Marine Angelfish

by Kate Barrington

April 16th, 2016 12:00 AM

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About Marine Angelfish

Aquarium Size

Large

Difficulty Of Care

Daily

Group

Saltwater

Size

Small to Large

Suitable Tank Mates

Non-Aggressive Species of Similar Size: Butterflyfish, Gobies, Blennies, Tangs, Triggerfish, and Anthias

Swimming Region

Mid-Range

Temperament

Semi-Aggressive

Fish Water Condition

Warm Saltwater, Neutral to Slightly Alkaline pH Range

Marine Angelfish General Description

Also known as marine angelfish, saltwater angelfish are found primarily in tropical waters and shallow reefs. Most species are found in the Western Pacific Ocean, though a few can be found in the Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific/Indian Oceans. All marine angelfish belong to the family Pomacanthidae but there are nine different genera, including the following:

Apolemichthys
Centropyge
Chaetodontoplus
Genicanthus
Holacanthus
Paracentropyge
Pomacanthus
Pygoplites
Sumireyakko

Different saltwater angelfish species exhibit different temperaments but most of them are fairly peaceful while young, though they tend to develop a territorial streak as they mature. Marine angelfish range in size from as small as 4 inches to as large as 24 inches. Some angelfish can get along with non-aggressive species of similar size like butterflyfish, gobies, blennies, tangs, triggerfish, and anthias.

Also known as marine angelfish, saltwater angelfish are found primarily in tropical waters and shallow reefs.

Origins

Marine angelfish can be found throughout the shallow reefs and tropical regions of the Indian, Atlantic, and Western Pacific Oceans.

Color

Marine angelfish are known for their laterally compressed bodies and their bright colorations. These fish come in an endless array of color combinations including various shades of green, blue, yellow, purple, pink, orange, brown, black, gray, and white. Many angelfish species exhibit stripes, spots, or bars, often with colored fins.

Maintenance and Care

Most saltwater angelfish are hardy in the home aquarium but it can be difficult to acclimate them to life in captivity if they were wild-caught. It is also important to note that adult angelfish can be very destructive to reef habitats so you may want to limit decorations to live rock rather than corals and other delicate invertebrates. As for the water conditions angelfish prefer, a slightly alkaline pH range between 8.1 and 8.4 is ideal with moderate hardness between 8 and 12 dKH.

Marine angelfish are known for their laterally compressed bodies and their bright colorations.

Feeding

Most saltwater angelfish feed primarily on sponges and tunicates – this is what makes them difficult to keep in the home aquarium. Some species feed on plankton or algae. In the home aquarium, it is best to feed angelfish a wide variety of foods to entice them to eat.

Breeding Info

Most angelfish change drastically in color as they approach sexual maturity. Juveniles and females of different species tend to have more drab coloration while males are brightly colored. It is also interesting to note that it is possible for female angelfish to turn into a male if the dominant male from a harem is removed. Angelfish are pelagic spawners, releasing large quantities of buoyant eggs into the water which then float with the currents until hatching.

Aquarium Varieties

There are approximately 87 species of saltwater angelfish divided among 9 genera and not all of them are popular in the aquarium hobby. Some of the most popular species of marine angelfish for the aquarium trade include the following:

Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula)
Blue-Striped Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus septenrionalis)
Keyhole Angelfish (Centropyge tibicen)
Lamarck’s Angelfish (Genicanthus Lamarck)
Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)
Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator)
Blue Angelfish (Holacanthus bermudensis)
Regal Angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus)
French Angelfish (Pomacanthus paru)

Photo credit: Mikhail Levit/Bigstock; mirecca/Bigstock

Kate Barrington

Kate Barrington is the loving owner of two cats (Bagel and Munchkin) and a noisy herd of guinea pigs. Having grown up with golden retrievers, Kate has a great deal of experience with dogs but labels herself a lover of all pets. Having received a Bachelor's degree in English, Kate has combined her love for pets and her passion for writing to create her own freelance writing business, specializing in the pet niche.

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Paw Wax. One of the most intriguing doggy aides of recent times. Sure, it might sound quirky, but what if it actually works? And what exactly have you heard about paw wax? Kevin Roberts clears up a few common myths about paw wax and the right way to use it. Could it be the next best thing for puppers and their owners? Let’s find out.

French Boodle

French Boodle BasicsOh la la! This lovely little pooch who traces back their parentage all the way back to the land of croissants and art is ready to conquer your heart. The fun-loving little French Boodle is a great fit for families with kids and other pets. He brings the intelligent, playful personality of the Poodle together with the affectionate, friendly characteristics of the French Bulldog for an entertaining yet willful dog that loves to be the center of his family’s attention. He will thrive with people that will shower him with love and can spend a lot of time with him – that’s why big families, seniors in their retirement, or singles that work from home all make a great match for this breed. These dogs are not overly active, so they can fit most lifestyle – they’ don’t need strenuous daily exectice to stay happy and healthy, but rather regular short walks around the block and some quality playtime. The fun-loving French Boodle brings the playful Poodle together with the friendly French Bulldog.OriginAs the French Boodle is classed as a designer dog, he doesn’t have a well-documented history. There’s a murky line between when people started intentionally producing first Poodle and French Bulldog mixes and crossbreeds of this parentage that were results of, well, “accidents”. Either way, it’s safe to ssume that the French Boodle shares its origin with most other designer dog breeds – dating it back to 1990s and 2000s when most of these unique “hybrid” dogs came to be. This is the period when breeders started intensively mixing and matching purebred DNA to produce a dog that was ideally free of the health issues that often plagued the parent breeds. In addition to a healthier animal, breeders also began to develop dogs that met the demand for smaller, hypoallergenic and gentler forms of popular breeds.Pedigree

Maltichon

Maltichon BasicsCute, fluffy, and loving- the Maltichon will make your heart melt. Maltichon, or Maltese Frise, as it is also known, is a very popular designer dog breed, and with good reason. These beautiful dogs were developed by crossing the Maltese and Bichon Frise, two well-loved toy breeds. At first glance, these two white-haired, small dogs look a lot alike, but each of the parental breeds brings something unique to the mix. It’s not often that the puppies inherit only the best traits from their mom and dad, but the Maltichon is as close to being the best of both worlds as a designer dog can get.Of course, while its lovely appearance plays a role in its popularity, it’s not the only reason why the Maltichon is a sought-after breed. But not only that – the breed is popular because of its great personality as well! They are quirky, fun, energetic, and very affectionate. What’s not to like!? Perfectly suited to life in an apartment, these petite pooches get along with everybody and adapt to any family. Children, other pets, seniors, or singles- the Maltichon will fit in with ease. If you are looking for a family-friendly canine companion that will do well in an apartment setting and bring a bit of fun into the daily grind, you can’t go wrong with a Maltichon. Let’s learn more about these fun doggos.OriginIt’s not often that the origin of a designer dog breed is known. For the majority of these hybrid breeds, it’s impossible to pinpoint an exact time and place of their creation. Of course, there have surely been many accidental pairings of the Maltese and the Bichon Frise, but their intentional crossbreeding is a fairly new occurrence. It’s highly likely that the first litters of purposely bred Maltichon puppies came to be in the United States, sometime in the last twenty years. That is when many designer dog breeds that we know and love have come to be. Granted, we might not know much about the history of each of the designer dog breeds, but the origin of their purebred parents can tell us a lot about their offspring. For the Maltichon, it’s easy to see how these mixed breed puppies are bound to be ideal companions for families. Both the Bichon Frise and Maltese have been treasured as pets and lap dogs for centuries- the Maltese is even considered to be the oldest European toy breed known to man. Their long histories were bound to come together at one point – the end result is the wonderful Maltichon. Pedigree

10 Best Outdoor Rabbit Breeds

While most pet rabbits are meant to be kept indoors, there are a few rabbit breeds that are hardy enough to be housed outdoors. You might have an allergy, your dog doesn’t get along with your new pet, there’s not enough space in your home or something else entirely that makes it difficult to keep an indoor rabbit. Luckily, there are many hardy, adaptable bunnies that will not be endangered by living outside – provided that you take care of all their needs and make them appropriate outdoor housing. This will make sure that your rabbit is safe and happy while living in an outdoor enclosure, as the smallest mistakes (e.g. unsecured habitat) can cost your pet their health or even their life. But before we go over caring for an outdoor rabbit, let’s start with the best outdoor rabbit breeds so you can better choose your new companion. 

5 Reasons Why Dog Poop Doesn’t Make Good Fertilizer

If you happen to have a large and spacious yard where your doggo can “do their business”, or you’re walking along a grassy wooded park when nature calls, you could get the idea to simply leave the poop there. After all, it’s definitely biodegradable, and can surely fertilize the grass and the flowers. Or can it? Sure, we all had the idea that it’d be easier not to poop and scoop, but there are reasons why you just can’t leave your dog’s mess behind. It just isn’t as simple as we might think.For centuries, manure and compost have been used as powerful boosters for the soil, allowing crops to grow much healthier and stronger. And if you’ve ever fertilized your garden with manure, you may have noticed an unpleasant odor – it’s no surprise, considering that it is made from cow droppings and similar stuff. If manure is so good as a fertilizer, you may be wondering if your dog’s poop could be used for the same thing. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case – dog poop does not make good fertilizer. Cows and doggos are, after all, not the same, and their opposing diets make all the difference. Keep reading to find out why why dog poop doesn’t make good fertilizer.5 Reason Dog Poop Can’t Be Used for FertilizerPerhaps you’ve noticed that that doggo poop you missed to pick up a month before didn’t really dissolve into “manure”. Instead, it looks somewhat unnatural. There are several reasons for this. If you’re looking for a nutrient-rich fertilizer to use in your garden, think twice before you start eyeing up your dog’s latest “gift.” Here are five reasons why dog poop doesn’t make good fertilizer:#1 It doesn’t contain the right nutrients. A dog’s diet is high in protein which, as it breaks down, becomes very acidic and that’s not good for your plants. After all, doggos are carnivores, right? This makes their diet completely different from the herbivorous cow’s. Cow manure works well as fertilizer for vegetation because it starts out as vegetation. Get it? Cow poop is just munched up grass and hay, in a way. And that is why it can end as manure. The bottom line for dog poop is that if your dog really is creating the perfect poop (and yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as the perfect dog poop), that means they have healthy guts. And a healthy gut means that all the nutrients that were supposed to come out of the food for your dog to absorb and fuel his body with did just that and left the waste behind. The waste is not full of anything but gunk, and that’s not good for your dog or for the earth. In other words, dog poop can do more harm than good for the soil!Related: An Inside Scoop On Running A Professional Dog Poop Scooping Business#2 It might be riddled with bacteria. Your dog’s body is full of bacteria at any given moment, but it doesn’t tend to cause a problem unless his immune system becomes weakened. Though it may not make your dog sick, all of that bacteria can be passed in his stools and that’s not something you want to use in your garden. A single gram of dog feces can contain 23 million bacteria.Them being out of your doggo’s body is certainly a good thing, but then they end up in their feces. A lot of the time that’s because your dog’s gut is literally pushing out the nasty and keeping the important, life-giving and nutritionally valued in. Your dog’s waste and the bacteria in it are nothing you want to spread around.#3 You might get a fine. Even if the signs aren’t posted, your area probably imposes a fine on dog owners who don’t clean up after their dogs. It is unhealthy, irresponsible, and straight out nasty. When your doggo does its business, you should definitely dispose of the waste properly – in a baggie and then into a designated trash can. In some metropolitan areas, fines for not cleaning up after your pooch could be as high as $750. You might not think the rules apply on private property, but you could be wrong. And the fines are not there simply because leaving poop is bad manners. There are other reasons as well, and health hazards are one. If dog poop was a great manure, these fines might not even exist, as you’d be fueling the city’s parks and flowerbeds. But since dog poop can be harmful and unhealthy to the ecosystem, these fines are here to make sure they don’t end up all over the place. #4 It could contain harmful parasites. Not only does your dog’s feces contain millions of bacteria, but it could also contain parasites. Some of those parasites even have the potential to infect people – examples include parvo virus, hookworms, giardia, roundworms, and trichinosis. Imagine accidentally stepping into a piece of infected dog poop. Then bringing tiny microscopic pieces of that into your home. The health hazard here is enormous. #5 It takes a long time to break down. The final reason dog waste doesn’t make good fertilizer is that it takes a long time to fully break down. A single pile could be sitting in your yard for an entire year if it isn’t disturbed. If you’re using that as fertilizer, think about how little your plants are NOT getting. If left untouched, dog poop can sit there for a very long time. It will grow moldy, smelly, unhealthy, and eventually hard as a rock. That is nothing like proper fertilizer that gets quickly absorbed into the soil. Related: 5 Reasons Why You Should Always Pick Up Dog PoopThese five reasons alone should be enough to convince you that your dog’s poop probably isn’t your best option when it comes to fertilizer. Manure is completely common to work with in the garden, and good for the land. But dog poop is a complete opposite! So, what do you do with it then? Keep reading to find out.Can You Use Dog Poop for Compost?Just because dog poop doesn’t make good fertilizer, does that mean it can’t be composted either? Sadly, the answer to this question is “yes.” Composting a natural process through which organic waste products are broken down into a nutrient-rich substance that can be used to fertilize plants. As you’ll remember from the last section, dog poop is high in protein which produces a very acidic waste product. Not to mention, it’s the dredge of your dog’s meals and has already had all the nutrients absorbed from it (theoretically, if your dog has good gut health)The other problem with dog poop is all of the parasites and bacteria it contains – those pathogens need to be exposed to 165°F temperatures for five days to kill them and that is unlikely to happen in your backyard compost heap. There are ways to compost it safely, but you might want to start a separate compost heap to do it, just to be safe.Whether you use your dog’s poop for compost is a choice you’ll have to make for yourself. It’s your choice, but there are certainly better ways and items to compost than using dog poop. If you’re not composting it though (and be real, odds are you’re not) just make sure you dispose of it in a safe and clean way. Your dog’s pop is an indicator of what his gut looks like, so as long as his gut’s in great shape, that poop should be quick and easy to scoop and lose!In the end, dog poop is not to be messed with – in any way, shape, or form. If you are repulsed by it, there’s a good reason for that. It belongs in the trash, somewhere far from humans – and the soil too. If you really want to fertilize your gardens and lawns, then definitely purchase the right type of manure or fertilizer and leave all your doubts about doggo poop aside. Oh, and don’t forget to always pick up after your pet! After all, now you know why it’s important.

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