Taller than it is long
With its fins it can be twenty-five centimetres from top to bottom, so it needs a tall tank.
The aquarium · Time every day
Freshwater angelfish
Tropical fish · from the Amazon
A flat, silver, disc-shaped fish with black vertical bars, tall sail-like fins and long trailing feelers.
- Size
- 15cm long and up to 25cm tall
- Lives for
- 10 years or more
- Suits
- Keepers with a tall tank and some experience
Glides after you like a sail. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the angelfish
Stripes for hiding
The black bars break up its shape among the reeds and roots where it lives.
Careful parents
A pair cleans a leaf, lays eggs on it, fans them with their fins and guards the young.
A cichlid
It belongs to the cichlid family, known for being clever and looking after their young.
It eats small fish
A grown angelfish will swallow neon tetras. They are not good tank mates.
Fading stripes
Its bars fade when it is frightened or unwell.
The real thing
Photos of the angelfish
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
It needs a heated tank at least 50cm tall and 200 litres for a small group, with tall plants and calm water.
Before you get one
Angelfish are graceful and long-lived, but they grow large and can bully smaller fish.
Keep going