Description

Panda Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare var. ‘Panda’):

Care Guide:

• • Scientific Name: Pterophyllum scalare (var. ‘Panda’)
  • Common Name: Panda Angelfish, Black and White Angelfish
  • Family: Cichlidae
  • Origin: Captive-bred variant (Wild ancestors originate from the Amazon River basin)
  • Adult Size: 15 cm (approx. 6 inches) long, reaching up to 20 cm (approx. 8 inches) in height including fins
  • Lifespan: 8 to 12 years
  • Diet: Omnivore

• • Temperature: 24°C to 28°C
  • pH Range: 6.0 to 7.4
  • Water Hardness: 2 to 12 dGH

• • Minimum Tank Size: 110 litres (approximately 30 gallons) for a single individual or a confirmed pair. A minimum of 200 litres (approximately 55 gallons) is required for a small group.
  • Tank Height: A tall aquarium (minimum 50 cm high) is critical to prevent their long vertical fins from dragging on the substrate or cramping.
  • Filter Flow: Gentle to moderate water movement. Strong, turbulent currents will buffet the fish and cause unnecessary stress.
  • Aquascaping: Utilise tall, broad-leaved plants like Amazon Swords (Echinodorus), tall Vallisneria, and smooth vertical driftwood roots. This mimics their natural river reed environment and provides security.

• • Base Diet: High-quality slow-sinking cichlid pellets, flakes, and freeze-dried foods.
  • Live and Frozen Foods: Bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, and Mysis shrimp.
  • Vegetable Matter: Occasional spirulina-enriched flakes or blanched spinach to aid digestion.
  • Feeding Frequency: Feed young fish two to three times daily. Adult angelfish should be fed once or twice daily.

• • Schooling Numbers: It is best to keep them singly, as a confirmed male-female pair, or in a larger group of 5 or more individuals to distribute internal aggression. Avoid keeping them in groups of three or four, as weaker individuals will be bullied.
  • Ideal Tankmates: Medium-sized, peaceful community fish. Good choices include Corydoras catfish, larger tetras (such as Bleeding Heart, Lemon, or Diamond Tetras), rasboras, and peaceful dwarf cichlids.
  • Incompatible Tankmates:
    • • Avoid fast, notorious fin-nippers like Tiger Barbs or Buenos Aires Tetras, which will shred the angelfish’s trailing fins.
      • Avoid very small neon tetras or micro-fishes, as adult angelfish will naturally view them as a food source.

• • Males: Marginally larger with a steeper, more pronounced forehead (sometimes developing a small nuchal hump). Their breeding tube (papilla) is pointed and narrow.
  • Females: Rounder body shape. Their breeding tube is broader, blunt, and rounded when they are ready to lay eggs.

• Setup: Provide a dedicated breeding tank with soft, slightly acidic water and flat vertical surfaces, such as a slate tile, ceramic cone, or broad plant leaves.
• Method: They are substrate spawners. The pair will meticulously clean the chosen site before the female deposits rows of adhesive eggs, which the male then fertilises.
• Parental Care: Both parents will aggressively guard the eggs, fanning them with their pectoral fins to keep them clean. The eggs hatch in 2 to 3 days, and the parents will move the “wigglers” to a new location.
• Rearing: Once the fry are free-swimming (usually 5 to 7 days later), they must be fed freshly hatched baby brine shrimp (Artemia nauplii) or specialized liquid fry foods.

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