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Variety of Angelfish

Marble angelfish

Pterophyllum scalare

One of 9 varieties of Pterophyllum scalare · See all varieties →

FreshwaterFish

Marble angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Varieties · Pterophyllum scalare

See all 9 →

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–86°F
24–30°C
pH
6.0–7.5
Adult size
5.9 in
15 cm
Minimum tank
53 gal
200 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Substrate spawner
Rarity
Very common
Family
Cichlidae

Overview

The marble angelfish carries black marbling that runs from a few smears on white to nearly solid black. It suits a tall community tank and is easy to keep.

Did you know

The marble angelfish is not a black fish crossed with a silver one. It comes from a single mutation. Crossing a marble back to a plain silver gives marbled fry and plain silvers rather than a blend of the two.

Caring for the marble angelfish

Choose a tall tank of at least 53 gal (200 L) for marble angelfish, whose bodies grow taller than they are long. Broad-leaved plants and driftwood give them the vertical structure they suit. They keep mostly to the middle of the tank.

Run the water warm, at 75 to 86°F (24 to 30°C) and a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Feed them quality flakes or pellets, and add frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp.

A marble angelfish is mostly peaceful and does fine alone or in a group. It is still a cichlid, though, and it can eat tiny fish such as small tetras. Keep fin-nippers out as well.

Marble angelfish are substrate spawners that lay their eggs on a vertical surface, such as a broad leaf or slate. A bonded pair defends its spawning site, and pairs often stay together for life.

No two marbles are marked alike and shops sell them ungraded, so pick the individual fish rather than trusting the tank label. A young fish's pattern can keep shifting as it grows, so the marbling you buy is not always the marbling you end up with.

Good to know

The marble angelfish's pattern comes from an allele at the dark locus. That locus also holds dark, gold marble and new gold, so any fish carries at most two of them. Norton found that a homozygous fish carries a more extensive black pattern than a heterozygous one. One dose gives the familiar patchwork, and two doses give a blacker fish. The black is laid down in irregular patches rather than to a fixed template, which is why siblings from one spawn rarely match.

In the wild

The marble angelfish is a tank mutation with no wild counterpart. Chuck Ash produced the first marbles around 1969 and described them that year in The Aquarium magazine. Joanne Norton later separated seven genetically different marbles, since the amount of black depends on dose and on which other genes the fish carries.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The marble angelfish is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Is a marble angelfish a different species from the angelfish?

No. A marble angelfish is a variety of the angelfish, Pterophyllum scalare, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.

What size tank does a marble angelfish need?

A marble angelfish needs at least 53 gal (200 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What does a marble angelfish eat?

A marble angelfish eats quality flakes or pellets, with frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp to vary its diet.

How big does a marble angelfish get?

An adult marble angelfish reaches about 5.9 in (15 cm).

How does a marble angelfish breed?

Marble angelfish are substrate spawners that lay their eggs on a vertical surface, such as a broad leaf or slate. Pairs often stay together for life and defend their spawning site.

Related species