The Angelfish - Pterophyllum Altum

by Robbie Yew

The Altum is a species of Pterophyllum that originates from the waters of the Rio Orinoco in Venezuela. More specifically, they are found in the Amazon river basin where the upper Negro River drains, and from the Orinico river basin.

The Altums appearance is silvery with brownish vertical stripes. This helps the Altum hide easily among long stemmed plants growing in the Amazon river. The mouth of the Altum looks as though it is pointed. The forehead of the Altum is steeply sloped and the body is taller. Four dark, crossways bands cover the body, and one or two faint bands are also present.

The first dark band runs through the eye; the second runs near the mid-section of the body, while the third runs from the tip of the dorsal fin, through the body, and to the tip of the anal fin. The final band runs on the caudal penuncle.

The Altum is identified by 46-48 scales, in a horizontal line immediately above the lateral line, and a notched pre dorsal contour.

If you look after your Altum, it can grow up to 20 centimetres long and 25 centimetres tall. They can grow to be the largest of the angelfish. Being a large angelfish, they require a larger and higher tank. The Altum likes warmer waters typically 86-88 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Altum prefers acidic water. Normally they will be kept in water with a pH of 6-6.5 pH, and a water hardness of 1.0-5.0 dGH. As you will find out later, it is important to maintain high water quality to successfully keep this species.

Manaus, the largest city on the Amazon, as seen from a NASA satellite image, surrounded by the muddy Solimo½es River and the dark Negro River

The Altum is more difficult to look after than the Scalare, which is more commonly recognized as the domestic angelfish. For that reason, less people tend to keep Altums. Altums are usually caught in the wild. Therefore, it can be difficult to find them in fish stores and the like.

If you are looking to buy Altums, then it is recommended that you buy them from an experienced angelfish breeder. A number of good quality angelfish breeders have been outlined further in this book.

Although Altums are peaceful, they can also be extremely territorial. Therefore, Altums are not the best of community fish. Like the Scalare, small fish that can fit into their mouths may be considered as dinner to the Altum.

Altums have an incredibly insatiable appetite. They enjoy eating live foods. As most are caught from the wild, they will prefer to eat live food. However, you will be able to feed them food such as frozen brine shrimp, granular fish food, and live and frozen blood worms.

Even if given a good diet and fine water quality, the Altum is still very difficult to breed. Further, just as with the other species of angelfish, it is hard to determine sex outside of spawning, when males have a pointed genital papilla.

For more information on angelfish, visit Angelfish Secrets Revealed