🐠 Goldtail Angelfish (Pomacanthus chrysurus)
A Dark Brown-to-Black Body Crossed With White Stripes • A Tail That Develops From Clear to Gold With Age • A Rare Western Indian Ocean Find
 
📋 The Goldtail Angelfish, also known as the Chrysurus or Ear Spot Angelfish, has a striking dark brown to black body crossed with vertical white stripes, several bright sapphire-blue bands across the head, and its namesake feature, a golden-yellow tail rimmed in the same sapphire blue. Interestingly, the tail actually starts out clear and colourless in subadults, only developing its yellow colouration once the fish reaches roughly 8-10cm.
It comes from the Western Indian Ocean, including East Africa, Madagascar, the Seychelles, and the Red Sea, uncommon in the trade, as very few specimens are collected for the aquarium industry. Every Goldtail Angelfish we ship is feeding well, and we offer frequent small meals and a calm settling-in period, since new arrivals can take over a week to start feeding reliably.
It's not reef safe, and will nip at stony and soft corals as well as clam mantles, making it best suited to a spacious fish-only or FOWLR aquarium. It's also a large angelfish, reaching over 30cm, and should be kept as the only angelfish in the tank. One fun natural quirk: when stressed, this species makes an unusual audible clicking sound. It reaches up to 33cm, so plan on at least 830L.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Distinctive Clear-to-Gold Tail: Develops its signature yellow colour as the fish matures
💎 Rare: Very few specimens are collected for the aquarium trade
⚠️ Not Reef Safe: Will nip at corals and clam mantles
📏 A Large Species: Can exceed 30cm at full maturity
🔊 Unusual Stress Response: Makes an audible clicking sound when stressed