Black angelfish: how do fish look and how to care for them?

They say that nature did not come up with black. Aquarium fish angelfish would argue with this statement if they could speak! Amazingly beautiful, glossy black angelfish native to South America, the Orinoco and Amazon river basins. In the last century, this species was first brought to Europe. However, those fish that now live in many aquariums around the world are the result of breeding, not the wild representatives of the species.

Aquarium velvet black scalar is a form of common scalar (Pterophyllum scalare), created due to the mutation of the Dark gene Dark. All its velvet views are unusually beautiful and popular with aquarists.

This breed was bred in Detroit (USA) in the middle of the 20th century. Its body and fins are as if woven from black velvet, and its eyes are framed by red rims. Finding the perfect clean specimen without any stains or shiny scales is insanely difficult. To keep the breed clean, serious breeding work is needed.

There is also a veil scalar - a subspecies of black - that got its name due to its characteristic thin tail that resembles a silk female veil.

Among the varieties of scalars there are also white, and blue, and red individuals.

In nature, initially there were three main types of scalars, from which a huge number of subspecies with color variations were subsequently derived. Such color changes are associated with a gene mutation.A velvety black hue gives a mutation of the gene D, which is in the natural color of the fish.

In the 1950s, breeders made their first attempts to develop new forms of scalar. The achieved look was then called the classic lace. Compared to the wild, the lace scalar was blacker. Subsequent experiments with the accumulation of the dark gene led to the appearance of the same black scalar.

Standard black angelfish reaches a length of 25 cm, so for a comfortable life, it needs a fairly spacious aquarium (from 80 l).

The cost of a scalar is calculated based on its type and age. Malek can cost less than a dollar, but an adult individual - from 10 dollars.

Black scalar as a species of home fish has several advantages:

• unpretentiousness and simplicity in leaving - a scalar does not demand special food or sophistication in the maintenance;
• beauty is a fish, it really looks very "stylish" - if so, in general, we can say about fish;
• character - angelfish is a calm fish that coexists with almost any other species.

Let's see what other types of aquarium scalars exist.

• Common. Its length reaches 20 centimeters. Due to the silver color and the unusual shape of the fins, it is called differently - fish-month.

• Scalaria Leopold. A relatively small individual - up to 15 centimeters in length. It is also called the long-nosed because of the protruding front of the body. Its color is rather dull, but you can see the dark stripes on brown scales.

• Bicolor. In this breed, two fish seem to be crossed: half of its body is black (usually the tail), half is silver. There is a clear border between the two colors.

• Platinum. It has an iridescent light silver color.

• Gold. The ancestor of this species is common scalar. This is a fish with silver scales, sometimes covered with gold stripes. There may be more or less such gold plots, depending on the individual.

• Diamond A relative of the golden scalar. The silver color of the scales plays beautifully in the light, the fins of this individual are almost transparent and thin.

• Blue The second name is very tender - a blue angel. She has a very rich shade of color. One of the most expensive types, its cost reaches one and a half thousand rubles.

• Veil. It was named due to the specific elongated translucent fins. It is better not to settle these individuals together with aggressive fish species (for example, cichlids or barbs), since veil scalars are rather slow and clumsy than they can irritate more active fish. Ideal neighbors are goldfish and bottom individuals (angelfish do not sink to the bottom, but live mainly in the middle part of the aquarium).

• High fin (Altum). Wild individuals are famous for their huge size - about 50 centimeters in height. Outwardly, it is very similar to common scalar, but altum has a clearer picture on the body. This individual is capricious and capricious, it will be uncomfortable in a crowded aquarium.

Caring for black scalar is quite nontrivial. Like any other fish, she loves crystal clear water (+24.28 degrees Celsius), which must be changed regularly. Once a week, change part of the water to fresh. Filtration and aeration of the aquarium should be good: due to a lack of oxygen, the fish may die.

Any hardness and acidity of water in the aquarium is acceptable. She avoids bright light, therefore she mainly lives below or in the middle layer of the aquarium world.

Wild angelfish are predators by nature. Their diet is small fish, invertebrates. Aquarium species are omnivorous, but do not feed it with a tubule! Because of it, a scalar quickly gains weight, stops reproducing, or even dies.

To maintain health, plant components should be added to the diet periodically.

Create a “home atmosphere” for scalar: populate the aquarium with dense plants that you can hide behind, add corals, but leave some free space so that they have a place to turn around.

Since scalars like to get into flocks, it is better not to start them alone. These fish live in pairs, so that males and females should be equally divided.

The life cycle of black scalar reaches an average of 10 years.

Before you start a scalar, you should familiarize yourself with the diseases that can affect them. All of them are mainly associated with metabolic disorders, poor hygiene or poor conditions in the aquarium.

If there is not enough oxygen in the water and poor aeration, the scalar will start breathing problems, they will float to the surface to catch air bubbles. The eyes fade, and the gills inside are covered with necrotic gray spots. When these “bells” appear, immediately increase the aeration, adjust the temperature and supply oxygen.

When the fish becomes lethargic, slowly and reluctantly swims, the anus has become inflamed - most likely, the scalar got sick with hexamitosis. This is a disease of the gastrointestinal tract of parasitic etiology. The main thing is to start treatment with medicines in time so that the infection does not spread to other fish in the aquarium. Treatment is usually done with erythrocycline baths (50 grams) with Trichopolum (10 grams) per liter of water.

Rod-shaped bacteria are also dangerous. - they provoke the development of fin rot in scalars. If water in the aquarium is rarely changed, pathogenic microorganisms quickly begin to multiply in the water. How to recognize this disease: the body of the fish is covered with white muddy spots, the cornea of ​​the eyes fade; at the advanced stage, detachment of the fin rays begins, ulcers appear. The consequences can be sad, even fatal.

The treatment regimen is as follows: mix a solution of green malachite (0.1 mg), hydrochloride (100 mg), bicillin-5 (4000 units) in a liter of water. This solution needs to be poured into the aquarium and additionally treated with aquarium decorations, plants, corals.

First, let's determine how to distinguish between males and females. This delicate issue can be solved only at the time of puberty of the fish, that is, it is possible to determine the sex of the scalar only in the second year of life. In the male, the front fin bifurcates, the forehead acquires a convex shape and increases. And in general, the boy is visually larger than the girl. The abdominal region protrudes in the female, a noticeable tubercle appears in the genital area. The surface of its front fin is smoother than that of the male.

Reproduction of black scalars is not an easy task, and for this you need to have sufficient experience. To breed fish you will need a large aquarium with aquatic plants, preferably flat-leaved.

Plant a pre-selected pair of fish to spawn. After some time, scalars will begin to “clear” the leaf - a clear sign that they are preparing a place for future caviar. To stimulate fish, gradually increase the water temperature to +30 degrees. During the day, you can expect to lay eggs.

If this “love union” was voluntary, then the parents will make excellent parents. They take care of their caviar and guard it together, fanning their fins. They clean dead eggs.

Larvae emerge from their eggs on the third day of spawning, and after this the period of parental care ends for them. After a week, the fry begin to swim after their parents, straying in flocks.At this time, you can start feeding them fish food.

As already mentioned, a scalar independently chooses a “partner" for itself, so several pairs of fish can be kept in one aquarium at once. As they grow up, each couple takes a favorite place and does not fight for territory.

Although angelfish are very calm individuals, they experience bouts of aggression during spawning. In addition, it happens that they eat small fish. Do not forget that these are still predatory fish. Try not to hook guppy or neon fish to them. However, if they were brought up and raised with their little brothers “from childhood”, they are not threatened with being swallowed.

Neighborhood with gourami and catfish will not be a problem either. In general, mid-sized fish of different species are best suited to scalars - velvet or veiled-tail fish get along quite well with them.

Angelfish do not like slow-moving fish, since they themselves are quite active. Aggression can cause goldfish and other representatives of the cichlid family. Velvet scalars can tear their fins or cause harm to the eyes.

It is undesirable to contain scalar along with fish that can bite their thin fins. These are, for example, all kinds of cichlomas.

See more about black scalars below.