TankBud

Lamarck's angelfish

Genicanthus lamarck

Also known as Lamarck Angelfish, Blackstriped Angelfish

SaltwaterFish

Lamarck's angelfish (Genicanthus lamarck)
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–79°F
22–26°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
9.8 in
25 cm
Minimum tank
124 gal
470 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Pomacanthidae
Origin
Indo-West Pacific, from the Indo-Malayan region to Vanuatu, north to southern Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef

Overview

Lamarck's angelfish is a peaceful, plankton-eating angelfish that suits a reef tank. It is best with a little experience.

Did you know

Lamarck's angelfish was first captive-bred only in 2017, at an aquarium in New York. That was well over a century after the species was first described.

Caring for the Lamarck's angelfish

Give a Lamarck's angelfish a spacious tank of at least 124 gal (470 L). Unlike the large Pomacanthus angels, it does not hug the rock looking for food. It wants open swimming room over live rock and a sandy bottom, more like a mid-water reef fish than a grazer.

Keep the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed small meals of mysis, marine algae and angelfish preparations several times a day.

Lamarck's angelfish are peaceful and safe with community fish. Keep a single fish, a bonded pair, or one male with a harem of females, but never two males together. As a planktivore, it leaves corals, clams and other invertebrates alone, so it is reef safe.

Males are almost teardrop-shaped, with black pelvic fins, a few stripes radiating from the eye and long flowing filaments trailing off the tail. Females have white pelvic fins and a broad black band along the top and bottom edges of the body. Breeding it is hard.

Good to know

Genicanthus lamarck belongs to the family Pomacanthidae, and it is also called the blackstriped angelfish. It is named for the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. The species can change sex from female to male. Its two sexes look different enough that they were once mistaken for separate species entirely.

In the wild

Lamarck's angelfish live on Indo-West Pacific reef crests and deep reef slopes, from about 10 to 50 meters. Their range runs from the Indo-Malayan region to Vanuatu, north to southern Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef. They form harems of three to seven fish that hover together in midwater to feed on plankton.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Lamarck's angelfish is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a Lamarck's angelfish need?

A Lamarck's angelfish needs at least 124 gal (470 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a Lamarck's angelfish need?

A Lamarck's angelfish is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a Lamarck's angelfish eat?

A Lamarck's angelfish is a planktivore. Feed it small meals of mysis, marine algae and angelfish preparations several times a day.

How big does a Lamarck's angelfish get?

An adult Lamarck's angelfish reaches about 9.8 in (25 cm).

How can you tell a male Lamarck's angelfish from a female?

Males are almost teardrop-shaped, with black pelvic fins, a few stripes radiating from the eye and long filaments trailing off the tail. Females have white pelvic fins and a broad black band along the top and bottom edges of the body.

Related species