Angelfish

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New Horizons fish
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Angelfish
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Pterophyllum altum (altum angelfish) Family: Cichlidae (cichlids)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  エンゼルフィッシュ  천사어  Pesce angelo  Skalar  神仙鱼  Poisson-ange  Pez ángel  Maanvis  神仙魚  Poisson-ange  Pez ángel  Скалярия

The angelfish is a freshwater fish in the Animal Crossing series introduced in Doubutsu no Mori and appearing in all games to date. It appears as a tiny shadow (small in Animal Crossing: Wild World and Animal Crossing: City Folk) that can be found in rivers from 4 PM to 9 AM from late spring to mid fall.

Catch details

In Animal Crossing

#29

"I caught an angelfish! It looks divine!"

DnM / iQue

DnM+

AC

DnMe+

Time of year	May – Oct
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Location	River
Shadow size	Small
Selling price	3,000 Bells
Feng shui	None
Furniture size

In Wild World

#30

"I caught an angelfish! How heavenly!"

Description	Their tall fins discourage predators.
Time of year	May – Oct
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	Jun – Sep
Location	River
Shadow size	Tiny
Fish size	12 cm
Selling price	3,000 Bells
Furniture size

In City Folk

#31

"I caught an angelfish! Where's its halo?"

Description	These tall fish extend their fins to make themselves look big to predators.
Time of year	May – Oct
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	N/A
Location	River
Shadow size	Tiny
Fish size	About 4.8 in.
Selling price	3,000 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#35

"I caught an angelfish! Now where's its harp?"

Time of year	May – Oct
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	N/A
Location	River
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	12 cm
Selling price	3,000 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#22

Availability	Not currently available 2018-06-29 – 2018-07-04 (Fishing Tourney #3) 2023-03-23 – 2023-06-28
Location	Lost Lure Creek
Shadow size	Small
Size	10.0 cm – 14.0 cm
Rarity	★★★
Selling price	1,500 Bells
Version added	Unknown
Villager gift data	Tier: 3 (Uncommon+) Rewards:  1,500 Bells Fortune cookie (20%) +3 Friendship points

In New Horizons

#36

"I caught an angelfish! That other fish told me to do it!"

Time of year	North: May – Oct South: Nov – Apr
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Location	River
Shadow size	Small
Rarity	Uncommon
Spawn requirement	Catch 20 total fish
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  3,000 Bells  C.J.:  4,500 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

As with all fish caught in the Animal Crossing series, the angelfish can be donated to the museum. Blathers will also give some information on it.

In Animal Crossing

Blathers will say this upon donation to the museum:

"Gorgeous. Sim-ply gorgeuous. Heavenly, even. We will treasure your gift. I give you my word as an honest, upstanding owl."

It is found in the bottom-right tank, grouped with other rare fish.

In Wild World

It can be found in the second tank after donating it to museum. Upon donation, Blathers the curator will say this:

"The angelfish is called the queen of tropical fish, and quite rightly so, eh wot! Indeed, this one should bring a ray of sunshine to this dusty old museum! However serene these fish may look, they're actually rather feisty...Every rose has its thorn, isn't that what they say?"

It is found in the second tank in the aquarium after donation.

Blathers the curator will say this dialogue.

In City Folk

"The distinctive shape of the angelfish lets it appear larger than it actually is. ...It's quite beautiful, and though it is a tropical fish, it has many tricks for staying alive, eh wot? Those skills make it far more resilient than other, pampered tropical fish. Perhaps this fact is what earned the angelfish the title "Tropical Fish Queen."

It can be found in the bottom-left tank with other small river fish.

In New Leaf

An information board in the aquarium will display this description of an Angelfish after donation:

"These tropical fish move very gracefully because of long fins on their backs and underbellies. Males and females are almost impossible to tell apart, making identification tricky. They lay eggs among water plants. Both genders look after the babies while they cling to weeds. The young look like any other fish, but they gain their angelfish looks once they leave the weeds."

In New Horizons

When donating to Blathers or selecting "Tell me about this!" in New Horizons, he will provide the following information about the fish:

"The angelfish is truly a beautiful creature. Just look at the elegance of those fins! Despite the name, however, these lovelies are known to be rather aggressive. They've no qualms about relentlessly pursuing fish much smaller than themselves! Why, they even attack their own kin! It seems no fish is safe around these "angelic" bullies. It makes one wonder who comes up with these names. Appearances— and names— can be deceiving."

Once donated to the museum the angelfish can be found in the small fish tank in the entrance of the first exhibit room with the killifish and goldfish.

Fishing Tourney

During a Fishing Tourney, when given a angelfish, Chip will say the following dialogue.

In City Folk

"Now, I've never tried it, but I'll bet dried angelfish tastes a lot like jerky. Nyuuuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!"

In New Leaf

"I've never tried it, but I'll bet dried angelfish tastes pretty close to jerky. Just a theory, of course. Right now I'm just gonna eat it raw to save myself some time. YUM!"

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

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  Animal Crossing

• 

  Animal Crossing: Wild World

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  Animal Crossing: City Folk

• 

  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

• 

  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Real-world information

A real-life Angelfish

The Pterophyllum altum, or Altum Angelfish, as they are also known, grow larger than how they are represented in the game, in fact reaching over 50 cm in the wild (the size of a small barred knifejaw). It originates from South America, in the river basins of the Amazon River, Orinoco River, and Essequibo Rivers. They are ambush predators, meaning they hide behind roots and attack on small fish when they least suspect it. Their small bodies and striped coloration makes it easy for them to hide. They are monogamous, which means they only have one partner throughout their lifetime with which they lay eggs. It likes weak acidic water, with a pH of about 4.5 to 6. More information on this topic is available at Wikipedia.

Trivia

• In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, despite the fact that the angelfish can only be found in rivers, it is classified as saltwater fish. Because of this, villagers will not accept it when they request a freshwater fish.

Names in other languages

	エンゼルフィッシュ enzerufisshu	Angelfish
	천사어 jeonsa-eo	Angelfish
	神仙鱼 shénxiānyú	Angelfish
	神仙魚 Unknown
	Скалярия Skalyariya	Angelfish
	Maanvis	Moonfish
	Skalar	Angelfish (lit. "scalar")
	Pez ángel	Angelfish
	Poisson-ange	Angelfish
	Pesce angelo	Angelfish

Notes

Pocket Camp fish

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