A sitter cannot spot trouble in a fish they cannot read. Angelfish look dramatic to beginners, because they hover, tilt, flare at tank mates and patrol slowly with fins spread. Much of that display counts as ordinary angelfish life. Your brief must paint the ordinary pattern in advance, so only genuine change stands out as a warning.
Section one: put names and territories on a photo
Print or send a clear tank photo and label each fish on the image. Write a name or a plain tag for each fish, such as the striped one or the pale one, and add one identifying mark per fish. Angelfish hold favourite areas, so mark those areas on the photo too. Note which fish claims the tall plant, which fish rests near the filter, and which fish follows the other during the day.
Add pairing notes if two fish have bonded. A bonded pair may clean a leaf or a flat stone together and may chase other fish away from that spot. That guarding behaviour looks fierce and still counts as normal for a pair. A lone fish that suddenly guards an empty corner and stops eating reads differently, and your notes should say so.
Section two: record the daily rhythm in plain times
Write the rhythm as times of day rather than as vague habits. Note when lights come on and how the fish behave in the first minutes, because slow starts are normal after darkness. Describe feeding behaviour fish by fish: who rises fast, who hangs back, how much sparring happens over food, and how quickly the group settles once food is gone. Describe midday cruising, evening hovering and the exact resting spots each fish uses at lights-out.
Film a two-minute phone video on an ordinary evening and send it to your sitter before you leave. Video shows fin movement, breathing pace and confidence in a way adjectives never match. Walk through the video together on a call or in the kitchen, and pause at the moments your sitter might misread, such as a slow tilt or a brief chase that ends without contact.
Section three: list alarm changes with a paired response
Choose a handful of changes that genuinely matter and write a response beside each change. A fish that hides all day after never hiding needs a photo sent to you the same day. A fish gasping at the surface or breathing with rapid gill movement needs a call right away. A fish that skips two feeds in a row needs a note and a photo. White spots, frayed fins, a swollen belly or a fish resting on the gravel each need a photo and a call before any action in the tank.
Tell your sitter what not to do just as clearly. No extra food as a comfort measure. No water change unless you direct one by phone. No bottles opened from the cupboard on guesswork. Their job is observation, feeding to your written amounts and fast reporting. That boundary protects the fish from kind but harmful improvisation.
Close the brief with practical contacts: your mobile number, a backup contact who knows fish, and the shop or aquatic vet you use for advice. Leave food pre-portioned if feeding judgement worries you. KinsLe Care Pass brings the three sections together for your sitter in one temporary share, pairing the labelled photo and territory notes with the daily rhythm and the alarm list, so a worried sitter checks your description of normal before deciding that anything looks wrong.