Description

Common Names: Altum, altum angel, deep angel, Orinoco angel

Type Locality: Atabapo, RÍo Orinoco, Venezuela

Range: Amazon River Basin: the upper Negro River drainage; Orinoco River Basin: tributaries of the upper Orinoco River (InÍrida and Atabapo rivers) to Puerto Ayacucho

Taxonomic Troubles: This is the original name. Beware that various populations of P. scalare are being sold as altums, e.g., “Peruvian altums.”

Size: 18 cm (7 inches) long and up to 30 cm (12 inches) tall.

Preferred Water Chemistry: Tropical freshwater, very soft and very acidic (pH 4.2 to 6.2). Best to keep the temperature above 28°C (82°F).

Difficulty: An extremely difficult species to maintain, and even more difficult to spawn. The most success has been with extremely soft and acidic water of perfect quality. This fish has no tolerance for dissolved wastes. The altum angel is suitable only for advanced