Lightly Medicated | Freshwater Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare)

What “Lightly Medicated” means

This is the same animal as our non-quarantined listing, held briefly in our systems and given one short prophylactic course — a light treatment for ich and for internal and external worms — then observed eating in front of us before it goes home.

A light course knocks the parasite load down. It does not guarantee full removal, and we will not pretend otherwise. Ich is only killed in its free-swimming stage, and a short treatment window can miss cysts entirely; worm burdens can survive a single dose. Clearing an animal takes the full quarantine window — 40 to 90 days depending on the species — which is exactly what the Quarantined listing is for. This tier buys you a lower parasite load and a fish we have watched eat, not a cleared animal.

We condition the fish on our end. Every animal we medicate is brought back onto prepared food on our own systems and is eating before it leaves — in practice it is rare for a lightly medicated fish to ship out and arrive sick. Do the same at your end: get it eating in your aquarium before you count it settled.

When it ships

Plan on 3–5 days on our systems for the treatment course, and it does not leave until it is eating. If the animal is not already in our systems we source it first — allow up to two weeks for it to reach us before that clock starts. From the day you order, plan on roughly two and a half weeks in total.

The guarantees

• Shipped orders: 24-hour live guarantee from confirmed delivery.
• In-store pickup: 7-day live guarantee — bring a water sample from your aquarium so we can test it before your livestock goes home with you.

Want the full program — treated, observed, confirmed eating, and covered for 28 days on pickup? That is the Quarantined listing. Run your own quarantine and just want the fish this week? The non-quarantined listing is cheaper still. The whole ladder is explained in Quarantined vs Non-Quarantined.

Angelfish are cichlids wearing a disguise — that tall, laterally flattened body shape is built for slipping between root systems and dense vegetation in slow-moving Amazonian water, not for open-water speed, and it’s exactly why they look so striking gliding through a well-planted tank. Pterophyllum scalare evolved in the blackwater and clearwater river systems of the Amazon basin, habitats characterized by warm temperatures, soft acidic water, and dense overhanging vegetation that filters light into the slow current below.

They’ll pair off on their own given the chance, and a bonded pair will pick a broad leaf or flat surface and guard it fiercely once they start spawning — a genuine window into cichlid parenting behavior in an otherwise peaceful community fish. Both parents fan the eggs with their fins, pick off unfertilized ones, and move the wriggle-phase fry to pre-dug pits in the substrate before guiding them as free-swimming fry. It’s one of the more complete parenting behaviors you’ll observe in a freshwater tank.

Their patience runs out with anything that nips fins, and their mouths eventually grow large enough to consider very small fish a meal — stock tankmates with their adult size in mind, not their size on day one.

Scientific name: Pterophyllum scalare
Origin: Amazon River basin, South America — blackwater and clearwater rivers, flooded forests, and slow tributaries
Water parameters: Temp 76–86°F · pH 6.0–7.5 · GH 3–10 (soft to moderately hard)
Tank requirements: 30 gal minimum; tall tanks (24"+ depth) critical for proper development; groups of 4–6 juveniles to allow natural pairing
Diet: Omnivore — quality flake and pellet; supplement with frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and daphnia
Compatibility: Peaceful community fish when young; semi-territorial when paired; avoid fin-nippers and very small fish
Husbandry note: If you want breeding behavior, set up a dedicated pair tank with broad-leafed plants (Amazon sword, Anubias) or vertical slate tiles for spawning surfaces. In a community tank, spawning attempts usually fail but the pair will still defend their site aggressively.