The Stunning Emperor Angelfish : Care And Requirements
The emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus Imperator) is among three of the most recognizable angels in the hobby today. The other two are the queen angelfish (Holacanthus Ciliaris) and the French Angelfish (Pomacanthus Paru). It is the most popular member of the genus Pomacanthus. It is also known as the Imperator Angelfish.
One of the most distinctively colored marine angelfish, its dark blue body is streaked by yellow lines, while a black band lined with neon blue covers its face. Its tail is known to come in two colors, orange or yellow. Juvenile Emperor angelfish are just as stunning. Its entire body is filled with white concentric circles on a deep blue body.
The Emperor angelfish is commonly found throughout the Indo-Pacific ocean, Red Sea and even the Great Barrier Reefs in Australia. As juveniles, Emperor angelfish provide cleaning services to other fish in the wild. They consume any parasites that maybe present on the bodies of other fishes. Not a cheap fish, juveniles usually cost between $60 to $80 USD while i’ve seen some large show quality adults fetch up to $400 usd before.
Most species within the genus Pomacanthus are bully’s in one form or another. The emperor angelfish is aggressive towards other large angels and is very hostile towards other emperors. Fishes not from the Pomacanthidae family are generally ignored. Might bully butterfly fish and large tangs but generally ignores them.
The emperor angelfish attains lengths of up to 16 inches in the wild. That translates into lengths of up to 10 to 11 inches in the aquarium as angelfish rarely achieve their full length in captivity. At that length it is still a big fish that needs larger aquariums to really do well. A 150 gallon is the bare minimum while a 200 gallon or larger aquarium is recommended as they need large amounts of space to swim in.
The Emperor Angelfish is not considered reef safe. Though you may see some Emperor Angelfish housed in reef aquariums, they’re better suited to fish-only aquariums.In the wild their diet is made up of coral, sponges, tunicates and algae. They should be offered a good variety of foods from algae based foods like nori/seaweed to meaty foods like krill and mysis shrimp. New Life Spectrum offers excellent pellets that are very balanced. Formula Two is a balanced food that is pretty god for your Emperor Angelfish. It contains a mix of seafood and an extra portion of algae for herbivorous fish. They only come in three forms, frozen cube, pellets and flakes.
Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is by far the most complete food you can offer your Emperor Angelfish. This food was developed with large angelfish in mind, they contain fresh seafood, vitamins, marine sponges and fresh algae. Angel formula is only offered in frozen cube form.
You can either buy branded seaweed or get some from your local supermarket (prices may vary). They can be very cheap or very expensive depending on the brand.
When buying from a supermarket, make sure the nori is unflavoured/unspiced. Just get regular, plain nori. Raw nori if it is available. Attach the seaweed/nori to a clip and stick in onto the side of the aquarium.
Tags: Aquariums