''Pterophyllum scalare'', most commonly referred to as angelfish or freshwater angelfish, is the most common species of ''Pterophyllum'' kept in captivity. It is native to the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Particularly to the

Ucayali river The Ucayali River ( es, Río Ucayali, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of ...

in Peru, the

Oyapock River The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the France, French Overseas departments of France, overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Amapá. ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, the

Essequibo River The Essequibo River (Spanish: ''Río Esequibo'' originally called by Alonso de Ojeda ''Río Dulce'') is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana bor ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, the Solimões, the

Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...

, and the

Amazon river The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

s in Brazil. It is found in swamps or flooded grounds where vegetation is dense and the water is either clear or silty. Its native water conditions range from a pH of 7.0 to 6.0, a water hardness range of 3 to 10 °dH, and water temperature ranging from 26 to 30 °C (75 to 86 ° F). This is the species of angelfish most frequently found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade. A similar (cross-breeding possible) ''P. scalare'' exists in the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

. They are of the same size and shape, the only difference being its stripes: the Orinoco ''P. scalare'' has thinner, but dual stripes. The diet of ''Pterophyllum scalare'' consists of a wide food spectrum; they feed on juvenile fishes, prawns, and worms. They feed on different types of worms such as Tubifex worms, vermicompost worms, and bloodworms, the tubifex diet are high in protein and nutrients for the angelfish resulting in high significant growth and live food diet provided better reproductive performance. Furthermore, the mosquito larvae is also a very nutritious live feed food. First described by

Hinrich Lichtenstein Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein (10 January 1780 – 2 September 1857) was a German physician, explorer, botanist and zoologist. Biography Born in Hamburg, Lichtenstein was the son of Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein. He studied medicine ...

in 1823, First import to Europe (Germany) by C.Ziggelkow, Hamburg in 1909Rüdiger Riehl, Hans A. Baensch "Akvariets lexikon" (German book translated into Swedish) Swedish , third edition 1997, pages (765),766–767

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scalare Cichlid fish of South America Freshwater fish of Brazil Freshwater fish of Colombia Fish of French Guiana Fish of Guyana Freshwater fish of Peru Fish of the Amazon basin Fish described in 1823 {{Cichlidae-stub