Queen Angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris
Queen Angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris, Juvenile. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2017. Photograph courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal.
Queen Angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris. Underwater photographs taken in coastal waters of Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2017. Photograph courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal.
The Queen Angelfish, Holacanthus ciliaris, is a member of the Angelfish or Pomacanthidae Family, and is known in Mexico as ángel reina. They are considered by many to be the most beautiful fish in the ocean. Globally, there are eleven species in the genus Holacanthus, of which five are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific Ocean.
The Queen Angelfish has a deep compressed body. Adults are bluish with yellowish heads. They are also blue around their mouth and have a large black blotch on their nape that is encircled with blue spots. They have a blue-edged bar through their eyes. Their caudal and pelvic fins are yellow. Their pectoral fins are yellow with a blue and black base and their scales have yellow margins. Juveniles are darker in color than adults and have three long blue-white bars on their sides; the middle bar is curved and there are shorter bars between the longer bars. They have yellow caudal and pelvic fins. Their head has a short blunt snout and a small mouth equipped with brush-like teeth. Their gill cover has one large spine. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 20 or 21 rays; their dorsal fin is continuous and has 14 spines and 19 to 21 soft rays with extended filaments; and, their caudal fin in adults is straight. Their body is covered with large and rough scales. Their lateral line ends under the soft dorsal fin.
The Queen Angelfish is found in shallow waters in reef-associated environments close to the bottom at depths up to 69 m (225 feet). Juveniles are generally solitary and found in and around colonies of finger sponges and coral. They are normally found in pairs near sea fans and take shelter at night within the coral reefs to avoid predation. They reach a maximum of 45 cm (18 inches) in length and 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) in weight. Adults are omnivore and feed on a wide range of algae and invertebrates including sponges as well as corals, gorgonians, tunicates, and zoanthids. Juveniles feed on algae and detritus along with ectoparasites they clean from other fish; they tend “cleaning stations” where they remove these ectoparasites from a wide range of fish including jacks, snappers, morays, grunts, surgeonfish, and wrasses. Reproduction is monogamous and oviparous with external fertilization. Each female releases between 25,000 and 75,000 eggs per day and up to 10,000,000 eggs per spawning cycle; they become highly territorial during this period. Eggs are pelagic and hatch 15 to 20 hours post-fertilization.
The Queen Angelfish is most likely confused with the Blue Angelfish, Holacanthus bermudensis (adults lack prominent dark ring “crown” spot on forehead and lack yellow caudal fin; juveniles have straight bars).
The Queen Angelfish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
From a conservation perspective the Queen Angelfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern, being common throughout their range with stable populations. They are not sought after as a food fish as they are known to contain ciguatoxin. Juveniles are highly prized by the aquarium trade, with the majority of fish originating from Brazil, but are difficult to maintain. They are shy but popular with underwater divers and snorkelers.