Angel fishes

Scientific name : Pomacanthidae

Among the more beautiful reef fishes, they recall the butterfly fishes but are often larger, more colourful and majestic. The family includes 7 genera and about 80 species, of small to medium size. Especially among the medium size species, yellow and blue are predominating colours. Often the eye position is concealed by a coloured mask.
The body is laterally compressed, with small, prominent mouth, provided with brush like teeth. Dorsal and anal fins are symmetrical, and can end with a filament. Slow swimmers but with a very high capability to maneuver, butterfly fishes use caudal fin for propulsion, the highly mobile pectoral fins and the undulating dorsal and anal fins for narrow space maneuver.
They can be found in all the reef zones, in detail the larger species (Pomacanthus, Pygoplites) are more common along the external reef and deep reef, the environment of the large sponges, that they prefer as food.
Small species (genus Centropyge) feed mostly on filamentous algae, and are more abundant on reef front, back reef and lagoon.
Genicanthus species are Plankton feeders.
All of the studied species so far are protogynous hermaphrodites, with a larger territorial male defending a small harem. Eggs are planktonic.
Medium size species defend their territory displaying to the invader and often making a loud snapping sound.
A certain resemblance exist with the family Chaetodontidae (butterfly fish). The larger angel fishes are obviously larger, but with the smaller species confusion is always possible. Often angel fish are more elongated, but the sure diagnostic is a backward opercular spine (from the lower part of the gill operculum), always present and often very appearent in all angel fishes.
The natural population of some species are in overfishing due to the aquarium trade. Almost all the Genicanthus and Centropyge speies plus few Pomacanthus can do well in domestic aquaria, while other species are very difficult to maintain. Many Centropyge species, extremely shy and difficult to observe in he environment, are more popular among aquarists than among divers.