TankBud

Regal angelfish

Pygoplites diacanthus

Also known as Royal Angelfish, Royal Empress Angelfish

SaltwaterFish

Regal angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus)
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
73–81°F
23–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
9.8 in
25 cm
Minimum tank
124 gal
470 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Own kind
One male per tank
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe with caution
Family
Pomacanthidae
Origin
Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Tuamotu Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef

Overview

Regal angelfish are not especially aggressive, but they are notoriously hard to keep fed: wild adults often refuse standard aquarium foods and can starve before they adapt, so many keepers insist on watching one eat in the store before buying. Offer sponge-based angelfish preparations and live foods like mysis to start, in a large, mature tank with strong algae growth. Reef keepers should treat this one with caution: some individuals leave corals alone, but others nip at large-polyp stony corals, zoanthids, and clam mantles, so it is safer in a fish-only or FOWLR system than a prized reef.

In the wild

Regal angelfish have one of the widest ranges of any angelfish, spanning the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Tuamotu Islands, living on lagoon and seaward reefs near caves from the surface to 48 meters or deeper. In the wild they graze almost exclusively on sponges and tunicates growing on the reef. A tank needs to be large and thoroughly mature, with established algae and sponge growth on the rock, since this species depends on food sources that take a long time to build up in a new aquarium.

Good to know

Pygoplites diacanthus is the only species in its genus. It grows to about 25 cm and can live 15 years or more, with an orange body wrapped in electric blue diagonal bands and a blue-ringed, eye-like marking on the soft dorsal fin. Unlike the large Pomacanthus angels, the juvenile pattern is close to the adult's, so there is no dramatic color change to track as it grows.

Did you know

A Bali-based angelfish hatchery produced the first captive-bred regal angelfish in 2019, and those tank-raised fish take pellets and frozen food right away, sidestepping the feeding standoffs that make wild-caught adults such a gamble.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

Regal angelfish is a mostly peaceful, solitary species that keeps to the middle. Keep only one male per tank. 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 Regal angelfish need?

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

What temperature and pH does a Regal angelfish need?

A Regal angelfish is comfortable at 73–81°F (23–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

How big does a Regal angelfish get?

An adult Regal angelfish reaches about 9.8 in (25 cm).

Related species