TankBud

Queen angelfish

Holacanthus ciliaris

Also known as Yellow Angelfish

SaltwaterFish

Queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)
Pedro Lastra · CC BY-SA 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
17.7 in
45 cm
Minimum tank
251 gal
950 L
Temperament
Aggressive
Social behavior
Solitary
Own kind
One per tank
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Not reef safe
Family
Pomacanthidae
Origin
Western Atlantic, from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico south to Brazil, including the Caribbean

Overview

The queen angelfish is a large, bold Atlantic angelfish for a very big saltwater tank. Only experienced keepers should take it on.

Did you know

As juveniles, queen angelfish run cleaning stations where larger fish stop and hold still to have parasites picked off. The young angelfish drops that service entirely once it grows past its cleaner phase and starts holding its own reef territory.

Caring for the queen angelfish

Give the queen angelfish a very large, mature tank of at least 251 gal (950 L), with room to patrol. Arrange extensive live rock into caves and ledges. A young queen angelfish outgrows a modest setup fast.

Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed a varied diet of sponge-based angelfish preparations, marine algae, and mysis or frozen shrimp several times a day.

The queen angelfish is bold, and it can turn aggressive as it settles in. Keep only one per tank, and add it last, after everything else has claimed its territory. Choose its tank mates with caution.

It is not reef safe and routinely nips at soft and stony corals and clam mantles. Keep it in a fish-only or FOWLR setup instead of a mixed reef. It is a hard fish to breed.

Good to know

Holacanthus ciliaris belongs to the family Pomacanthidae and is also called the yellow angelfish. It can reach about 1.6 kg, which makes it one of the larger angelfish in the Atlantic. The juvenile is deep blue with curving pale blue and white bars, completely unlike the adult. The adult turns blue-green, with each scale rimmed in yellow. A dark spot ringed in electric blue sits on its forehead, the crown that gives the species its common name. The shift from juvenile pattern to adult coloring happens gradually as the fish grows past about 10 to 12 cm.

In the wild

Queen angelfish live on coral reefs of the Caribbean and western Atlantic, from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico south to Brazil. They range from about 1 to 70 meters deep. They usually live alone or in pairs that hold a patch of reef.

Common questions

What size tank does a queen angelfish need?

A queen angelfish needs at least 251 gal (950 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a queen angelfish need?

A queen angelfish is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a queen angelfish eat?

A queen angelfish eats a varied diet of sponge-based angelfish preparations, marine algae, and mysis or frozen shrimp. Feed it several times a day.

How big does a queen angelfish get?

An adult queen angelfish reaches about 17.7 in (45 cm).

Related species