Tag Archives: Pterophyllum

Pterophyllum sp. “Guyana Red Dragon”.

13. June 2022

Similar to the fact that there are several red-backed angelfish populations, there are also several red or yellow-spotted wild forms. The ancestors of Pterophyllum sp. “Guyana Red Dragon” came from the Essequibo River in Guyana. Number and intensity of dots vary individually in each fish, but all specimens we currently received (they are now 5-7 cm long and just sexually ripe) are very nicely and intensely spotted. They are German offspring. 

The coloration of the red spots of the Pterophyllum sp. “Guyana Red Dragon” changes with the incidence of light. Sometimes they look more orange, sometimes black-red, sometimes cherry-red. Exactly the same phenomenon is known from the red dotted Green Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus). And just like discus, red-spotted and un-spotted specimens occur together in nature. These are not special local variations, nor are they sex differences or even species differences. However, as the magnificent Pterophyllum sp. “Guyana Red Dragon”, which we are currently able to offer, show abundantly clear: this characteristic is hereditary and can be increased in its expression from generation to generation in the hands of experienced breeders.

For our customers: the animals have code 699793 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale. 

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pterophyllum “Manacapuru redback”.

10. June 2022

There is a lot of interest in special wild forms of the angelfish. Among the best known is the “Manacapuru Redback”, a very striking form. Because of the strong need for revision of the genus Pterophyllum, it is better not to call it “Pterophyllum scalare” scientifically, because what exactly this “real” scalare is has yet to be researched.

The city of Manacapuru, after which this redback is named, is the fourth largest city in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is located directly on the Amazon River, but about 80 km above the confluence of the Amazon and Rio Negro. Until there, the Amazon is called Rio Solimoes. However, red-backed angelfish are not only found there and unfortunately different red-backed local forms have been crossed with each other in the past, either intentionally or unintentionally. The Manacapuru redback is characterized by the fact that the caudal fin is almost completely featureless or at most delicately striped (more or less strongly striped in many other redback local forms). The “Amapa redback”, very similar to the “Manacapuru redback”, is less intensely colored and, when fully grown, is of “eimekei” appearance. As juveniles, these two forms are almost indistinguishable.

Care of the Manacapuru Redback is no more difficult than that of the “common” angelfish breeding forms. They become most beautiful in high tanks (around 60 cm). Young animals often do not show much red in the back yet, this depends on the strain and feeding. One pays attention with purchase above all to the thread-like belly fins. If they are nice and straight and about as long as the anal fin, then they will be nice animals. Crooked, shortened ventral fins indicate bad growing conditions. This is not hereditary, but it also never really grows out. Feeding a lot of small crustaceans (Daphnia, Cyclops, Artemia, Mysis etc., whether live or frozen) will intensify the red colors in the back. Our pictures show young adult animals and  juveniles.

For our customers: the animals have code 699673 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pterophyllum leopoldi (“dumerilii”)

29. October 2021

This season we received especially attractive Pterophyllum leopoldi from Brazil. Unfortunately, the animals do not like the photo tank at all and show there only a fraction of the wonderful colors – a magnificent green shimmer all over the body and a very nice red tone in the back – that well acclimated animals of this form can show.

But also in “fear pallor” the fish are still very beautiful. The very distinctive teeth of this P. leopoldi are also striking, especially in the male (the larger of the two photographed specimens with higher red content in the back) very eye-catching.

For more information please see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/pterophyllum_leopoldi_en/

For our customers: the fish have code 699006 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale market. Only available in small quantities!

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Angelfish XL

11. June 2021

Fully grown angelfish of the various breeding forms are comparatively rare in the trade. The reasons are obvious: The breeding is time and space consuming, because they are still cichlids, which demand a certain individual space for themselves. That’s why XL angels have to be comparatively expensive. But occasionally such animals are in demand and we then ask our breeders to satisfy this demand. 

Therefore we have just such adult angelfish in color mix in the stock. With them it shows up clearly that probably all breeding strains finally – at least by crossbreeding – are to be assigned to the eimekei form of the angelfish. Pterophyllum eimekei is currently by most scientists not seen as an independent species, but as a variant of P. scalare, which differs among other things by a lower body height from typical P. scalare. However, this only becomes apparent in fully adult animals, the otherwise commercially available angelfish juveniles of 3-6 cm body length of both forms look the same. 

For our customers: the animals have code 688707 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pterophyllum scalare “Guyana Red Dragon”

15. February 2019

The wild forms of the angel (Pterophyllum scalare) are enjoying increasing popularity, particularly the variants with locality information. Surely they are also cultivated; so come (or came, because there are currently hardly any exports from there) e.g. in wild catches from Guyana again and again especially many red spotted specimens. And who would blame the breeders if they preferred to continue breeding with animals that show this characteristic particularly intensively? We have now received about 2 months old offspring of such intensively red spotted animals as German offspring.

Pterophyllum „Santa Isabel“

14. December 2018

We can offer just wonderful, young adult German bred offspring of the famous Santa-Isabel-Angel, which differs clearly from other wild collected angels by its attractive red coloration at the front-back. The animals are descendants of fish that we were able to import as wild catches some years ago (see: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/fantastic_pterophyllum_scalare_santa_isabel_arrived__en/).

Especially worth mentioning is – besides the gorgeous colouring, the size and the beautiful growth – that these Santa Isabel are very peaceful among each other. This is not self-evident with Santa Isabel angels, there are among them also distinctly quarrelsome tribes.

For our customers: the animals have code 699843 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pterophyllum scalare Santa Isabel

20. July 2018

We received wonderful wild collected angelfish from the municipality of the city Santa Isabel at the Rio Negro. Like many other fishes from that area – mainly discus and Apistogramma – the angels show a high degree of red coloration on the body. The reason for that phenomenon is unknown to us. The water in the upper reaches of the Rio Negro is very soft and acidic. Like all larger wild fish, these angels have their experience with fin-eating piranhas. However, the angels are very healthy and stable and regenerate their finneage very fast. So after a few weeks nothing of the hurts of the wild will be visible any more.

For our customers: the fish have code 699835 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pterophyllum scalare „Belem Sky Blue“

30. May 2018

In the year 2015 along with an import of stingrays from Belem, Para, Brazil an angelfish was imported that was unknown to us until then.

Already in 2016, in the F1 generation, a few blue mutants with a red iris could be selected.

These blue angels from wild parents formed the basis of the selective breeding we performed; we called the fish „Belem Sky Blue“.

In the second generation were already several very nice fish in respect of coloration, size and finneage development.

The fish exhibit a very strong brood care, both parents take care for eggs and offspring, as is typical for wild strains of angelfish.

Only now the whole potential of blue colours and black pattern becomes visible.

So far the report of our breeder Kurt Jülich. We can offer now this fish for the very first time in good numbers.

For our customers: the fish have code 699893 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text: Kurt Jülich, photos: Jürgen Glaser and Frank Schäfer

Pterophyllum scalare „Bicolor Blue“

12. March 2018

We can offer this brandnew sport of the Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare „Bicolor Blue“) for the very first time now. The animals still differ individually in respect of pattern, but especially the front back of all specimens is already blue. The breeder guaranteed us that the parents are full blue bicolor with a real intensive colour. 

For our customers: the fish have code 693602 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusivey supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Wonderful bred Altum angels available!

10. May 2017

The Altum angel (Pterophyllum altum) is extremely demanding during the rearing period. If the breeder makes even a minor mistake in respect of water quality or the food this results at once in a life-long deformation of the fish. These gnarled ventral fins, crooked anal fins or defects of the operculum are not heritable; so it is possible to get good offspring from these deformed animals. But they nevertheless do not look good.

Now we are in the happy position that we can offer even two different strain of top quality bred Altums; both breeders offer real perfect fish that look as good a s wild collected ones but lack the notorious sensibility of the latter. The brood we call „Orinoco“ differ from the regular ones by the extremly long filaments especially from the dorsal fin, otherwise both strains have no remarkable differences.

For our customers: the fish have code 698303 (Orinoco) and 698402 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer