How to Identify and Care for Black Angel Fish

The black lace angel (Pterophyllum scalare) is a variant of angel fish, and belongs to the Cichlidae family. This species is native to South America. The scientific name, Pterophyllum, is in fact pretty descriptive, as it is derived from the Greek term for "winged leaf," reflecting its distinctive fins. Black lace angel fish are popular species and need relatively moderate amount of care.

Things You'll Need

• Fish tank Filter and heater Aquarium gravel (1 lb. per gallon) Pump (optional) Basic test kits (pH, dH, etc.) Live plants and fish tank decorations Pet fish food

Instructions

1. Identify your fish correctly as black angel fish to help ensure that you provide proper care. It is ebony black in color--hence the name--with some areas of varying shades of gray. Its long flowing fins extend along the length of its rounded, disk-shaped body, and are accentuated with a beautiful black lace-like edges. It grows to about 6 inches.

2. House your black lace angel fish in a tank that is at least 30 gallons. Clean your aquarium with hot water and a dishcloth. Fill tank with room-temperature water. Allow 24 hours before to put your black lace angel fish in. This allows enough time for the chlorine and other heavy metals to dissipate.

3. Attach you filter and heater. Set the heater to maintain a temperature of between 75 to 82 degrees F. Clean your gravel with hot water and then add it to the tank as a substrate. Black lace angel fish thrive in soft, slightly acidic water with a pH of 5.8 to 7.0 and a dH in the range of 1 to 5. Angel fish like low light.

4. Plant some live aquatic plants. These angel fish love a well-planted tank. They favor broadleaf aquarium plants, which provide a flat surface for laying their eggs on.

5. Add aquarium decorations such as rocks and driftwood, but arrange them to allow plenty of space for swimming. Arrange your decorations to provide a hiding place to offer the fish some security when scared.

6. Feed your black lace angel fish with tropical fish flakes. Any brand will do. While they can survive on this alone, they will really thrive if their diet is supplemented with frozen or dried bloodworms (frozen ones will be eaten within seconds), as well as live foods like mosquito larvae, black worms, adult brine shrimp and guppy fry. They are omnivorous and therefore need vegetable material as well.

7. Provide your black lace angel fish with some tank mates. They have a semi-aggressive temperament and are compatible with guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails, tetras, rainbowfish, cory catfish, plecos, rasboras and gouramis.

Tips & Warnings

• pH is a measure of the level of acidity or alkalinity of your aquarium water, using a scale of 1 to 14. Most commonly, freshwater fish need water at a range between 6.5 to 7.5 pH. For this reason, if you have a wide range of different species, your best compromise is a pH of 7.0 dH is a measure of water hardness, which refers to the levels of dissolved minerals in your aquarium water. The recommended dH for a freshwater tank is 4 to 6.