Should I buy it?
Angelfish
Pterophyllum scalare
Also known as: angel, scalare, Angel, Scalare
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on multiple reputable aquarium care sources with strong agreement. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
A striking-looking cichlid for a tall 200L+ planted tank. Pairs claim a territory, and adults eat neon-sized fish, even ones they were raised with.
Best for
Tall 200L+ planted aquariums of 45 cm height or more, with a single pair or six or more to dilute aggression.
Avoid if
Your tank is under 60cm tall, you want a stress-free community with neons, or you can't manage cichlid pairing aggression.
Top things that go wrong
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. Predation risk toward smaller tank mates. The figure that matters is the adult mouth size against the adult prey length, not the juvenile sizes in the shop.
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: not safe. The fish will eat adult shrimp, shrimp fry, or both, depending on the size of the shrimp.
Common mistakeSix juveniles in 60L. When a pair forms and claims territory, the tank becomes too small.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Predation risk scales with gape, night feeding, and crowding. 'they grew up together' is a schedule, not a law.
- 2.Buying six thumb-sized 'for a 60L community' and refusing to rehome or upgrade when a pair hammers a territory.
- 3.Housing with bite-sized neons in the same 60L by month eight.
- 4.Angelfish will eat very small fish like neon tetras once adult-sized. Avoid keeping with nippy fish that target their fins. Pairs may become territorial when breeding.
About this species
Angelfish are tall-bodied South American cichlids. The juvenile in the shop is a 3 cm coin. The adult reaches 20 cm fin-to-fin and hunts small fish from above.
- Electric Blue Acara150L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Bolivian Ram110L min · same fish family
- African Cichlid200L min · same fish family
- Apistogramma Macmasteri100L min · same fish family
- Checkerboard cichlid100L min · same fish family
- Cockatoo / crested Apistogramma100L min · same fish family
- Convict cichlid200L min · same fish family
- Discus200L min · same group, similar adult size
- Agassiz’s dwarf cichlidalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Borelliialso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Macmasterialso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Trifasciataalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Cockatoo / crested Apistogrammaalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Electric Blue Acaraalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Clown Loach tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Pearl Gourami tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Rummy Nose Tetra tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Severum tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Siamese Algae Eater tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease35
- Peacefulness30
- Community fit26
- Small-tank fit97
- Hardiness57
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Avoid “one of everything” baskets — Angelfish belongs in a plan built around territory, line-of-sight breaks, and matched water chemistry.
Tank mate intelligence
Good with corydoras, larger tetras (rummynose, congo), bristlenose plecos, gouramis. Risky with tiny tetras (neons) once adults; avoid fin-nippers like tiger barbs entirely.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Angelfish + Corydoras Catfish
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Semi-aggressive cichlids. Calm as juveniles. Once a pair forms and claims a corner, they wipe out a community tank during spawning.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Crowding and limited territory
- Similar-looking fish in the same tank
- Spawning, for any breeding pair
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Predation risk toward smaller tank mates. The figure that matters is the adult mouth size against the adult prey length, not the juvenile sizes in the shop.
Territory: Holds territory on substrate, in caves, or at the surface film. Break the line of sight with hardscape, and avoid placing the tank where the fish can see its own reflection.
Planted tanks: good — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Chasing one individual repeatedly, torn fins on tank mates, or food theft every feed.
- Corner guarding, flaring, or body-blocking — territory is normal until it becomes relentless.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: not safe. The fish will eat adult shrimp, shrimp fry, or both, depending on the size of the shrimp.
Kept singly or as a paired setup. Check the species profile before doubling up in one tank.
Breeding behaviour depends on the species. Research before you buy a mixed-sex group of this fish.
- Hold 24 to 30 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6.5 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Footprint: short wide tanks and tall narrow tanks fish differently for the same volume. Match the tank shape to the swim pattern, not just the litre count.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 150L published minimum for adults.
- Heater can hold 24–30°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No known fin-nippers paired with long-finned fish unless you accept documented risk.
- No tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth gap for this species.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 150L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 600L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 24–30°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Angelfish does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 24–30°C and pH 6.5–7.5:
Profile status: verified · Evidence tier: high · 3 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Pterophyllum scalare
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Pterophyllum scalare
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Pterophyllum scalare
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.