The purpose of
developing a conformation standard for
angelfish is to give a general
guideline to hobbyists and breeders
who may be wondering what is generally
considered a natural or desirable
trait. Some traits, although somewhat
attractive to a few, may be an
indication of a weakness. For
instance, a very thin caudal peduncle
on a superveil angelfish will cause
the caudal to droop excessively. There
are those who find this attractive,
however, this excessive droop is an
indication of a generally weak fish
that may deteriorate rapidly or
produce even more inferior offspring.
Therefore, it is in the best interest
of angelfish and the hobby to
discourage the breeding of such fish.
The same can be said for a dwarf
angelfish. Although, many find the
idea of a dwarf angelfish very
interesting, it is likely to end up
being a weak strain with many
problems, or simple the result of
stunting a normal angelfish.
These standards will be
concerned only with visible physical
traits. Non-visible qualities, such as
fecundity, aggression, parental care
and appetite are important, but
indiscernible without extensive
exposure to the fish, therefore they
are not covered here.
The Traits
Bodies
should be round as
possible or slightly higher than
long. Long bodied angelfish are
considered inferior looking by most
people. Head profile should be smooth
with no humps. A notch on the
predorsal profile is acceptable, as it
would appear in wild Pterophyllum
scalare. Consequently, a profile
without a notch is acceptable, as it
would also appear in other wild
angelfish that have been used to
create our domestic strains. Gill
plates must be complete. There should
be no missing parts to any of the
fins. Eyes should appear appropriately
sized for the fish's body. Too large
and it may be an indication of a
stunted fish. Eyes with more color are
more desirable. Keep in mind that
final eye color cannot generally be
judged on juveniles. Bodies should be
thick when looking head-on with the
fish. There should be no indication of
a knife-like edge to the crown area.
Un-paired Fins
should be straight without kinks or
twists. We should breed for fish that
have no curves in the dorsal, anal or
caudal fins. Even with a superveil,
your goal should be to obtain a fish
that comes as close to this criteria
as possible. Longer is acceptable,
providing that the fins remain as
straight as possible. Branching
filaments like those found in an
angelfish exhibiting the combtail
trait, are acceptable as long as
opposing fins or fin halves on
unpaired fins, are similar. Keep in
mind that producing a superveil with
straight fins is many times more
difficult than producing a standard
finned angelfish with straight fins.
With the standard it is natural. With
the superveil it is not. With the
pelvic fins (ventral) it is
acceptable, even desirable to have a
curving contour. This contour should
be gradual with no radical bends or
kinks.
Color and pattern:
should be as expected
for the fish's phenotype. Stripes on
striped varieties should run the
complete height of the fish, the same
as expected in wild caught fish.
Stripes should be uninterrupted. Other
patterns such as smokey, chocolate and
halfblack should be as expected for
that phenotype and not partial like a
black tail only on halfblacks.
Pearlscale when present should cover
the majority of the body. Koi angels
were named for their appearance when
looked at from above being like koi
(carp) due to the multicolors.
Therefore a koi without good orange
color is not show quality.
One cannot be certain
that the lack of expression is
environmental in nature. Color is
greatly affected by environment and by
genetics. Since you won't be able to
pinpoint the primary reason for a
fish's color, only fish that have the
proper color base should be considered
to have met the standard. For
instance, a Silver angelfish must have
complete dark stripes. If one also had
a beautiful blue iridescence on much
of its? body, this would not add to
it's acceptability unless the base
color (stripes) were complete.
Size:
It should be appropriate for the age
of the fish. Big is beautiful, and all
things being equal, the larger fish is
generally more desirable. This cannot
be judged on juveniles unless the fish
were in your possession from the
beginning.
Deportment:
This is important for more than just
judging show fish. Deportment in the
aquarium can vary quite a bit. Some
fish show a lack of deportment which
may be related to its? general health
or may indicate a fish that has been
inbred too many generations.
Therefore, we must seek fish that are
alert, bold, healthy and active.
Examples:
Above Angelfish belongs to
Wayne DesLauriers
Above Angelfish belongs to
Dr. Stuart Chale
TAS Standards Committee
- Version 1.11 - July 14, 2002
Stuart Chale, Tony Minneboo, Mark Timm,
Steve Rybicki, Michael Weigand
Conformation
Standards (Veil and Super-Veil)
Unlike standard finned
angels where a healthy wild type fish
is the model for good conformation and
fin shape, veils have no wild type
counterpart. It is difficult to
therefore decide what a proper veil
should look like. Although standards
can be suggested there is a much more
subjective quality to a veils fins.
In this case beauty may be in the eye
of the beholder
With veils there are
several different fin types to
address. There is single dose veil
V/+ and double dose veil V/V also
known as superveil. There are also
the combtail combinations of both.
Body shape should be as
described for standard finned angels.
The body is unchanged by the veil
gene. Of note is that the body of
veils rarely grow to as large of a
body size as the larger standard
finned fish. Some varieties do
generally grow larger. Smokey veils
are known to potentially grow to a
larger size than many other
varieties. A veil with a body size of
the larger wild types with
proportionally longer fins would be an
impressive sight.
In veils all of the
fins are lengthened. Most notably the
dorsal, anal and caudal fin. However
both the ventral and pectoral fins are
lengthened as well. Given optimal
water conditions and enough room the
dorsal and anal fins will be straight
or at most show a gentle rearward
curve. Both the dorsal and anal fin
should be about 1.5 to 2 times the
body size in length, and equal to each
other. Longer fins although unusual
would be preferred.
As fish grown under
optimal conditions have long straight
fins, this is the standard against
which all others should be judged.
Any variation from this should be
considered inferior.
When water conditions
or space are not optimal, the fins
will often be shorter or more curved,
especially at the top of the dorsal.
Some fish demonstrate a more rearward
curve to the fins especially the
dorsal fin. The fin is often wider in
the nicer looking fish with this
characteristic. This can often still
be considered a desirable fish but
this is one instance where some may
find it appealing while others do
not. In no instance should any of the
fins show an acute bend. The amount
of curve that is still appealing will
vary from one admirer to the next. A
fish with otherwise similar
characteristics with straight fins
should be judged ahead of the fish
with a curve to its fins.
The Ventral fins are
also lengthened in proportion to the
anal fin. They should gently curve
rearward without any splaying or
kinking. .
The caudal fin can be
very variable. In single dose veils
the caudal fin usually spreads out at
about a 30 to 60 degree angle. Tails
in the 45 to 60 degree range generally
give better appearance. The wider
the better. The rays in the fin
branch to accomplish this. The rays
in some fish branch more times than
others making for a wider fin.
Injured tails may grow back normally,
although sometimes they re-grow
without branching resulting in a
longer narrower fin than originally.
The trailing edge of the caudal fin
should be straight or at least smooth
and symmetrical if curved or
scalloped. Trailing rays off of the
top and bottom should be present.
Pectoral fins should be
full, symmetrical and extend straight
out form the body of the fish. They
have a tendency to curve up or down
especially in superveils. Although
not a a major flaw, they sometimes
curve in opposite directions, which
looks asymmetrical when the fish is
viewed head on.
In superveils the fins
are lengthened even more than in
single dose veils. The dorsal and
anal fins are often widened as well.
It is much more difficult to raise a
superveil with straight fins
especially the dorsal fin and tail.
The best that we can usually hope for
is a gentle curve to the dorsal fin
and a gentle droop to the tail.
Superveils with very thin fins
sometimes referred to as longfins
should be avoided. Again the trailing
edge of the caudal fin should at least
be symmetrical. It is often irregular
in superveils.
The combtail trait adds
extensions to the fins especially
notable on the caudal fin. Each ray
can extend beyond the trailing edge of
the fin. Even in single dose veils
the combtail trait often elongates
tail and widens the dorsal and anal
fin. Expression is variable but again
symmetrical fins are desired. An even
fringe on the tail and unpaired fins
is desired. Often with repeated
damage the trailing edge of the fins
can become asymmetrical.
Some fish show
extensive combtail trait on the dorsal
and anal fins as well. It is very
difficult to produce fish with these
fin extensions unless optimal growing
conditions are maintained throughout
the fish's life
Ventral fins are often
forked several times especially in the
lower half in combtails. This is the
normal state and not a defect.
The exact genetics of
the combtail trait has not been worked
out.
