Went to the LFS for some food and took home......

[TomK2]

Four "Pearl White" Angelfish! I had not seen this color variety before, and just had to have one, er... four of them! After picking up my food I figured I would start shopping for a school of tetras. As I wandered down the isle,....Bam! There they were! Despite the price of $12 a piece, I just knew they would look fantastic in the same tank as my black angels. Pics below!

 

[RoK]

Beautiful fish!

 

[Jchillin]

Very nice purchase Tom! I wouldn't even characterize it as an "impulse" buy. Fish that beautiful need to be brought home.

 

[buckshot]

very nice looking angels. I bought an koi angel about a year ago because I loved the marking, now he is hugh, body is 4.5inches, not counting fins, and king of the tank.

 

[Talon242]

Wow never seen thoughs before either.

 

[Meredith]

Beautiful! I want!

 

[TomK2]

My "complete pet owners manual" for Angelfish by R. J. Goldstein copyright 2001, lists a "pearl scale" as a recently identified mutation. All the photos show the beutiful pearl colored body, but they always had some color along the dorsum, usually yellow or orangish. These ones I bought today have no color on the dorsum, and are completely pearly white. I remember that angelfish color can be altered by how much light they are exposed to when fry, so I wonder if the all pearly white color is genetic or induced.

Not that it matters much, they are very pretty to look at. I always check out the angelfish when I am at a store, and I haven't seen these before. They had about 15 of them in one tank all the same size. Anyone else run across them?

 

[TomK2]

uh-oh. need some reassurance here. One of my prize new pearl white angels is not feeding. I sure hope it just needs another day to acclimate to the new home. Ive see other fish do this, but I REALLY like these and won't be satisfied till they are all eating and being happy. I should just offer more frequent, smaller feedings till it settles in?

 

[mitche8359]

Youch! sounds as expensive as 'black' angels. Give the little guy another day to get acclimated.

Nice fish. I had a cross between a perl and a golden. A little gold coloring in the area above the eye, the rest perl.

 

[Mazdaman]

Really nice looking fish tom. Always been a fan of angels and those are pretty unique. (never seen them at any lfs here). The last pic is pretty cool, I always like to see what the tankmates will think of the new roommates. I love watching them check eachother out through the plastic totally unsure of whats going on but too curious to be afraid... I would also give 'em another day or two to calm down and start eating. Good luck!

 

[Psyhampster]

beautiful fish! Man, if I had the space, a tank for spawning a few of those would be pretty cool.....

 

[TomK2]

aaarghhh. Well, the one I was worried about turned up dead this afternoon. So Off I go to the LFS with the corpse and a sample of my tank water. My water tests fine (of course) so they give me a replacement fish. When asked which one I want to take home, I point out the one that enthusiastically went for the surface as they opened the lid. Figured it would be a good eater. I notice some aggression amongst the new pearl white angels after I added the replacement. I turn out the lights for a few hours. Then I rearrange the plastic plants and add a few more after the lights come back on.

I feed and monitor them, and I notice that one of the pearl white angels has no left pectoral fin. There might be a slight stub or base of what might have been a fin ripped off, might be a birth defect.

I think the one I bought had no left pectoral fin. The fins are very translucent, and I didn't notice. There is no way the LFS is going to believe me. They have a policy, any damaged and missing fins, and there are no gaurantees.

The lesson? Caveat Emptor. Go over each fish carefully in the bag before leaving the store.

So, do you think it will regrow his pectoral fin if it was torn off?

 

[Rach101]

No clue... but they are very beautiful. I don't for some odd reason or another like angel fish that much cept for the koi ones, but those are very beautiful. Sorry about the one fishy.

 

[RoK]

If the fin was totally torn off it probably won't regrow, this is just my guess though. :? If it does it will take awhile definitely.

 

[mattrox]

I Bouth 3 rams and was so busy looking for colour I didn't notice they had no pelvic fins. When I called the LFS and talked to they guy who served me, he didn't want to exchange, so I got him to check the tank and there were others in there the same so he let me swap. I got luck I think.

 

[TomK2]

I have been observing "lefty" for a while. The point of attachment for the missing pectoral fin appears smaller, rounded, kind of stunted compared to the normal side. There is a nub of something clear atttached to it. I think it was like that for a long time. Oh well. Lefty is doing fine in the tank. Poor guy needed a good home.
I will take a close look at the others at the LFS and see if there are more like it.