Variety of Angelfish
Platinum angelfish
Pterophyllum scalare
One of 9 varieties of Pterophyllum scalare · See all varieties →
FreshwaterFish
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
- 30 gal
- 115 L
- Temperament
- Mostly peaceful
- Social behavior
- Social
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Breeding
- No record
- Rarity
- Very common
- Family
- Cichlidae
Overview
Platinum is a solid white fish with a metallic sheen and no bars, often with a blue or green cast that strengthens as it matures. Grading comes down to how clean and even that sheen is, and buyers mark down fish that keep a yellow wash on the head. Juveniles already show the white, so a batch can be judged young.
In the wild
Platinum is a combination of two hobby genes and has no wild counterpart. It is usually described as a gold fish that also carries two doses of the Philippine blue gene, written g/g pb/pb. Ken Kennedy is credited with bringing the Philippine blue into the hobby from the Philippines, and platinum is one of the forms that came from pairing it with existing lines.
Good to know
Both genes are recessive, so a platinum needs two copies of each and platinum bred to platinum comes true. The blue gene is what turns the gold body from yellow to white metal, and breeders describe its effect as strengthening with age. Fish carrying a single copy of the blue gene look like ordinary golds and pass it on unseen.
Did you know
The sheen is structural color rather than pigment, produced by light bouncing off guanine crystals in the skin. That is why a platinum reads white, green or blue depending on the angle and the lighting, and why photographs of them rarely match the fish in the tank.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
Platinum 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.
Long nosed arched cory
Corydoras narcissus
Freshwater2.8 in (7 cm) · 30 gal (115 L)73–77°F (23–25°C)
Redfin halfbeak
Nomorhamphus ebrardtii
Freshwater3.5 in (9 cm) · 29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Three spot gourami
Trichopodus trichopterus
Freshwater5.1 in (13 cm) · 30 gal (115 L)75–86°F (24–30°C)
Firemouth cichlid
Thorichthys meeki
Freshwater5.9 in (15 cm) · 30 gal (115 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
Forest halfbeak
Hemirhamphodon pogonognathus
Freshwater3.5 in (9 cm) · 34 gal (130 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
Duboulayi's rainbowfish
Melanotaenia duboulayi
Freshwater4.7 in (12 cm) · 30 gal (115 L)64–82°F (18–28°C)
Common questions
Is a Platinum angelfish a different species from the Angelfish?
No. A Platinum 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 Platinum angelfish need?
A Platinum angelfish needs at least 30 gal (115 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
How big does a Platinum angelfish get?
An adult Platinum angelfish reaches about 5.9 in (15 cm).
Related species
7.1 in (18 cm)45 gal (170 L)79–90°F (26–32°C)Altum angelfish
Pterophyllum altum
7.1 in (18 cm) · 45 gal (170 L)
3.9 in (10 cm)30 gal (115 L)72–84°F (22–29°C)Roman nose angelfish
Pterophyllum leopoldi
3.9 in (10 cm) · 30 gal (115 L)
5.9 in (15 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–82°F (25–28°C)Azureus
Copadichromis azureus
5.9 in (15 cm) · 79 gal (300 L)
5.9 in (15 cm)42 gal (160 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)Blue acara
Andinoacara pulcher
5.9 in (15 cm) · 42 gal (160 L)
5.9 in (15 cm)79 gal (300 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)Congicus pterochromis
Pterochromis congicus
5.9 in (15 cm) · 79 gal (300 L)
5.9 in (15 cm)66 gal (250 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)Deepwater coptodon
Coptodon bythobates
5.9 in (15 cm) · 66 gal (250 L)