Emperor Angelfish Care Guide

Empereur Angelfish: Le guide d'entretien complet

The emperor angelfish is perhaps the most recognizable angelfish in the aquarium trade. It is both graceful and vibrantly colored and is often the crowning jewel of the aquarium.

Although they are fairly hardy, they should only be kept by experienced fish keepers due to the tank size requirements, and strict water parameters.

Whilst this fish is well recognized and very popular it does come with a relatively high price tag.

In this complete care guide, we will detail their tank requirements and dietary needs before discussing how to spot a healthy emperor angelfish and whether they can be kept with other fish.

The emperor angelfish is one of the most striking and beautiful saltwater fish around.

Also known as the Imperator Angelfish and the Imperial Angelfish, it is part of the Pomacanthidae family and is commonly found in the Indo Pacific Ocean.

It was first identified in 1787, and given the scientific name of Pomacanthus Imperator.

The Imperial Angelfish can have a lifespan of over 20 years in captivity, and even longer in the wild. They are moderately difficult to keep due to the level of water quality in which they need to thrive, and the size of the tank needed.

They are a very popular and readily available fish, but come with a high price tag due to their desirability.

~Appearance~

The Emperor Angelfish transforms through three different stages (juvenile, sub-adult and adult). In each stage its appearance drastically changes.

The juveniles and the adults both have strikingly different colorations and patterns.

In fact, up until 1933 the juvenile was thought to be a different species called the Pomacanthus Nicobariensis.

Juvenile Emperor Angelfish have a black body with light blue and white vertical lines on their face. Their body is made up of three wide white curved bands. The first runs from the dorsal fin to the anal fin, the second creates a ‘C’ shape and the third is a white circle close to the tail fin.

In between each of the thick white curves are thinner light blue curves. The dorsal and anal fins are made up of black hexagonal markings with light blue trimming. The dorsal fin also has a white edging.

The sub-adult is similar in appearance to the juvenile, but you’ll notice the tail fin starts to develop a yellow patterning, as well as yellow vertical lines on the body. Their body will also become deeper and rounder.

Once fully developed, the adult is deep bodied with yellow and blue striped lines which stretch horizontally across their body from the gill area to the start of the yellow tail fin.

The dorsal fin has a white edging. It has a mask-like black band across its eyes, which has a blue trim. The mouth and snout are white. These changes usually occur over a period of around 2 years, when the fish is 3-5” in length. The color change is often delayed in captivity.

In the wild, Emperor Angelfish can grow up to lengths of 40cm (15”) however in aquariums they’re much less likely to reach these lengths.

Instead, you can expect this species to reach around 12” (30cm) in captivity.

This fish can be mistaken for the juvenile Koran Angelfish (Pomacanthus Semicirculatus). The difference lies in the last white strip, which makes a C shape rather than a circle shape.

The Koran also doesn’t have the honeycomb patterning on the dorsal and anal fin.