Lightly Medicated | Platinum 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.

Platinum Angelfish are a leucistic strain of Pterophyllum scalare — most of the patterning suppressed, leaving a near-white body with a subtle metallic sheen that catches light differently depending on angle. This is not the ghost-white of a true albino (no red eyes, no complete pigment loss across the board), but a selectively bred reduction in overall patterning that lets the underlying silvery scale iridescence show through without competing coloration. Under full-spectrum lighting, a well-developed platinum reads as luminous rather than pale.

In a planted tank with dense green and red vegetation, the platinum stands out through contrast — a light-colored fish against a darker background, which is the inverse of how most silver angelfish work and tends to be more effective. In a minimalist or monochromatic setup, the subtlety of the coloring is more apparent and the fish reads as elegant rather than striking. Choose deliberately for the visual environment you’re building.

Care is identical to any other Pterophyllum scalare: tall tank, warm clean water, peaceful community until the pair claims territory and starts defending it.

Scientific name: Pterophyllum scalare (platinum/leucistic strain)
Origin: Amazon River basin, South America
Water parameters: Temp 76–86°F · pH 6.0–7.5 · Soft to moderately hard water
Tank requirements: 30 gal minimum; tall tank preferred (24"+ depth)
Diet: Omnivore — quality flake, pellet, and frozen foods
Compatibility: Peaceful community when young; semi-territorial when paired
Husbandry note: Light-colored fish can be harder to read for early signs of illness — color changes and clamped fins matter more as visual health indicators when the fish is already pale. Watch behavior and posture as closely as coloration.