When people buy fish, they often look forward to taking care of them for life.Some wild and aquarium varieties of fish are easy to take care of. However, there are still others, like angelfish, that need a little more love and attention.From the water temperature and hardness to diseases, there is a lot that pet parents have to take care of when they adopt angelfish. These fishes have always been infamous for being difficult to take care of. However, if taken proper care of, angelfish can live for around 10-12 years! In order to try to allow your own angelfish to live that long as well, read ahead for some tips and tricks, the right food, and the correct tank size!The lifespan of the angelfish depends on how well they’re taken care of. There is no research that would suggest that the lifespan of the female angelfish and male angelfish are different. When in an aquarium in a domestic household, both the male and female angelfish have a similar life expectancy of around 10-12 years. However, if favorable conditions are not provided in a community tank, these animals may soon start missing their freshwater habitat and hence live as long.The angelfish lifespan is also dependent largely on whether or not the fish has been breeding. Breeding angelfish often have a shorter life expectancy since laying eggs exhausts the tiny creature. While external factors may affect the angelfish lifespan, there is no proof that would suggest that the gender of the fish also plays a role, and hence, we choose to believe that neither female angelfish nor male angelfish live longer than the other.If you enjoyed this article, why not also check out how long do catfish live and how long do betta fish live.Why do angelfish die so easily?Angelfish are rather beautiful and the species shows an average lifespan of about 10 years if proper care is given in terms of water changes and maintenance of the right conditions, such as temperature and pH levels.However, this species of fish can become a little tough to take care of if you happen to have very limited experience in terms of angelfish care and aquarium maintenance in general. Since the water conditions required for an angelfish tank are considerably tough to maintain, it is usually advised by aquarium experts and fish enthusiasts that the species should only be adopted by individuals or families that have gathered substantial knowledge of fishes and have been taking care of an aquarium for a couple of years. The angelfish species is also particularly tough to look after since they aren’t as hardy as some other fishes and often die easily.This is because, in spite of the fact that these are aquarium fish, they do have some limitations. Factors such as being kept in a community tank, or a tank that is not big enough are some of the superficial ones that can affect the lifespan of the angelfish. In addition to these factors, the lifespan can also be substantially reduced if a fish of the species is mainly used for breeding. The process of breeding tires the animal and makes it incapable of fighting certain unfavorable conditions that a healthy fish of the species would have easily tackled. It is important that both the adult angelfish and the juvenile angelfish have enough room in the aquarium since proper angelfish care also involves making sure that no semi-aggressive behavior develops in the fishes due to lack of space.While some people might suggest that a 20 gal (90.9 l) aquarium is enough for the average aquarium angelfish to reach its maximum lifespan, the minimum size of tank for these fishes is estimated to be around 30 gal (136.3 l) by fishing experts. The lesser the amount of space that is available to the angelfish in tanks, the more the poor fishes suffer from stress and other diseases. Angelfish also love cleanliness, and hence, since domestic aquariums often produce more waste and toxins when over-crowded, it is important that your pet’s home is constantly kept clean. To make sure that your angelfish survive in captivity and maintain natural levels of growth make sure to look after its health properly!How long do angelfish live in captivity?If the tanks or aquariums in which the angelfish are kept are maintained properly and if the choice of foods is appropriate for the animal, angelfish have similar lifespans both in the wild and in captivity.If this freshwater fish is taken proper care of and if quality food is given at regular intervals, the life expectancy of these fish is considerably increased. When in aquariums, these fish can live for around 10 years. Their growth and well-being are also largely dependent on the diet of these fishes and hence, they need to feed on frozen foods and flakes regularly. The number of years for which your angelfish may live is also dependent on the genetics of the fish. When buying angelfish for your aquarium, make sure to check for the health of the fish and if they seem to be swimming rather happily.While it is rather tough to tell if the genetics of the angelfish are strong merely from the look of the animal, vibrant colors and non-feathery fins are often signals of the fact that the fish that you are about to adopt into your family is rather rich in terms of genetics and would have a longer life expectancy. Dull-colored fins and body suggest that in spite of the fact that the fish might be healthy, they would take longer to cope with any diseases and hence wouldn’t live for long enough. The trick here would be to only get your angelfish from people who breed good quality fishes and raise the fry in the right conditions.One of the lesser-known facts about angelfish is that while the water temperature and hardness do impact their growth, the most deciding factor in terms of the growth of your pet will be dependent on the quality of the egg from which it emerged and what it was fed at a young age. Angels often catch some disease or the other and some breeders neglect them, which results in the parent angelfish dying when very young.How long can angelfish go without food?A healthy angelfish can go a couple of days without food.If you happen to be wondering whether it would be possible for you to go for a vacation with the entire family with no one to take care of the fish while you are away, you will be pleased to know that an angelfish that has been kept in a rather peaceful environment for long periods of time would be able to live for around three days without any feeding. The water conditions would also play a huge role since this freshwater species of fish can hardly survive when the water is murky. If you take out the time to clean the tank right before leaving for a vacation, be assured that your fish will be alive when you come back home after a long weekend.There are also certain gadgets and tools that release the stipulated amount of food into the aquarium at the correct time if the settings are created in such a way. If you ever decide on planning a trip that would go for about a week, these gadgets will definitely come in handy and make sure that you don’t come home to an absolute massacre!How long can angelfish live without a filter?Since the angelfish is often kept with tank mates of different species, the lifespan of the fish is often compromised when the aquarium is small or if the filter stops working for a while.Since these animals like cleanliness, their own toxins can be fatal for them. A healthy angelfish can survive in a tank of average size for around 12 hours if there is a power cut or if the filter goes bad. In these situations, the best thing to do would be to keep a close look at the water and notice if it becomes too muddy. Pet parents should also look out for symptoms such as stress and inflammation in the body of the fish. If such symptoms are found, it would be a great idea to shift the fish to some clean water in the duration that the filter is non-functional. If there are a few live plants in your aquarium, however, the fish may live longer since plants have the ability to release oxygen -although only in small amounts.This also tells that in addition to the size of the aquariums or tanks and the feeding schedule, there are still other factors that largely impact the lifespan of angelfish. However, filter-related issues can easily be fixed if you happen to have some contacts that can be rung up in emergencies. The trick here would be to not panic and to make sure that your tropical fish is not suffering from any major inconveniences. Understandably, since the filter is essential in making sure that the fish have enough oxygen to breathe, any major mishaps can be quite fatal!How long can angelfish live without a heater?The temperature of the water in which the angelfish are kept plays a huge role when it comes to their life expectancy.Since wild angelfish are tropical and are used to warm waters, lower temperatures can inhibit the growth of the fish. Breeding angelfish suffer largely when the temperature of the water is unsuitable since they lose a lot of energy in the process of laying eggs. While the angelfish have the capacity to live in an aquarium without a heater for a week, the continued absence of heated water can kill your dearest pets. Keeping angelfish can therefore be quite a task since you have to look out for factors such as temperature regulation and constant filtering of the water!How can you improve your angelfish’s lifespan?It is quite magical to see a silver-scaled angelfish swimming in its freshwater habitat or with tank mates in a domestic aquarium.Angelfish should be adopted in a pair. Angelfish eat both plants and other fishes and shrimps. Hence, they have an omnivorous diet. Angelfish like the water in which they live to be clean and warm. Some of the diseases that trouble angelfish are the angelfish virus and mouth fungus. However, taking care of this fish can be substantially difficult since the freshwater angelfish has very particular requirements. Being tropical fish, these fish not only require a rather large tank size for growth and development, but they also ask for the regulation of temperatures in such a way that the natural habitat is mimicked.The life expectancy of a freshwater angelfish can be increased if you can maintain such a huge tank size efficiently. Some of the points to keep in mind would be to make sure that the environment that you provide is suitable. The natural habitat of this fish makes it look for some dark corners in between plants or gray sand, where it can lay and take rest. The water hardness should also be regulated so that the lifespan of angelfish is not compromised. It is also important that the tank maters that your angelfish live with are not aggressive. Since the freshwater angelfish is such a small creature, understandably, they are often attacked at a very small age, when they are only an inch big.The diet of these animals must also be looked after since there are a couple of diseases that trouble angelfish. Make sure to feed your angelfish some vegetables such as spinach, some flakes, frozen food, and brine shrimp. As you can tell by the fact that this species eat both vegetables and brine shrimp, angelfish are omnivores and the diet that you decide is important towards making sure that growth is maintained. If you have been feeding your angelfish all the right things and they are still stressed, it would be a good idea to isolate the fish and let it recover from the stress or disease. One of the final and most important for any pet parent is to make sure that they pay attention to the diet of their pets, invest in quality food products, and look out for any clashes between tank mates!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how long do angelfish live then why not take a look at how long can goldfish live, or can guinea pigs eat bread.
When people buy fish, they often look forward to taking care of them for life.
