It is found in swamps or flooded grounds where vegetation is dense and the water is either clear or silty.

The diet of Pterophyllum scalare consists of a wide spectrum of prey; they feed on tiny fish fry and younger, juvenile fishes, young and mature shrimps, crabs, prawns, various worms, mosquito larvae, and water bugs.

Additionally, they will opportunistically catch any smaller-sized floating insects that have fallen onto the surface of the water.

[2] In captivity, these are not picky fish; They readily feed on different types of frozen, freeze-dried and live foods, such as tubifex worms, bean beetles (and larvae), bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, flour beetles, krill, springtails, small or finely-chopped earthworms, black soldier fly larvae and cultured wingless fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster).

[2] First described by Hinrich Lichtenstein in 1823, First import to Europe (Germany) by C.Ziggelkow, Hamburg in 1909[3] The genome of the angelfish was sequenced and assembled by Indeever Madireddy, a high school student.