Pterophyllum altum

A few hours ago, two fellow hobbyists came to visit my tanks. Nothing much to see that is out of the ordinary except for the newly arrived Pterophyllum altum juveniles (or Altum Angelfish) and Potamotrygon schroederi (Flower Ray)- both of which are rare in the country. Presently there is good enough interest in Altum Angelfish that probably it should be good to refer back to several posts I made earlier on this blog. It is a fish that very few in the country has experience with. Even among those who had the opportunity, it was never an easy task.

There are several reasons for this, first and foremost is the scarcity of the fish itself in the local market and even elsewhere. This despite claims of success in captive breeding in other countries - which is not universally accepted and thus remains controversial - the demand quite easily surpasses that of the supply. In fact, the high demand for Altums have created a market wherein even wild-caught Pterophyllum scalares are being sold as Altums, a good example here is the so-called Peruvian Altum. Additionally, the fish, especially wild-caught is available only seasonally. Although in the past year or two, most of the wild-caught P. altums have been juveniles.

The scarcity (thus our own lack of experience) and being wild-caught make it doubly difficult for anyone wanting altums in their show tanks. It may look and sound easy but if you read the finer details, you will find the technical requirements that you probably won't even encounter for most other fishes. The same scarcity and high mortality rates in transit and even during acclimatization also affect the price of available P. altums and most do complain because they simply do not understand.