The Digital Fish Library

Distribution:
Tropical Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, with greatest diversity in the Indo-Pacific.

Habitat:
Coral reef associated in depths less than 20 m.

Remarks:
Angelfishes have strongly compressed bodies and are usually very bright in color (making them popular in the aquarium trade). Adults and juveniles are often very different in appearance and color.

These fishes have a single, unnotched dorsal fin, and in many species the hind margin of the dorsal and anal fins have an elongate extension. The margin of the caudal fin is rounded to lunate.

Angelfishes are closely related to butterflyfishes and until recently were included in the same family. Angelfishes can be distinguished by having a strong preopercular spine.

As grazers and pickers, these fish feed on algae, tunicates, hydroids, worms, sponges and coral polyps. Many species exhibit cleaning behavior, picking parasites off other fishes.

The pomacanthid angelfishes comprise eight genera and about 82 species.

References:
Allen & Robertson, 1994; Nelson 2006; Thomson et al. 2000