The Angelfish

There are around 100 different species of angelfish that inhabit the waters of the southern hemisphere. There are two main types of angelfish, those that live in the freshwater rivers in South America (freshwater angelfish) and those angelfish that inhabit the salty ocean waters (marine angelfish).

The freshwater angelfish has a more triangular shape and will generally only grow to a few inches in length. The marine angelfish can grow up to 12 inches (the same length as a big ruler) and generally have very brightly coloured markings but the exact colours depend on the angelfish species.

Both the freshwater angelfish and the marine angelfish are known to be relatively difficult fish to keep in household aquariums, as both types of angelfish require very specific water conditions. Angelfish are very susceptible to changes in the water such as salt levels and pH levels, and will often die if changes are too drastic.

Despite the fact that their names are the same, freshwater angelfish and marine angelfish are not thought to be closely related. The freshwater angelfish is a tropical species of cichlid, distantly related to the cichlids found in specific lakes in Africa. The marine angelfish are believed to be most closely related to the butterfly fish.

Freshwater angelfish are native to the Amazon basin and are also found in the rivers running off it. Freshwater angelfish inhabit the cleaner waters and prefer to be in temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees centigrade.

Freshwater angelfish lay between 100 and 1,000 eggs which hatch in just a couple of days. Freshwater angelfish tend to lay their eggs on a flat leaf or an underwater log. The baby angelfish (known as fry) remain attached to the eggs for another week and feed off the remaining yolk in the egg sack. When they are bigger at a week old, the angelfish fry detach from their eggs and become free swimming. It is at this stage that the baby angelfish begin feeding from nutrients in the water and on plants.

The triangular shape of the freshwater angelfish, means that the angelfish is able to hide more easily amongst the aquatic plants in the water. Wild freshwater angelfish have very distinctive dark stripes that run vertically down their bodies, giving the freshwater angelfish the ability to blend in to it\'s surroundings. Freshwater angelfish usually breed for life and it is often found that if one of the angelfish parents dies, then the remaining angelfish parent has no interest in breeding.

(source:google/http://a-z-animals.com/)