Details
Pomacanthus imperator
The emperor angelfish is a large reef angelfish of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is famous for the striking difference between juvenile and adult patterns.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It uses coral reefs, outer reef slopes, lagoons, and rocky reef areas of the Indo-Pacific. Adults often live alone on complex reefs with holes and overhangs.
Length is 30-40 cm and weight 1-2 kg. Adults show yellow and blue horizontal stripes, a dark eye band, and blue edging; juveniles are black with white and blue swirls.
Diurnal and solitary, it patrols a reef territory. Adults stay near cover and may drive away other emperor angelfish.
An omnivore, it eats sponges, tunicates, algae, and small invertebrates. It picks and scrapes attached organisms from hard reef surfaces.
Pairs rise into the water column during spawning and release eggs and sperm. Eggs and larvae drift before juveniles settle back to reefs.
It is listed as Least Concern. Popular in the aquarium trade, it depends on healthy reefs with complex shelter.
