Holacanthus Ciliaris : The care and requirements of the magnificent Queen Angelfish
Posted on 12. Jul, 2009 by admin in Aquariums, Fishtanks
Holacanthus Ciliaris, the queen angel, is among the three most recognizable angelfish in the marine aquarium hobby. The other two are 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 is commonly found throughout the Caribbean sea, Florida, Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico. To the untrained eye, it looks almost the same as its closest cousin, the blue angel (Holacanthus Bermudensis). Some inter-breeding is known to happen between these two in the wild. Their offspring have also been known as Holacanthus Townsendi. It should be noted that Holacanthus Townsendi is not recognized as a valid species within the genus. Thankfully, telling the two apart is an easy enough task, queen angels have a blue crown on their heads, that crown is missing on blue angels.
Young queen angels wear different colors than adult specimens do. Bright blue vertical bars streak across the body of juveniles. These bars will slowly disappear as they grow. Adults sport a brilliant iridescent yellow and blue throughout their entire body.
Juvenile angelfish also take on a peculiar role in the wild. They assume the role of “cleaners”. Cleaners are agents of parasite control, feeding on any parasites found on larger fishes.
Not a cheap fish, adult queen angels (show quality) can fetch upwards of $200 while juveniles specimens can be had for $80-$90.
Larger angels such as the queen have a reputation for being bullies in captivity. It is hostile towards other large angelfish but it generally ignores other species of fish. 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.
The queen angelfish is a whopper, attaining lengths of up to 18 inches in the wild. One and a half feet!. 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, the bigger the tank, the better. They require large amounts of space to swim so ensure that your rock scape allows for this. 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.
All large angels are not reef safe, they may go to town on your corals. Though some hobbyists have been successfully keeping them in reef aquariums, they are more often seen in large, fish-only aquariums.
Their diet in the wild consists of sponges, tunicates, plankton, algae and corals. Do not house them in tanks containing corals. Your corals may end up as expensive meals for them. They should be fed a choice of foods including krill, mysis shrimp and sheets of nori/seaweed. A pretty good to offer is Formula Two, containing a blend of seafood and an extra amount of algae. Three forms are available, frozen cube, flake or pellet.
Ocean Nutrition produces By far the best foods for any large angel, Angel Formula. Produced with large angelfish in mind, they contain a good mix of fresh seafood, algae, vitamins and most importantly, marine sponges. Angel Formula only comes in frozen cubes i believe.
Make sure you buy the plain, unflavoured/unspiced version if you’re buying nori from the supermarket. Raw nori is of course excellent if availabel. Attach the nori to a clip and stick it on your aquarium glass.
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