Regal angelfish

Care at a glance

Overview

The regal angelfish is a sponge-grazing angelfish for a large, mature saltwater tank. It is suited only to experienced keepers.

Caring for the regal angelfish

Give the regal angelfish a large, thoroughly mature tank of at least 124 gal (470 L). The rock needs established algae and sponge growth. The species depends on food sources that take a long time to build up in a new aquarium. Keep the water at 73 to 81°F (23 to 27°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4.

Regal angelfish are notoriously hard to keep fed. Wild adults often refuse standard aquarium foods and can starve before they adapt, so many keepers watch one eat in the store before buying. Offer sponge-based angelfish preparations and live foods like mysis to start.

The regal angelfish is mostly peaceful and safe with community fish. It is not especially aggressive, but keep only one male per tank.

Some regal angelfish leave corals alone, but others nip at large-polyp stony corals, zoanthids and clam mantles. Reef keepers should treat it with caution. It is safer in a fish-only or FOWLR system than a prized reef. It is hard to breed.

Good to know

Pygoplites diacanthus belongs to the family Pomacanthidae and is the only species in its genus. It also goes by royal angelfish and royal empress angelfish. It can live 15 years or more. Its orange body is wrapped in electric blue diagonal bands, with 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 as it grows.

In the wild

Regal angelfish have one of the widest ranges of any angelfish. They span the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Tuamotu Islands. They reach north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to the Great Barrier Reef. They live 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.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Conspicuous angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus

  9.8 in (25 cm) · 198 gal (750 L)

  9.8 in (25 cm)198 gal (750 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Goldflake angelfish

  Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus

  9.8 in (25 cm) · 125 gal (475 L)

  9.8 in (25 cm)125 gal (475 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Tiger angelfish

  Apolemichthys kingi

  9.8 in (25 cm) · 151 gal (570 L)

  9.8 in (25 cm)151 gal (570 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Flagfin angelfish

  Apolemichthys trimaculatus

  10.2 in (26 cm) · 100 gal (380 L)

  10.2 in (26 cm)100 gal (380 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Maze angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus cephalareticulatus

  11 in (28 cm) · 251 gal (950 L)

  11 in (28 cm)251 gal (950 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Scribbled angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus duboulayi

  11 in (28 cm) · 180 gal (680 L)

  11 in (28 cm)180 gal (680 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)