Animal-World > Marine - Saltwater Fish > Marine Angelfish > Indian Yellow-Tail Angelfish

Indian Yellowtail Angelfish

Cream Angelfish, Yellowtail Black Angelfish

Family: PomacanthidaeApolemichthys xanthurusPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

The Indian Yellowtail Angelfish has a creamy rich, subtle beauty!

The Indian Yellowtail Angelfish Apolemichthys xanthurus doesn't get very big, reaching only about 6 inches (15 cm). But it has a luscious appearance. Creamy overall with a chocolate brown color in the face, dorsal and anal fins, and edging its scales. The fins are edged in white and the tail fin is yellow. This small beauty is known by a number of descriptive common names including Cream Angelfish, Yellowtail Angelfish, Yellowtail Black Angelfish, Xanthurus Cream Angelfish, Indian Yellowtail Pygmy Angel, and more.

For more Information on keeping saltwater fish see:
Marine Aquarium Basics: Guide to a Healthy Saltwater Aquarium

Maintenance difficulty: The Indian Yellowtail Angelfish is moderately difficult to keep.

Maintenance: It is important that you feed angelfish all kinds of live, frozen, and prepared formula foods. Best to feed small amounts several times a day. A good formula that can be made at home consists of mussels, shrimp, squid, and spinach.

Habitat: Natural geographic location: Indian Yellowtail Angelfish are found in the western Indian Ocean around Mauritius, Sri Lanka and the east coast of India. Commonly at depths of 5-20 meters (16-66 ft.).

Foods: See 'maintenance' above.

Social Behaviors: Can be found singly, in pairs, or small groups.

Sexual differences: Unknown.

Light: Recommended light levels: No special requirements.

Breeding/Reproduction: Not accomplished in captivity. See Breeding Marine Fish page for a description of how they reproduce in the wild.

Temperature: No special requirements. Normal temperatures for marine fish lies between 75 and 79 degrees.

Length/Diameter of fish: Indian Yellowtail Angelfish adults can grow to 15 cm (6 inches).

Minimum Tank Length/Size: A minimum 30 gallon aquarium is recommended.

Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong No special requirements.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom No special requirements.

Availability: This fish is available from time to time and is moderately priced.

References

• Animal-World References: Marine and Reef
• Helmut Debelius, Rudie H. Kuiter, World Atlas of Marine Fishes, Hollywood Import & Export, Inc., 2006
• Scott W. Michael, Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes: Reef Fishes Series , Microcosm Ltd, 2004
• Mark Allen, Roger Steene, Gerald R. Allen, A Guide to Angelfishes and Butterflyfishes , Odyssey Publishing, 1998
• Dr. Warren E. Burgess, Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod, Raymond E. Hunziker III, Dr. Burgess's Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes, T.F.H Publications inc., 1990
• Dr. Gerald R. Allen, Butterfly and Angelfishes of the World Volume 2, Aquarium Systems; 3rd edition,1985

Author: David Brough CFS

Lastest Comments on Indian Yellow-Tail Angelfish View all 5 comments on Indian Yellow-Tail Angelfish Add Your Comment

Nigel Rigby - 2006-04-18 I bought an Indian Yellow Tail or 'Cream' Angelfish 8 weeks ago and I have to say he is a real charachter. He feeds on most things - vitamin enriched brine and mysis shrimp, together with most types of prepared sea weeds. 'He' also grazes constantly off algae in my mini reef. One word of caution - he thinks he owns the tank!! he tolerates my pair of true percula anemonoefish (in the tank before him), but 'bullies' my purple fire fish and vermiculated leopard wrasse (added after). Reply

Lewis - 2011-07-26 I added a cream angel to my 30 gallon aquarium with a coral beauty, then a few days later it got ick! I treated it but then it died :( I want to add another one but don't want to get ick again can anyone help me??? Charlie Roche - 2011-07-26 Look up ick and you will see the life cycle of the disease is about 4 weeks. Caught in time - there shouldn't be a problem. So the ick is present before there are visible signs. You can treat for ich as soon as you bring the fish home or as soon as any visible sign. Then there is the quetion --- did the fish already have ich when you brought it home? You have experience now so you know what needs to be done. Go for it and good luck. Lewis - 2011-07-28 Thanks I looked at a few websites and some said to use garlic. Is that the garlic we put in food or is it something else??? If it is the garlic we eat do you put it in their food because I have a glass where I take water from the tank and defrost the food in there? Lewis - 2011-08-01 So what type of garlic is it?? Clarice Brough - 2011-08-01 I'm not sure that garlic is your solution. Fish don't use garlic in nature, though there are some fish people that really like it, and suggest that it has medicinal value. But I'd rather look at the problem directly. With saltwater fish, especially more delicate fish like the Angels, it's a really good idea to quarantine before adding them to your main tank. One fish with ich can wipe out your whole tank. So to really control what's happening, use a quarantine tank for at least 2 weeks. That will give you're new fish a chance to de-stress and acclimate. If it has ich, you can read all about this disease above on this page. Also how to treat it. It's a lot easier to treat one fish in a smaller environment that it is to treat your whole tank too. And a lot safer. Ich is an easy parasite to control, if you catch it right away. Usually caused by stress, or poor water conditions. In your case, I would guess stress as it was just recently shipped. Good luck! Reply

frazer - 2011-06-05 I have had my cream angel for about 4 years now...it is in my 400 gallon reef...never had any trouble with it really (it picked at my clam a little when I first put it in but gave up in the end and nibbled the tail of my harlequin sweetlips when it was a baby). I was just watching them this morning and it dashed across the tank. I thought something had scared it, but then it went over the rocks and released a clutch of eggs into the water, shocked I watched it swim away with more eggs coming out. Unfortunately the BOY fish was now a girl fish and I only have one of them so all it gave me was some free fish food that the tank mates loved. Can anyone out there give me some help on the reproductive cycle of apolemichthys xanthurus and or the sexual dimorphism so I can pair this fish up as I am lead to beleive that reproducing in captivity has not been acheived? thanks Frazer Charlie Roche - 2011-06-06 You are right, they have not been bred in captivity. I sure don't know nor can I find anywhere that tells me the difference between the boys and the girls. This is possibly a dumb question but can you buy two more and just hope that one is a boy watching behavior? frazer - 2011-07-07 Hello there I have found out that there is no sexual dimorphism between the sexes as they are hermaphroditic to the point where they choose their sex..I have bought another one today that is a little smaller than the original fish. I had to try to find a suitable partner as most of them were too small and would take to long to reach maturity plus it might end up in a fight with the other so needed it to be able to at least hold its own until I can remove it from the tank. Will keep you updated on the pairing. Fingers crossed they like each other and I don't have to catch it because to be honest that would take ages without destroying the rockwork. frazer - 2011-07-11 Well Well Well...At first when I put the angel in, the original one swam over and acted really odd..like I have not seen it do before, was all flirty and girly. Then after a little bit it went seriosly mental and started to chase the other around the tank nipping its coudal and dorsal fins. It actually actively hunted the other fish. I was worried. Then the little one decided to hide and it was seriously good at hiding. I couldn't find it and neither could the fish. Eventually I found it and decided to take it out for a little bit, put it in my sump and feed it. It wasn't bothered at all and ate quite a bit. After a bit I put it back just to watch it being chased around again. It hid then the original one stopped looking as hard for it and it started to come out. Over the next few days it started to come out a bit more and today it is swimming with the other fish and trying its hardest to be friends with the original cream angel which is tollerating it quite a lot now and letting it swim with it. There is hope for these little fish yet. I can imagine that they will pair up soon. Fingers crossed for the future of these pretty fish. Reply

Nigel Rigby - 2006-04-20 I have had an Indian Yellow tail in my mini reef tank with a pair of true percula's. He has always been a real character and feeds greedily. However i have just introduced a splendid leopard wrasse and a purple fire fish. Unfortunately my lovely indain yellow tail has turned into a monster and has worried the purple fire fish to death - literally! He seems to tolerate the wrasse but I am being really careful; and will get the wrasse out at the first sign of trouble. Just a warning should anyone else read this - my angel isn't one and may be a rogue, but he certainly is making this an expensive hobby. :-(( Reply

Malachi,,The Fish Doctor - 2005-06-15 I recently brought one to cycle my 50 gal. I nickname him "CHECKERS" and i will say 1 thing about this fish,it is very hardy and eats just about anything. Reply

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