Is my angelfish a dwarf or not????

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Hey guys!! I recieved an angelfish about a month ago so i put him in my 40 gal and he is doing great! The person who gave me the fish said he was a dwarf angelfish, but iv been told those are very hard to come by. My angelfish has grown a little bit sence iv had him ( 1 1/2 months ) and i was wondering if any of you angelfish experts could help me out! Is he a dwarf or not?! Here are some pics!

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Any ideas guys?

 

[Morgie]

I have absolutely no clue. Though I do have a small angel that looks similar so I'll do some research and get back to you on that. :>

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Thanks!! I am very curious to find out

 

[Morgie]

I would say no. From what I've read in my (very brief) research, a true "dwarf angelfish" is a different species called Pterophyllum leopoldi. Looking at a picture of one it has a lot of visible differences from scalares. I'm sure there might be smaller strains of scalares, but they aren't true dwarfs.
Here's a picture I found of Pterophyllum leopoldi

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Wow thanks! I really hope mine isnt a dwarf! Is his growth stunted u think?

 

[Morgie]

How old is he? My angels seem to grow pretty slow at first and then have crazy growth spurts. My angel that I've had for about eight months has gone from quarter size to four inches nose-tail.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Oh well i dont no how old he is... Maybe 6-7 months at 3-4"? I think....

 

[aqua_chem]

Doesn't look like a leopoldi to me. Fins and head don't look right, and he's missing the stripes.

 

[jetajockey]

definitely not a leopoldi, looks like a gold mix, could just be a runt, or might just not have hit his growth spurt yet.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Doesn't look like a leopoldi to me. Fins and head don't look right, and he's missing the stripes.

Really great! I want him to be a real one! Haha

 

[abrahamavelar]

also by looking at ur pics u have some neons right??? he might eat them later on when he grows, he is their natural predator

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Haha no they are glowlights, and ya i no i plan onmoving them to my 10 gal when he gets big enough!

 

[abrahamavelar]

Oh ok good!!!!

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Hahah ya! I sure hope u guys are right abt my angel!

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

How long does an angel have to be in a small tank for its growth to be stunted??

 

[abrahamavelar]

They get stunt due to bad water quality and poor nutrition but they keep growing but many dont make it cuz they will die due to stress

 

[jetajockey]

It doesn't look stunted to me. Usually stunted fish have exaggerated features, like an extra large eye for their body size.

 

[absolutangel04]

How long does an angel have to be in a small tank for its growth to be stunted??

We can't answer that. It depends on how big the angel was, what size tank he was in, how long he was in there, and that angel's exact growth rate which takes water quality, genetics, and nutrition into account.
IME with angels kept in 10g, the angels still grew like normal for about 6 months, then quit. I have adopted an angel that a friend had in a 10g. At 2 years, it was a bit smaller than my angels in bigger tanks were at 8 months. But, if your friend had the angel in a decent size tank, he may just be a bit small for an angel.
I still hold the opinion that he is not a dwarf since his fins are not the right proportion and he lacks the black spot in the middle of the base of his dorsal fin.

 

[absolutangel04]

It doesn't look stunted to me. Usually stunted fish have exaggerated features, like an extra large eye for their body size.

I have seen 2 angels that came from 10g tanks where they were stunted and they both held the proper proportions, they just quit growing. Other species I have seen get pretty deformed when stunted, like commom plecos, but the angels I have seen still looked normal, just way too small. I don't know that is always works like this, but thats how it worked in the 2 instances I have seen with angels.
I don't necessarily think the OP's angel is stunted, it may just be smallish.