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Freshwater Angelfish
Szabi237, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist

Cichlids

Freshwater Angelfish

Pterophyllum scalare (Schultze, 1823)

LC Least Concern

Names

EnglishFreshwater Angelfish
DutchGewone maanvis
SpanishEscalar
Chinese神仙鱼
Scientific namePterophyllum scalare (Schultze, 1823)

About this species

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 in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. Particularly to the Ucayali river in Peru, the Oyapock River in French Guiana, the Essequibo River in Guyana, the Solimões, the Amapá, and the Amazon rivers in Brazil. It is found in swamps or flooded grounds where vegetation is dense and the water is either clear or silty. Its native waters range from a neutral pH of 7.0 down to near 6.0, with a general water hardness (gH) 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 trade. A similar (cross-breeding possible) P. scalare exists in the Rio Orinoco. They are of the same size and shape, the only difference being the stripes; the Orinoco P. scalare has thinner, but dual, stripes.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
OrderPerciformes
FamilyCichlidae
GenusPterophyllum

In Suriname

11Records in Suriname
1iNaturalist observations
1974First record
2018Latest record

Where it has been recorded

  • Para3
  • Brokopondo2

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Sources & credits

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Related species in Suriname