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COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF Pterophyllum scalare
(CN: ANGELFISH, PISCES CICLIDAE) IN AQUARIUM
1. 2 Vlachos, N., 2Mente, E., 1Hotos, G.N., 2Kormas, K., 1Psofakis, P. And 2Neofitou, C.
1 Techonolgical Educational Institution of Messolonghi, Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Nea
Ktiria, GR-30200 Messolonghi, Greece. Email: nvlachos@teimes.gr
2 School of Agricultural Sciences Department of Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, University of
Thessaly, Fytoko Street, GR- 38446 N. Ionia Magnesia, Greece.
Abstract
One of the most popular tropical fish kept in the aquariums is the Angelfish. Angelfish
belongs to the Cichlidae family and especially the species Pterophyllum scalare were found
in the Amazone river and in the coastal rivers of Guinea. It distinguishes itself from other
tropical species by its breeding behavior which involves competition for territory sexual
partners courtship and parental care. This research paper examines the spawning technique for
the production of Angelfish, Pterophyllum scalare.
The reproduction experiments were carried out at the laboratory of Ornamental fish culture in
the Technological Educational Institution of Messolonghi in West Greece. Six pair of mature
angelfish Pterophyllum scalare were kept in captivity for 120 days in 75 L aquarium tanks
and natural photoperiod. The aquarium was filled with 4odH soft water, which is taken from a
Reverse osmosis unit. There is a continuous aeration flow rate supported by an external
aeration system. Flirtation was accomplished with an external biological filter, including as
substrate siphorax and zeolite for removing ammonia from aquarium. The water temperature
was kept between 28 and 30oC with a 100 W heater placed in the one corner of the aquarium.
pH is between 6.5 and 6.8 and dissolved oxygen range from 7,7 to 8,0 mg/lt. The physical-
chemical parameters such as pH, temperature, hardness, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate level
were monitored every two days.
They were fed to satiation three times per day. The diet was a mixture of pellets, flakes,
bloodworms, daphnia, Cyclops, tubifex worms and mosquito larvae. At the end of the
experiment 120 fry of the same age were produced. The survival rate was 60%.
Keywords: Angelfish, Reproduction, water conditions, mate selection, pare selection
INTRODUCTION
The fresh water Angelfish is found in the central Amazon River of Brazil and tributaries into
Peru, Colombia, French Guinea and eastern Ecuador. They inhabit swamps or flooded
grounds where the aquatic vegetations are dense and the water is clear or silty.
Pterophyllum scalare, are members of the Cichlidae family and they have hold a unique
position in the world fish keeping in Aquariums. Angelfish have been called the « King of the
aquariums» because they are extremely beautiful animals, with highly varied finnage and
color schemes. The adults have a length up to 15cm and their colors may be gold silver, black
or marbled. The most common coloring of the wild species is silver with dark vertical bars.
Juvenile have 7 stripes on their side and the adults have 4 stripes. Their body is compressed
and disc- shaped. The dorsal (top) and the anal (bottom) spiny rays increase in length from
anterior (front) to posterior (back) of the fin.
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4th International Congress on Aquaculture, Fisheries Technology and Environmental Management
21 – 22 November 2008, Athens, Greece, EU
Proceedings of AquaMedit 2008 ISBN 978-960-87795-2-5
The famous Angelfish, Pterophyllum scalare, has been Known to aquarium hobbyists for
quite some time. The first specimen to be brought in were considered to be a «problematic
fish» because it was very difficult to get a pair to mate and spawn. It distinguishes it’s self
from other tropical species by its breeding behavior, which involves competition for territory
sexual partners courtship, mating and parental care (Bergman, 1968 ; Chien and Salmon,
1972). During the entire brooding cycle, bonding of the original pair of parents is maintained
complete with defense of each partner against aggression or potential rivals.
The couple in majority is greatly involved with offspring, mainly during the initial breeding
phase (Cacho et al., 1999). Angelfish couples could be considered monogamous, since the
individuals tend to mate with a single partner. The female shows that they are available for
flirt to other males often mating sequentially with new partners. Probably this species do not
maintain a crucial monogamy since the male give up the female after spawning (Cacho et al.,
1999). The aim of this study is to examine the spawning technique for the commercial
production of Angelfish, Pterophyllum scalare.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The experiments were carried out at the laboratory of Ornamental fish Culture and Aquariums
in the Tecnological Educational Institution of Messolonghi, Department Aquaculture and
Fisheries in West Greece.
Six pair of mature angelfish, P.scalare (10 month of age), were kept in captivity for than
more 120 days in 75 L (60X36X35 cm) aquarium tanks with natural photoperiod. After a two
months acclimatization period the fish weighs are 9.2 g and 29.81 g for the male and 15.25 g
and 29.76 g for the female. Total lengths range from 7.6 cm to11.8cm for the male and from
9cm to 12cm for the female. The animals were maintained at a temperature range between 28
to 30oC with a 100 w heater, pH between 6.2 and 6.8 and dissolved oxygen ranges from 7.7 to
8.0 ppm. The aquarium was filled with 4odH soft water which is taken from a reverse osmosis
unit. Physical- chemical parameters such as pH, temperature, hardness (Carbonate and
general), total ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels were monitoring every two days. In the
aquariums there is a continuous aeration flow rate supported by an external aeration system.
Filtration was accomplished with an external biological filter including as substrate siphorax,
and zeolite for removing ammonia from the aquarium. The experimental process is divided in
two stages practical steps. The first one, describes the daily removal of the uneaten food and
the faeces to eliminate the possibility of ammonia increasing and the second one is partial
changes of water (approximately 10% the total volume of the aquarium) daily, to befoul the
fishes, because all the laterally compressed Cichlids are extremely sensitive to nitrite an un-
ionized ammonia.
Angelfish are omnivores, thus food is an important factor which affects reproduction. feeding
a balanced diet is important for fish health and maintenance of water quality in the aquarium.
During the experimantal period the fishes were fed to satiation three times per day. The diet
was a mixture of pellets, flakes, bloodworms, daphnia, Cyclops, tubifex worms, frozen
artemia and mosquito larvae.
A commonly method was used in selecting pairs of angelfish. Males had pointed short,
breeding tubes that extend from the vent (papillae). The females were rounded and short and
her ovipositor. Usually the male chooses his mate, or the female chooses her mate (Cacho et
al., 2007) (Figure 1).
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4th International Congress on Aquaculture, Fisheries Technology and Environmental Management
21 – 22 November 2008, Athens, Greece, EU
Proceedings of AquaMedit 2008 ISBN 978-960-87795-2-5
Figure 1: The differences between female (from the left) and male angelfish (right). The
males (right) papillae is sort and not visible, in comparison with the females (left) breeding
tube (ovipositor) which is bigger and visible.
RESULTS
An important factor that affects the reproduction process of angelfish is to maintaine aquatic
water quality. Table 1 shows water parameters found in the wild angelfishes
Table 1: Recommended water quality concentrations for angelfish culture.
Parameter Recommended concentrations
Ammonia
(unionized)
<0.01 mg/L as N
Dissolved oxygen >5 mg/L
Hardeness 70 – 105 mg/L as CaCO3
pH 6.2 – 6.8
Nitrite <0.1 mg/L as N
Temperature 25! C – 30! C
The reproduction takes place approximately 10 days after their acclimation. The pair will be
noticeable when two angelfish protect a certain area of the aquarium. Young male as well as
females often spread their fins and gills while dancing in a half circle in front of their mate.
Another sign includes males darting at fish than their mate in an attempt to establish their
territory. After this process the pair and mainly the female is cleaning all the around area in
their nest.
In our experiments due to the absence of live plants in the aquarium, we put a plastic tube
inside the aquarium in vertical position in the water. A major indication that an impending
spawn is approaching includes the cleaning of leaves, slates, algae e.t.c. from the breeding
tube. The genital papillae of the female usually appears first and is more noticeable because it
is larger and more blunt, while that of the male is more slender and pointed. These small
protuberances which appear at the vent are used respectively for depositing the eggs and
fertilizing them. A day before the spawning takes place, the breeding tubes of each fish
emerge close to their anal area. During the spawning process, the female rides her ovipositor
into the breeding tube and eggs are laid in a successive line. The male follows behind her
fertilizing the eggs as they are laid to the breeding tube (Figure 2). The process usually takes
place for about an hour. Female can deposit up 500 eggs with each spawning (Table 2). Eggs
are usually clear, small (1.50 – 3.00 mm) and round.
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4th International Congress on Aquaculture, Fisheries Technology and Environmental Management
21 – 22 November 2008, Athens, Greece, EU
Proceedings of AquaMedit 2008 ISBN 978-960-87795-2-5
The number of eggs depends on the weight and the mature of the female. All experimental
females showed no difference between the female groups in relation to body weight and body
lengths and the number of eggs respectively (T-test weight: P<0,0005) total body length (T-
test, P<0,0005). The mean + SE of the total length and weight of females were: 5.743±
2.067and 0.677±0.470, respectively. They hatch within 48 to 72 hours depending in the
availability and quality of food eaten by the parents. Infertile eggs turn white and are removed
by the parents from the area. Both parents guard and provide care to the eggs and the newly
hatched fry. The larvae are initially shifted from the vertical breeding tube but as they grow
more active, their parents often move them to shallow pits in the substratum. The fry attempts
swimming 4 to 5 days later, but threy usually require an additional day and a half to two days
to become fully proficient. At this stage, they are called swim-up fry (Figure 3) and survival
rate reaches at 60% .
Table 2: Number of eggs produced and number of fry hatched by the female.
Pair Group
1 2 3 4 5 6
Number of eggs 200 150 350 150 230 250
Number of fry 90 48 180 87 114 120
(1) (2) (3)
Figure 2: Angelfish spawning process from the left (1) the female deposit the eggs in the
vertical breeding tube, (2,3) the male follows the female fertilizing the eggs as they are laid.
Figure 3: A pair of angelfish and the new hatched fry.
The newly hatched angelfishes can be removed from the aquarium when the parents are to
ready to respawn. The duration of the whole process is fourth to eight weeks. Another
practice that can be applied with different results is to remove the eggs and replace them in
other aquariums with the same conditions and aeration supply.
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4th International Congress on Aquaculture, Fisheries Technology and Environmental Management
21 – 22 November 2008, Athens, Greece, EU
Proceedings of AquaMedit 2008 ISBN 978-960-87795-2-5
This method increases the percentage of mortality of the fish. When the fry are free
swimming, they should be transfered to an aerated 60L aquarium at 300 fry per aquarium
(Figure 4). The aquarium should have water depth of approximately 15-20 cm and be filtered
with a sponge filter. When the fry are approximately 15 mm in diameter, they should be
transferred to a 120 to 200 L aquarium with aeration and filtration. Fry can grow to
marketable size in six to eight weeks.
Figure 4: Pterophyllum scalare fry in 60 L aquarium.
Angelfish fry are not difficult to raise them but attension is needed to keep the concentrations
as low as possipble (10 – 20 individuals/cm3 every effort is made to keep metabolize
concentrationsas low as possible. Succesful process for grow up the angelfish fry is the
feeding rate, the quantity and type of food and the frequent partial water changes (Figure 5).
Regular feeding (3 times per day) includes pellets, flakes, bloodworms, daphnia, Cyclops,
tubifex worms, frozen artemia or nauplii artemia and mosquito larvae (Figure 6). Fry seven to
eight weeks can be sold to petshops.
Figure 5: First grow up of angelfish fry in a period of 30 days
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4th International Congress on Aquaculture, Fisheries Technology and Environmental Management
21 – 22 November 2008, Athens, Greece, EU
Proceedings of AquaMedit 2008 ISBN 978-960-87795-2-5
Figure 6: Feeding Schedule for the angelfish, Pterophyllum scalare,
REFERENCES
Bergmann, H. (1968) Eine descriptive Verhaltensanalyse des Segelflossers (Pterophyllum
scalare Cu & Val., Ciclidae, pisces).Z. Tierpsychol., 25, 559-587.
Bernstein, J.W., 1980. Parental care in the Cichlid fish Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum. Copeia,
80 (40: 682-686).
Cacho, MSRF., Yamamotome. And Chellappa, S., (1999). Comportamento reproductive do
acara bandeira , Pterophyllum scalare (Osteichthyes, Cichlidae). Rev. Bras.Zool, vol.16,
no.1, p.653-664.
Cacho, MSRF., Yamamotome. And Chellappa, S., (2007). Mating system of the Amazonian
cichlid angel fish, Pterophyllum scalare.. Bras.Zool., 67(1): 161-165,2007
Chien, A.K & Salmon, M. (1972)Reproduvtive behavior of the angelfish, Pterophyllum
scalare. I. A quantitative analysis of spawning and parental behavior. Forma et Functio, 5,
45-74.
Gumm. M.J & Itzkowitz. M., 2007. Pair- bond formation and breeding- site limitation in the
convict cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus. Acta Ethology. 10:29-33
Grant, J. W.A., Girard,I. L., Breau, C & Weir,L.K.2002. Influence of the food abundance on
the competitive aggression in juvenile convict cichlid. Animal Behaviour, 63, 323-330.
Hotos, G.N., & Vlachos, N., 2004. Study of the growth rate and reproductive conditioning
factors of some commercial ornamental fish in aquarium. Technological Educational
Istitution of Messolonghi, Dept of aquaculture and Fisheries. Final report of research
program.
Hotos, G.,N. Vlachos., 1999. Observations on the conditioning of filter bed in hypersaline
aquaria, Aquaculture engineering 19, 215 – 222.
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4th International Congress on Aquaculture, Fisheries Technology and Environmental Management
21 – 22 November 2008, Athens, Greece, EU
Proceedings of AquaMedit 2008 ISBN 978-960-87795-2-5