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Common name: Marble / black marble angelfish

Scientific Name: Pterophyllum scalare

Order: Cichliformes

Family: Cichlidae

Genus: Pterophyllum

Native: Amazon basin

Diet in the wild: tiny fish fry, shrimps and crab fry, crabs, various worms, mosquito larvae, and water bugs

Diet in captivity: Pellet, frozen or live bloodworm and live feed such as daphnia/Moina

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Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Cichliformes

Family: Cichilidae

Genus: Pterophyllum

Species: Pterophyllum scalare

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1. From a pair of Adult freshwater Angelfish, they will breed and deposit their eggs into substrate.

2. Angelfish eggs are coated in a sticky, thread-like mucilage produced by the female during spawning. This mucilage acts like a natural glue, allowing the eggs to adhere firmly to various surfaces like leaves, rocks, or even aquarium walls.

3. The eggs will hatch after 2-3 days after spawning. When the larvae hatch, they will remain stick to the substrate and they receive nutrition from their egg yolk. at this phase they are called as "wigglers".

4. After 3-4 days, depending on the environment, they will become free-swimmers (fry) and will scavenge for food.

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Freshwater Angelfish typically have an average lifespan of eight to 12 years in Captivity. But in the wild, they can live up to 15 years. The survival and lifespan of Angelfish depend on many factors such as environment, presence of predators and water quality. This fish will reach sexual maturity usually 6-12 months old but sometimes 5-7 months depending on the conditions of the fish.

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Different between male and female angelfish

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Different between male and female angelfish

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Body shape: Males generally have a taller, rounder body shape with a prominent, rounded forehead. Meanwhile, Females tend to have a more diamond-shaped or angular body with a flatter head. and a dorsal fin that slopes more gently with the back.

Fins: For male angelfish their dorsal fin typically extends higher and forms a more pointed angle with the back. Males angelfish have longer, forked ventral fins that appear almost thread-like at the tips.

Meanwhile, for females, their dorsal fin slopes more gently with the back. Female angelfish consists of shorter, rounded ventral fins compared to male angelfish.

Breeding Tubercle: During the breeding season, males develop a visible breeding tubercle, a small white bump located just in front of the anal fin meanwhile females don't have this tubercle.

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Breeding technique for Freshwater Angelfish

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Breeding technique for Freshwater Angelfish

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1. Preparation

Choose a healthy and mature Angelfish. Usually if the fish is already interested in each other, they will swim and stay together "berkepit".

Setting up the breeding tanks. Setup up an aquarium and provide high volume of water with moderate water flow. Also put a substrate such as breeding cone, tiles or PVC pipe at 45degree angles. This fish needed a privacy moment to breed, so better cover the aquarium using black plastic or cover it with something dark to create dark environment. THe temperature is needed to be warm usually ranging from 25 - 29 degree Celsius.

Feeding the angelfish with high protein diets such as Daphnia, brine shrimp or bloodworm so they can produce a high quality eggs.

2. Spawning

Introducing the pair into the aquarium that already been setup. They might initially display aggression, but this should settle as they adjust.

Then they will do the spawning rituals such as fin flaring, chasing, and cleaning a chosen surface. The female will lay hundreds of tiny eggs, and the male will fertilize them immediately. Angelfish breeding type is egg depositor, which mean the female will deposit the eggs into the substrate.

If you plan to raise the fry separately, remove the eggs carefully after spawning and place them in another tank with similar water conditions.

3. Hatching and fry care

If the parents care for the eggs, maintain good water quality and avoid disturbing them. They will fan the eggs to keep them oxygenated and remove any fungus growth.

But if you see the parents does not take care of their eggs or start to eat their eggs, removed the eggs, monitor them closely for hatching (2-3 days). Once hatched, feed the fry with infusoria, microalgae or specialized fry food several times a day. Maintain water quality meticulously through small, frequent water changes.

As the fry grow, gradually introduce larger food sources like Daphnia or Artemia nauplii. Keep the water clean and warm, and gradually adjust the water flow as they get stronger.

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Make a survey at the ornamental fish shop to choose the ornamental fish broodstock that is best for breeding.

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Make a survey at the ornamental fish shop to choose the ornamental fish broodstock that is best for breeding.

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I became interested in Angelfish species after visiting and surveying the aquarium shop in Gong Badak (Ming yu 3). There are numerous species of Angelfish at the shop, including "Koi angelfish", "black angelfish", "Zebra angelfish, and "platinum white angelfish".

However, the fish that I've been searching for, a Marble angelfish, is not in stock. The reason why i am interested in breeding the "Marble angelfish" (Pterophyllum scalare) is because its colour and pattern are similar to my Aquarium theme which is black and white.

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Cleaning the Aquarium provided by the Ornamental fish Hatchery(UMT)

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Cleaning the Aquarium provided by the Ornamental fish Hatchery(UMT)

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After getting my aquarium randomly given by Dr lok, I started to flush out the dirty water that was already inside the aquarium using a rubber pipe. After done siphoning out all the water and debris, I rinse the aquarium using salt water and brushed the dirty aquarium using a sponge. After done cleaning, i rinse the aquarium again using fresh water and let it dry for several days.

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Finding the Marble angelfish broodstock (16 October 2023)

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Finding the Marble angelfish broodstock (16 October 2023)

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After asking my friends where I might obtain marble angelfish, one of them suggested I visit the Ming yu 2 fish store in Bandar Kuala Terengganu. Finally, I found the Marble angelfish in this place, however the size is so small that I'm scared the fish won't be able to mate yet.

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Visiting another fish store to find the suitable Marble angelfish broodstock (18 October 2023)

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Visiting another fish store to find the suitable Marble angelfish broodstock (18 October 2023)

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Gong Badak Petshop and Aquarium is another aquarium store in the Gong Badak region that i visited. In this fish store, the Marble angelfish broodstock is available, unfortunately, there is just one male marble angelfish broodstock left in this fish store.

So I decided not to buy the fish at this store. Then i contacted an old friends who is an ornamental fish enthusiast. I asked if she had the fish i had been searching for. Luckily, my old friend has the fish broodstock that i want and willing to sell it to me.

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Buying equipment to set up the aquarium (19 October 2023)

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Buying equipment to set up the aquarium (19 October 2023)

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I went back to the Gong Badak petshop and aquarium store to buy the necessary equipment for the aquarium and temporary tank at home while i prepared and decorated the aquarium at the hatchery provided by UMT. I purchased a 36-liter container, an aquarium air pump, an aquarium sponge filter, and an air stone with hose.

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I filled the container with tap water until it was almost full and turned on the aeration using the air pump and sponge filter that I bought and let it be for several days to dechlorinate the water.

I also made a "DIY" aquarium divider using plastic cardboard that i already have at home. The reason why i do this divider is purposely to separate the male and female angelfish broodstock.

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Searching for driftwood at Bukit Maras with my buddies Aslam, Megat, Amir, and Matwan. This wood is intended to be an aquarium decoration. After collecting the driftwood, i clean the wood using a brush and tap water. After all the wood has been cleaned thoroughly, I will soak the wood in a fiber glass tank filled with water for a few days in order for the wood to absorb water and easily sink in the aquarium later.

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Seeking knowledge at night (21 October 2023)

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Seeking knowledge at night (21 October 2023)

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That night, I went to an Aquascaping shop (Saloma pet shop) which is located near UMT. I have asked the shop owner about aquascaping and also about how to breed Angelfish.

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Cleaning the black lava gravel and stones using tap water until it is completely clean of any debris. After that, i decorated the aquarium using it and filled the aquarium with freshwater. Then i turned on the aeration and sponge filter to make the water clear and increased the dissolved oxygen level in the water.

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Breeding aquarium setup (23 October 2023)

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Breeding aquarium setup (23 October 2023)

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I asked Dr. Lok and Mr. Raja for permission to use another aquarium to breed my angelfish, and they kindly granted it as well as provided me with an ideal spot for the breeding aquarium. I cleaned the aquarium using a sponge and saltwater. The saltwater can be used to disinfect the aquarium and can kill harmful bacteria and other microorganisms that may be present in the aquarium.

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Receiving the Angelfish broodstock (24 October 2023)

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Receiving the Angelfish broodstock (24 October 2023)

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After several days of waiting, i received my Angelfish broodstock that i buy from my old friend. My friend used Line clear express to post my fish inside Styrofoam box from Johor to Terengganu.

Right after i received the fish, i acclimatized the fish first inside my temporary tank for about 15 minutes before fully introducing the fish into the temporary tank.

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Putting a few baby carp fish (anak ikan kap) into both the main aquarium and the breeding aquarium to test out the water. This method is used to see if the water is in good quality (non-toxic) for fish to live in the water. I learned this water testing method from local fish breeders.

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Daphnia is the livefeed that I use to feed my angelfish, which is intended for breeding. The main reason why I choose daphnia as the main diet for my angelfish is because daphnia is very easy to culture with less maintenance needed. Daphnia is also available at the hatchery. I asked for 1000 ml of daphnia stock from Encik Mat Zin (Hatchery expert) to be used as a starter for culturing the daphnia. The other reason why i chose daphnia is because daphnia can supply good nutrition for my angelfish. Daphnia are rich in protein, essential fatty acids and vitamins which play a significant role for the growth and reproduction of angelfish. Furthermore, Daphnia are very small organisms that fit the mouths of angelfish perfectly because angelfish mouth are small compared to other ornamental fish such as Arowana fish.

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Daphnia POV

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In this rescue mission, among water plants that were inhibited in Sungai padang maras, i managed to save the Cabomba plant from a big flood due to the monsoon season. This action is considered as heroic action because i was able to take care and preserve this Cabomba plant and thus prevent this tree from extinct from this world. My planning is to put this Cabomba plant into my aquarium and let them grow freely inside my aquarium.

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On this day, i brought 2 pairs of my angelfish broodstock from the temporary tank at home to the freshwater fish hatchery in umt to be placed in my aquarium. Before i put the fish into the aquarium, I did the acclimatization process first to stabilize and equalize the water temperature inside the plastic bag that contained my angelfish according to the water temperature in the aquarium.

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Here is my fully decorated aquarium. The decorative component that i put inside the aquarium is one big old driftwood, a few Cabomba plants that i rescued in Sungai Padang maras, small stones and lava rock gravel as substrate inside the aquarium. I also put small driftwood at 45 45-degree angle to be used as a substrate for angelfish to deposit their eggs.

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Here are my Marble angelfish that i put inside the aquarium.

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I bought 2 new dustbin at the MR.Diy store to be used as a container to carry out my angelfish breeding process at home. The reason why I bought this dustbin to be used as a container to breed my angelfish is because I can't afford to buy an aquarium that is quite expensive for me :(

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Dustbin containers that have been filled with unchlorinated freshwater for my angelfish breeding process.

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I bought a pair of Angelfish for only just RM15 from a Diploma fisheries student that already finished their ornamental fish project. The reason why i buy this angelfish pair is because of their uniqueness. The uniqueness of this pair is that they have different varieties. The Male angelfish is striped angelfish and the female is marble angelfish.

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On 12 November 2023, I have setup an new aquarium for breeding angelfish in the hatchery. I wrapped the aquarium using black plastic to create a dark environment inside the aquarium. Then i put the pair of angelfish that i bought from a diploma student yesterday. I also put a PVC pipe in a 45-degree angle to create a spawning substrate for the angelfish. I also feed them using livefeed which is Daphnia sp.

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I just receive 3 new pairs of angelfish that my friend just gave to me for free. These angelfish i planned to breed at home. So this angelfish at home can be as backup plan if my angelfish at the hatchery did not breed. I put a black net on top of the container as a safety precaution to prevent my fish from being eaten by predators such as birds or cats

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i feed these angelfish using daphnia that i cultured at home. At first, the fish didn't want to eat, I persuaded the fish to eat after a few minutes, and since they were starving, they ate without hesitation.

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On 22 November 2023, i do a water change around 80% for my breeding aquarium. Suddenly on 23 November 2023 magic happened! My fish deposited their eggs on the PVC pipe substrate I prepared. That day, I was so overjoyed because the fish that i breed finally lay eggs and i forgot to feed them.

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On this day, my heart just fell off because all of my angelfish eggs were missing!! After a few silent minutes of thinking about where my angelfish eggs had gone, i assumed that the angelfish broodstock may have eaten the eggs due to hunger because i forgot to feed them yesterday T_T

"The shattering of a heart when being broken is the loudest quiet ever."

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That evening, i went fishing with my friends to heal my heart that had been shattered into thousand pieces.

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After 2 weeks of waiting, the same pair of angelfish lay their eggs again. Based on painful past experiences, i separate the eggs from their parent. The reason why i separate the eggs from the parent is because I'm scared that they will eat their eggs again. Angelfish are known to over-react to certain stress factors (e.g. sudden movements around the tank or hungry) and eat their eggs in their haste.

I put the eggs inside new aquarium that i setup specifically for the eggs only. I also provide gentle aeration inside the aquarium to creating sufficient water movement and gas exchange for proper development of the eggs.

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The next day, i found out there are many unfertilized eggs. From the research that i read online, usually, angelfish parents will eat the unfertilized eggs. Since i already separated the eggs from their parents, i manually removed the unfertilized eggs using a pipette. In order to maintain the quality of the fertilized eggs, the unfertilized eggs must be removed to avoid the eggs becoming rotten and moldy (fungus) and infect the fertilized eggs.

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Gastrula stage of angelfish zygote development

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Angelfish eggs go through the same processes or stages regardless if they’re being hatched by the parents or if they’re hatched artificially. At this stage, the egg wall is quite transparent and if examined closely under a microscope, the beating heart and the blood flow through the larvae can both be observed.

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After one day, some of the eggs already hatch and become "wigglers". The larvae are still attached to PVC pipes through a filament that protrudes from their heads.

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In the larval stage, eyes, tails, and internal organs are still developing. As you can see, there is an egg yolk at their stomach. At this point, there’s no need to feed them as they’re feeding on their yolk sack.

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After 2 days, as you can see their egg yolk sac have become smaller which means they are near into free swimming stage.

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As the larval angelfish consume up all their yolk sack, they become free swimmers. From this video shown that some of the larvae already become a free-swimming larvae and some of them are still clumping to each other. This happens in about 3 to 4 days after hatching, depending on the water temperatures.

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i transferred all the free swimming larvae into new tank to make it easier for me to count the larvae. After around 1 hour of counting the larvae, total of the larvae is 256 pieces.

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After observing the larvae under the microscope, it can be seen that the eyes are already developed. For the first two days, i feed the larvae using microalgae "air hijau"

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After i went back to UMT after going on a field trip for 2 days, i found out that all of my angelfish larvae were dead. Despite the fact that I had previously added microalgae and micropellets to the tanks before i went to the field trip, in my assumption all of these larvae are found dead because of starvation. Maybe microalgae itself is not enough for them to survive for 2 days. So, their survival rate for this batch is 0%.

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" Dalam kepahitan pasti ada kemanisan". "In bitterness, there is also sweetness just like Light Roast Coffees". - Luth skyscraper

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On the same day, I noticed that my marble angelfish pair had already laid their eggs on the PVC pipe. Unfortunately, only a few eggs are remaining on the PVC pipe. I believed that this couple of angelfish had laid their eggs on the day I went on the field trip. My first assumption is the parent angelfish might eat their eggs because they are hungry, even though I already asked my friend to feed them while I am gone for two days. For the second assumption is the angelfish eat their eggs because those eggs are not fertilized or already infected by fungus, That is why they eat them in order to protect the remaining eggs that have not been infected by fungus. At the same time, I separated the remaining eggs as a safety precaution because I was worried the parent might eat the remaining eggs.

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The total of eggs for this batch is 23 pieces. As you can see from the video, a few eggs are already hatched and turned into "wigglers".

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On 20 December 2023, All 23 pieces of the eggs successfully hatched. Some of it already become free-swimming larvae and swim toward the bottom of the aquarium and the others are still at the "wiggler" stage.

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On the same day, i provide the angelfish larvae with microalgae "air hijau" for them to eat. There are many benefits of "air hijau" for fish larvae. One of it is microalgae is rich with essential nutrients such as protein, lipids, vitamins, and minerals, vital for the rapid growth and development of angelfish larvae. These nutrients support bone and muscle formation, enzyme function, and overall health in the early stage.

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I requested the artemia cyst from MR Raja, and he gave it to me. I started culturing the Artemia immediately after receiving the Artemia cyst to feed my Angelfish larvae.

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The next day, the artemia cyst that I cultured has hatched into artemia nauplii and can be served as livefeed to my Angelfish larvae. The reason why i chose artemia nauplii and not other livefeed such as Daphnia is because the size of Artemia nauplii is very small (400µm - 570µm) and suitable for angelfish larvae mouth. Morphological observations revealed the length of the freshly hatched Artemia nauplii within the base generation (G0) ranged from 400.0 µm to 570.0 µm (Vikas. P.A. et al 2021). Larvae of angelfishes require small food due to their small mouth size (Olivotto et al 2006) I harvest the artemia nauplii using 10ml Pipette dropper and rinse the artemia using freshwater before i give to the angelfish larvae to eat.

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i brought another pair of Marble angelfish from home to UMT hatchery. The reason why i brought this fish is because i already tried to breed this angelfish at home but the environment is not suitable for breeding. Why i say its not suitable is because the container is exposed to heavy rain and makes the water temperature low. For successful breeding, angelfish prefer slightly warmer temperatures than their usual comfort range (Susel, G., 2023).

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2 weeks after the angelfish hatch, from a total of 23 angelfish larvae, only 7 angelfish larvae survived. So the survival rate after 2 weeks is 30.4% (7/23 x 100%).

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I feed Daphnia sp. to my angelfish broodstock twice a day for every day in the hopes that they would deposit an abundance of eggs this time.

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On 6 January 2024, another pair of my angelfish that i brought from home to the hatchery finally Deposit their eggs on the PVC pipe. This pair of angelfish gave me 498 pieces of eggs. This time i quickly separated the eggs from their parent straight away. In malay word "takkan pisang berbuah dua kali".

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On the same day, again, "In sweetness, there is also bitterness just like Light Roast Coffees". The angelfish fry that used to be 7 pieces is now only 2 pieces remain. Cause of death is still unknown. In my assumption, maybe i don't give enough artemia nauplii to them in order to survive.

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I observed the angelfish fry under the profile projector to see if there any disabilities towards the fry, but i did not see any disabilities occur at the fish morphology.

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After one day, these eggs successfully hatch and become "wigglers". But this time the hatching rate is not 100% because 6 eggs are not hatch and already infected by fungus. So the hatching rate is 98.8% (492/498 x 100 = 98.79).

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After 2 days of wiggling at the PVC pipes, all of the angelfish larvae become free swimming but most of them are still clumping to each other. This time i also provide "microalgae to the fry.

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On 11 January 2024, all of the fry are not clumping to each other and can swim freely inside the aquarium. I feed all of this fry using Artemia nauplii every day.

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When I observe that all of the Angelfish fry have developed into powerful swimmers, I decided to count the number of fry to calculate the survival rate. So the total of the Angelfish fry left is 283 pieces. So their survival rate is 56.8% (283/498 x 100 = 56.82%).

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This is the Marble Angelfish fry from the Third batch. After 26 days, you can see that this fry is slowly morphing into an Adult angelfish form/shape. The Dorsal and ventral fin are already develop and expand.

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The total length of this Marble Angelfish is 1.3 cm. Their body pattern which is Marble is also developing.

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After all this month culturing and breeding this Angelfish, i can conclude that to breed this fish we really need to focus on their environment and feeding in order for the fish to breed. Even though to breed this fish is quite challenging for me and not easy like breeding the live bearer fish such as guppy, mollies, platy etc. I really enjoyed every second of the culturing and breeding this Angelfish. Although many of my seniors and friends say that breeding angelfish is difficult and do not recommend me to breed this angelfish, I am still determined to breed this fish because i want to learn new things and gain new knowledge about this angelfish. I also want to challenge my self by doing something out of my expertise like breeding this Angelfish. Alhamdulillah, Despite having no experience breeding this angelfish, with the help and guidance provided by Dr. Lok, I was able to breed this angelfish after multiple unsuccessful attempts to breed this angelfish throughout this Ornamental fish culture subject (AQU 3243).

Breeding angelfish can be a fun and rewarding experience, but it also requires responsibility and commitment. Make sure you have the time, resources, and knowledge to provide proper care for both the broodstock and the fry before proceeding to breed this Angelfish.