Annularis Angelfish

Pomacanthus annularis

Also known as Blue Ring Angelfish, Bluering Angelfish, Blue-ringed Angelfish

SaltwaterFish

Annularis Angelfish (Pomacanthus annularis) — Eddie Maloney from North Las Vegas, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 17.7 in (45 cm)
Minimum tank: 219 gal (830 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Not reef safe
Origin: Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa through Indonesia and New Guinea to New Caledonia, north to southern Japan
Family: Pomacanthidae

Overview

Annularis angelfish are mostly peaceful but grow territorial toward other large angels as they mature, and they do best as the only large angel in anything under roughly 1300 to 1500 liters. They graze sponges and tunicates in the wild, so offer a varied diet with sponge-based angelfish preparations, spirulina, and marine algae several times a day. They are not reef safe and are especially prone to nipping large-polyp stony corals, zoanthids, soft corals, and clam mantles once they learn to see them as food.

In the wild

Annularis angelfish live on coastal and lagoon reefs across the Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa through Indonesia to New Caledonia, from about 1 to 60 meters. Juveniles settle into very shallow, algae-covered inshore habitat before working their way out to deeper reef as they grow, where adults are often found paired up near caves. A tank needs to be long, 2.4 meters or more is best, to give an adult the open swimming space it wants, plus heavy rockwork for grazing and shelter.

Good to know

Pomacanthus annularis reaches about 45 cm, among the largest angelfish in this group. The juvenile is black with tight concentric white and blue rings, while the adult is blue with narrow yellow-gold horizontal stripes, a yellow tail, and the blue ring behind the gill cover that gives the species its common and scientific names. It is regularly collected for the aquarium trade, particularly out of Sri Lanka.

Did you know

An Indonesian hatchery was among the first to successfully captive-breed this species, and has since produced a hybrid cross between the annularis and emperor angelfish that shows a mix of both parents' patterns.