Angelfish

Considered as one of the most glamorous members of marine species, angelfish indeed give credit to their name. Angelfish can be distinguished from the very similar butterfly fish by the spine found on the lower gill cover of the angelfish. If you are keen on having one of your own, here are some tips on caring for an angelfish.

  • An aquarist should be justifiably proud of the presence of angelfish in his aquarium. However, certain liabilities must be made note of. Adult specimens of angelfish may become destructive to a reef. Marine angels also tend to become very territorial as they mature, and so it is generally recommended that you keep a single specimen.
  • You will face many challenges while getting your angelfish habituated to its diet. Marine Angels are considered difficult fish to keep because they feed on sponge and tunicate. Today there are prepared angel formulas containing sponge, but it can often be difficult to get an angel to accept new foods. Once your angelfish is feeding however, it can live for many years! Most angelfish, except the Pygmies (Centropyge) are sponge and tunicate eaters. This makes them hard to acclimate since these foods are generally not included in prepared fish foods. Angelfish must be willing to accept new foods in their diet in order to survive in an aquarium and are therefore considered difficult to keep. Feeding a large variety of foods is important in order to entice them into eating and once accomplished, they can survive for long periods of time in captivity.


    • Lets take a look at the types of Angelfish.

    Centropyge: The dwarf angels, rarely get to be over 10 cm. (4 inches) but are very beautiful and adapt well to aquarium life. In the wild they eat mostly algae.

    Chaetodontoplus: In the wild these angels eat mostly sponges and tunicates (sea squirts). Holocanthus: The King and Queen angelfish are the best known examples of this genus, they generally eat sponges and therefore are more difficult to keep healthy in an aquarium.

    Apolemichthys: In the wild these angels eat mostly sponges and tunicates. Plankton eaters.and Pomacanthus

  • Breeding: Adult Queen and Blue angelfish are generally found in pairs year round, so it is assumed that the male and the female have a monogamous relationship. Pairs will spawn by slowly rising up in the water column while bringing their bellies close together, and releasing large amounts of eggs and sperm. A female can release anywhere from 25 to 75 thousand eggs each evening. This can total as many as ten million eggs for the duration of the spawning cycle. The eggs are transparent and pelagic, floating in the water column. The eggs will hatch in 15 to 20 hours. At this point the "pre-larval" angelfish is attached to a large yolk sac, has no functional fins, no e March 5, 2006 absorbed during which time the fish develops into true larvae and begins to feed on plankton in the water column. Growth is rapid and 3 to 4 weeks after hatching the fish will reach about 15-20mm and will settle on the bottom.

The stunning beauty of the angelfish makes it very popular among aquarists all over the world.