Red Sea Angelfish

Apolemichthys xanthotis

Also known as Yellow-Eared Angelfish, Yellowear Angelfish, Holacanthus xanthotis

SaltwaterFish

Red Sea Angelfish (Apolemichthys xanthotis) — (c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 7.9 in (20 cm)
Minimum tank: 125 gal (475 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Reef safe: Not reef safe
Origin: Red Sea and northwestern Indian Ocean
Family: Pomacanthidae

Overview

Hardy by angelfish standards, but it grazes sponges and will pick at corals and clam mantles, so it belongs in a fish-focused display rather than a reef. Give it a mature 475 litre or larger tank with rock to graze, and expect a shy start that turns firmer toward other angelfish as it matures.

In the wild

Found in the Red Sea and around the Arabian Peninsula through the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. It patrols reef slopes and faces in roughly the top 30 metres, often moving in pairs between coral heads and rock.

Good to know

Apolemichthys xanthotis reaches about 20 cm and was described in 1950 as Holacanthus xanthotis before Apolemichthys was raised to a full genus. Adults pair a white body with a jet black face and back, a yellow tail, and the small yellow ear spot that gives the fish its other common name.

Did you know

Exports from the Red Sea were always sporadic, so when Poma Labs bred this species in the United States it went from a fish most keepers had never seen for sale to one that arrives already eating pellets.