🐠 Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)
A Brilliant Blue Body Edged in Vibrant Yellow • A Crown-Shaped Marking on the Forehead • A Magnificent Western Atlantic Icon
 
📋 The Queen Angelfish is widely regarded as one of the most magnificent marine fish in the Western Atlantic, with a brilliant blue-to-blue-green body edged in vibrant yellow along the pectoral, dorsal, and anal fins. Its name comes from a distinctive dark, blue-ringed spot on the forehead that resembles a royal crown.
It comes from the Western Atlantic, from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico through the Caribbean to Brazil, inhabiting coral reefs at depths from 1 to 70 metres. Juveniles serve as cleaner fish on Caribbean reefs, setting up cleaning stations to remove parasites from much larger fish, including groupers and snappers. In the wild, this species can also naturally hybridise with the closely related Blue Angelfish, producing offspring known as Townsend Angelfish. Every Queen Angelfish we ship is feeding well.
It's not reef safe, and will consume sponges, tunicates, and corals as part of its natural diet, along with clam mantles and sessile invertebrates. It's more feeding-sensitive than many large angelfish, since sponges make up the bulk of its natural diet, so sponge-based angelfish preparations are an important part of its long-term care. It can be territorial toward other angelfish and is best kept as the only large angelfish in the tank. It reaches up to 45cm, so plan on at least 830L.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Electric Blue With Golden Accents: An iconic Western Atlantic angelfish
👑 The "Crown" Marking: A dark, blue-ringed spot on the forehead gives the species its name
🧽 Juveniles Are Natural Cleaner Fish: Set up cleaning stations for larger reef fish in the wild
⚠️ Not Reef Safe: Will consume sponges, corals, and clam mantles
🍽️ Sponge-Dependent Diet: Sponge-based angelfish preparations are important for health