Golden Angelfish

Geographic Origin and Biotope: Western Pacific: Indonesia, Great Barrier Reef, Samoa, and Tonga. Inhabits deep outer reef slopes and dense branching coral areas.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Member of the family Pomacanthidae. Grows to a maximum length of 10 cm. Laterally compressed oval body, soft-textured skin with preopercular spines.

Social Behavior: Cryptic and very shy. Spends most of its time hiding inside caves, overhangs, and coral branches. Rarely swims in open water.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Deep orange-red to rust-brown body coloration with numerous vertical yellow-orange rippled bars. Visually identical; dominant fish changes to male.

Aquarium Setup: Minimum 200 liters. Requires a mature reef tank with a dense layout of live rock forming caves and tunnels. Provide dim zones to reduce stress.

Diet and Feeding: Omnivore. Can be a finicky eater. Offer high-quality frozen mysis, brine shrimp, and special marine angelfish diets containing sponge matter.

Water Quality: Keep temperature at 23-28°C, pH 8.0-8.4, and salinity at 1.020-1.025 SG. High-grade filtration and stable parameters are essential.

Compatibility and Tankmates: Best kept with passive tankmates (e.g. firefish, small gobies). Avoid active swimmers. May nip at LPS corals and clam mantles.

Aquarium Reproduction: Broadcast pelagic spawner. Reproduction in home aquariums is extremely rare due to the difficulty of feeding the pelagic larvae.

Risks and Diseases: Highly susceptible to starvation during acclimation. Prone to marine velvet and bacterial infections if stressed by bright lights or active tankmates.