Pomacanthidae on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Marine angelfish are perciform
* Two-spined angelfish, (''Centropage bispinosa)'' also known as the "coral beauty" or "dusky angelfish" has a vibrant blue or darkish purple body with a reddish-yellow underside that is usually covered in stripes.
* These stripes vary from purple, red and orange, and may even appear as spots.
* It is highly demanded in the tropical aquarium trade, but is at low risk on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
* The Coral Beauty Angelfish is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean, usually found in shallow reefy waters or sometimes in deep waters.
* They feed on algae and hide in coral reefs and lagoons in the wild.
* The Two-spined angelfish usually reaches up to 3 inches and have a rounded caudal fin.
* In aquarium life they nibble on corals and rocks and are considered to be starter fish. They have a high metabolism so feeding only needs to occur every other day.
* The blue angelfish, (''Pomacanthus semicirculatus)'' is a vibrant, electric blue color with black and white stripes and sometimes spots as a juvenile. It turns a grayish color with dark spots and sometimes yellow and blue accents as an adult.
* Found in stony and soft corals and are more likely to be found in vibrantly colored corals as juveniles.
* Dorsal and pelvic fin help with speed.
* Tend to hide from predators in dark areas.
* Vibrant electric blue color allows them to pose as toxic to predators.
* There are 13 different species in the ''Pomacanthus'' genus.
* Rarely travel in schools and can grow up to 40 cm.
* Can live up to 25+ years.
* Usually non-aggressive but can become territorial in full or smaller tanks. It is not recommended that they share a tank with sessile invertebrates or stony corals with polyps because they tend to bite at corals and hard rocks or shells. They have a high metabolism so feeding only needs to occur every other day. They are omnivores who feed on algae and meat. They need a tank with many suitable hiding places and water at a temperature of at least 80 °F.
* Marine angelfish were introduced to the United States sometime in 1917. They were then a rare fish, and therefore highly desired. People would pay high prices for these fish, especially a mating pair which was worth someone's salary for an entire week. Breeding was not successful at first, but breeders and hobbyists eventually became more advanced at the process and were able to successfully breed them in small numbers, mostly in the silvery colors. In the 1980s, commercial fish farming had become much more popular and fish farms in Florida were breeding different colors, species and sizes of angelfish. When The Black Plague hit in 1989, it caused a shut down of commercial fish farms, resulting in these fish being unavailable for a few years. These fish are now highly popular in the aquarium trade and a variety of species can be found all around the world in tanks or natural waters.
ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px
PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px
Period = from:-65.5 till:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5
TimeAxis = orientation:hor
AlignBars = justify
Colors =
#legends
id:CAR value:claret
id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196)
id:HER value:teal
id:HAD value:green
id:OMN value:blue
id:black value:black
id:white value:white
id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258)
id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32)
id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37)
id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42)
id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48)
id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1)
id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0)
id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68)
id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5)
id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68)
id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88)
BarData=
bar:eratop
bar:space
bar:periodtop
bar:space
bar:NAM1
bar:space
bar:period
bar:space
bar:era
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
shift:(7,-4)
bar:periodtop
from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:
Pomacanthidae photos
{{Taxonbar, from=Q320913 Perciformes families Marine fish families
fish
Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...
of the family Pomacanthidae. They are found on shallow reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock ...
s in the tropical Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
, and mostly western Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
s. The family contains seven genera and about 86 species. They should not be confused with the freshwater angelfish, tropical cichlid
Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted th ...
s of the Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...
.
Description
With their bright colours and deep, laterally compressed bodies, marine angelfishes are some of the more conspicuous residents of thereef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock ...
. They most closely resemble the butterflyfish
The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the Atlan ...
es, a related family of similarly showy reef fish. Marine angelfish are distinguished from butterflyfish by the presence of strong preopercle spines (part of the gill
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...
covers) in the former. This feature also explains the family name Pomacanthidae; from the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
πομα, ''poma'' meaning "cover" and ακάνθα, ''akantha'' meaning "thorn".
Many species of marine angelfishes have streamer-like extensions of the soft dorsal and anal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as see ...
s. The fish have small mouths, relatively large pectoral fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
s, and rounded to lunate tail fins. The largest species, the gray angelfish, ''Pomacanthus arcuatus'', may reach a length of ; at the other extreme, members of the genus '' Centropyge'' do not exceed . A length of is typical for the rest of the family. The smaller species are popular amongst aquarists, whereas the largest species are occasionally sought as a food fish; however, ciguatera poisoning has been reported as a result of eating marine angelfish.
Angelfish vary in color and are very hardy fish. When kept in aquariums they can easily adapt to pH and hardness changes in water and can handle conditions that are not considered to be perfect. They are usually a long-living species and are easy to care for. They were very expensive in the aquarium trade when first discovered, but have become more popular and therefore less pricey.
The queen angelfish grows to be . With neon blue and yellow scales and iridescent
Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...
purple and orange markings, surprisingly it is not conspicuous, and actually hides very well, and is very shy.
As juveniles, some species are different colors than when they reach adulthood. For example, the Blue Angelfish is a vibrant, electric blue color with black and white stripes or spots. When they reach adulthood, they turn a grayish color with yellow and blue fins and dark spots on their bodies.
Behavior
The larger species are also quite bold and seemingly fearless; they are known to approach divers. While the majority adapts easily to captive life, some are specialist feeders which are difficult to maintain. Feeding habits can be strictly defined through genus, with '' Genicanthus'' species feeding onzooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
and '' Centropyge'' preferring filamentous alga
Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
e. Other species focus on sessile benthic
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chorda ...
s; sponge
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throu ...
s, tunicate
A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata (). It is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one t ...
s, bryozoa
Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a ...
ns, and hydroids are staples. On Caribbean coral reefs, angelfishes primarily eat sponges, and have an important role in preventing the overgrowth of reef-building corals by eating faster-growing sponge species.
Most marine angelfishes restrict themselves to the shallows of the reef, seldom venturing deeper than . The recently described ''Centropyge abei'' is known to inhabit depths of . They are diurnal animals, hiding amongst the nooks and crevices of the reef by night. Some species are solitary in nature and form highly territorial mated pairs; others form harem
Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...
s with a single male dominant over several females. As juveniles, some species may eke out a living as cleaner fish.
Reproduction
Common to many species is a dramatic shift in coloration associated with maturity. For example, young male ornate angelfish, ''Genicanthus bellus'', have broad, black bands and are indistinguishable from females; as they mature, bright orange bands develop on the flanks and back. Thought to correspond to social rank, these colour shifts are not necessarily confined to males; all marine angelfish species are known to beprotogynous hermaphrodite
Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...
s. This means that if the dominant male of a harem is removed, a female will turn into a functional male.
As pelagic
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...
spawners, marine angelfishes release many tiny buoyant eggs into the water which then become part of the plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a cruc ...
. The eggs float freely with the currents until hatching, with a high number falling victim to planktonic feeders.
In aquariums, two fish usually will breed within their community but will harass other fish in the tank, so it is best they have their own with plenty of room.
Characteristics
* Two-spined angelfish, (''Centropage bispinosa)'' also known as the "coral beauty" or "dusky angelfish" has a vibrant blue or darkish purple body with a reddish-yellow underside that is usually covered in stripes.
* These stripes vary from purple, red and orange, and may even appear as spots.
* It is highly demanded in the tropical aquarium trade, but is at low risk on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
* The Coral Beauty Angelfish is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean, usually found in shallow reefy waters or sometimes in deep waters.
* They feed on algae and hide in coral reefs and lagoons in the wild.
* The Two-spined angelfish usually reaches up to 3 inches and have a rounded caudal fin.
* In aquarium life they nibble on corals and rocks and are considered to be starter fish. They have a high metabolism so feeding only needs to occur every other day.
* The blue angelfish, (''Pomacanthus semicirculatus)'' is a vibrant, electric blue color with black and white stripes and sometimes spots as a juvenile. It turns a grayish color with dark spots and sometimes yellow and blue accents as an adult.
* Found in stony and soft corals and are more likely to be found in vibrantly colored corals as juveniles.
* Dorsal and pelvic fin help with speed.
* Tend to hide from predators in dark areas.
* Vibrant electric blue color allows them to pose as toxic to predators.
* There are 13 different species in the ''Pomacanthus'' genus.
* Rarely travel in schools and can grow up to 40 cm.
* Can live up to 25+ years.
* Usually non-aggressive but can become territorial in full or smaller tanks. It is not recommended that they share a tank with sessile invertebrates or stony corals with polyps because they tend to bite at corals and hard rocks or shells. They have a high metabolism so feeding only needs to occur every other day. They are omnivores who feed on algae and meat. They need a tank with many suitable hiding places and water at a temperature of at least 80 °F.
* Marine angelfish were introduced to the United States sometime in 1917. They were then a rare fish, and therefore highly desired. People would pay high prices for these fish, especially a mating pair which was worth someone's salary for an entire week. Breeding was not successful at first, but breeders and hobbyists eventually became more advanced at the process and were able to successfully breed them in small numbers, mostly in the silvery colors. In the 1980s, commercial fish farming had become much more popular and fish farms in Florida were breeding different colors, species and sizes of angelfish. When The Black Plague hit in 1989, it caused a shut down of commercial fish farms, resulting in these fish being unavailable for a few years. These fish are now highly popular in the aquarium trade and a variety of species can be found all around the world in tanks or natural waters.
Taxonomy
The Pomacanthidae is frequently placed within the large order Perciformes but taxonomists have also placed the family within the order Acanthuriformes, alongside the Chaetodontidae and Acanthuridae, among others. Other authorities have resolved the family as ''incertae sedis
' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...
''.
There are 88 species in eight genera:
Timeline
Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pala ...
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pleist.
from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H.
bar:eratop
from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...
from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.
PlotData=
align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left
color:eocene bar:NAM1 from: -55.8 till: 0 text: Pomacanthus
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
bar:period
from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pala ...
from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...
from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio.
from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pleist.
from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H.
bar:era
from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...
from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.
References
Further reading
*External links
* Skaphandrus.coPomacanthidae photos
{{Taxonbar, from=Q320913 Perciformes families Marine fish families