Regal angelfish

Care at a glance

The regal angelfish, with its orange and white bars and blue accents, is for many people the most beautiful reef fish there is. Unfortunately it is also one of the most difficult: in the wild it eats mainly sponges and tunicates, and many individuals refuse food for months in the aquarium.

Specimens from the Red Sea have a reputation for being considerably hardier than those from the rest of the Indo-Pacific. Only add it to a large, long-running and richly grown reef tank, with calm tankmates and several small feedings a day.

Good to know

• Needs a mature, stable tank
• Hard to wean onto dry food
• Outgrows most home tanks

Related species

• French angelfishPomacanthus paru
• Potter’s angelfishCentropyge potteri
• Koran angelfishPomacanthus semicirculatus
• Lemonpeel angelfishCentropyge flavissima
• Achilles tangAcanthurus achilles
• Longnose butterflyfishForcipiger flavissimus