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September 4th, 2009 by Gabriela Desouyez

The queen angelfish (Holacanthus Ciliaris) is one of the three most popular angelfish in the hobby. The other two being the Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus Imperator) and the French Angelfish (Pomacanthus Paru). Like the flame angelfish, it reigns as the most popular angelfish within its own genus. They are part of the Pomacanthidae (Marine Angelfish) family and are one of the largest angelfish among its cousins.

The queen angelfish can be found throughout the Caribbean Sea, Brazil all the way up to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. It is very closely related to Holacanthus Bermudensis (Blue Angelfish) and they look completely alike to the untrained eye. Some inter-breeding is known to happen between these two in the wild. Holocanthus Townsendi the scientific name some quarters have been calling their offspring. It should be noted that Holacanthus Townsendi is not recognized as a valid species within the genus. Fortunately, telling them apart is easy, queen angelfish possess a blue ringed crown on its head while the blue angelfish do not.

As with all larger angelfish species, juvenile coloration differs to that of an adult. Bright blue vertical bars streak across the body of juveniles. The bars slowly disappear as they age. Adult queen angels are just as stunning, they are a iridescent yellow and blue throughout their bodies.

Young queen angels assume an interesting role in their natural habitats. They take on the role of a “cleaner”. As cleaners, they service larger fishes that need some form of parasite removal.

This is an expensive fish, small specimens usually retail for $80-$90 USD with large adults (Show quality) costing $200 and upwards.

Larger angels such as the queen have a reputation for being bullies in captivity. It generally ignores other species of fish but is pretty hostile towards other large angelfish. It is especially hostile towards other queen angels. Or towards the blue angelfish for that matter. A good rule to follow would be only one queen per tank.

This angelfish reaches lengths of up to 18 inches in the wild. A foot and a half!. However, they rarely achieve such lengths with a maximum size of 12 to 13 inches in captivity.

Marine aquariums no smaller than 150 gallons should be used to house queen angelfish. As with all larger marine fish, a bigger tank is a better tank. The need ample swimming room in captivity so make sure the tank isn’t too packed with live rock. Do not be fooled into getting a small two inch juvenile for a 50 gallon aquarium. They will quickly outgrow such small tanks in no time at all, leaving you with the headache of either selling or finding larger quarters for it.

Not considered reef safe, in captivity queen angels can nip on corals until they perish. Although some hobbyists have kept them in reef aquariums with minimal damage to their corals, queen angelfish are better suited to large, fish-only aquariums.

They feed on tunicates,sponges, corals, algae and plankton in the wild. Avoid housing them in a reef aquarium with many corals. They can make short work of your expensive corals. They should be fed a choice of foods including krill, mysis shrimp and sheets of nori/seaweed. Formula two is a pretty balanced food for angelfish, containing seafood and extra algae for herbivorous fishes. It is available in three forms, flake, pellet or frozen cube.

The best food available for larger angels like the queen angelfish is Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition. Produced with large angelfish in mind, they contain foods they normally eat in the wild like algae, seafood and marine sponges. Angel Formula is only available in frozen cube form.

Make sure you buy the plain, unflavoured/unspiced version if you’re buying nori from the supermarket. Raw nori is a good choice if available. Attach the nori to a clip and stick it on your aquarium glass.

Gabriela Desouyez has been in the ornamental fish trade for over 20 years, giving her hands on experience with a wide range of marine fishes. Do visit her hubpage for a video and picture guide on the Queen Angels and another popular angelfish, the stunning Emperor Angelfish Care.