an image of the fish appears on some currency bills of that country.

Read more »

Pet

A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment or a household animal, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons.

A cat and dog, the two most popular animals kept as pets.

The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive appearance, or for their song. Pets also generally seem to provide their owners with non-trivial health benefits;[1] keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress to those who like having animals around. There is now a medically-approved class of "therapy animals," mostly dogs, that are brought to visit confined humans. Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction.

Read more »