What is the first thing which comes in to your mind when you hear the word, Angel? A white color figure with a magic stick, spelling magic and leaving smiles on every face, is what that you get in your mind.
But ever heard of a black colored angel, must be sounding crazy.
But yes, black colored angels do exist on this earth.
You must be thinking that where such creatures live, no, not in heaven, they live in your aquariums.
Puzzled!! Well, let's divulge this mystery; the black angel is none other than the Black Angelfish.
Lovable, popular, fragile, graceful and what not, the black angelfish are most notable amongst fish lovers.
As the name enunciates, Black angelfish are black in color with silvery patches running all over the disc shaped body.
Their normal body size is 4 inches and they have fragile and long fins on both the sides.
Black angelfish look very attractive swimming and as they are community fish, they are very friendly and can be kept with fish of other communities in aquarium.
These fish hail from Amazon region of South America and normally dwell in swamps or flooded regions with thick aquatic life and dense vegetation.
Talking about the beauty of these black angels, no matter big or small but every black angelfish has stripes on its body.
In some cases, the angelfish are so dark that it gets difficult to spot them.
An angelfish can never be pure black in color, actually the silver color on the body is not a silver patch but it is a patch where the black color lightens.
Depending upon the color pattern we can differentiate the angelfishes into wide varieties.
Angelfish of D/+, D/g, and D/D variety have stripes on their bodies.
D/+ is a look somewhat with black laces on it and the stripes are somewhat in the embossed form.
D/+ resembles Hybrid Black (D/g) the only difference is of darkness.
Double Dark Black (D/D) is very dark in color and sometimes the stripes are difficult to make out.
Well, the other variety of Black Angelfish is stripe-less.
For this feature the experts say, the absence of stripes is due to stripe-less gene (S).
Black Angelfish also need special care.
Do remember to use a 30 gallon tank with lots of natural things such as pebbles and live plants such as broad leaf aquarium plants to give it a homely environment.
You can also put driftwood and rocks.
The tank should always be wiped with damp cloth soaked in hot water.
The water temperature should be maintained at room temperature of approximately 75º to 82º F.
A dim light should be used otherwise a brighter once disturbs them.
Sufficient hiding place should be given to them.
Black Angelfish like to feast on tropical fish flakes, bloodworms, shrimps and black worms.
Hope you have got well acquainted with these mysterious little black angels playing around you.