Animal-World > Marine - Saltwater Fish > Marine Angelfish > King Angelfish

King Angelfish

Passer Angelfish

Family: PomacanthidaeHolacanthus passerPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

The King Angelfish is a fish that looks completely different as an adult than it does as a juvenile!

The King Angelfish Holacanthus passer as an adult (shown above) has a totally different color pattern than it has as a youth (see below).This is a trait found in all 7 species of Holacanthus angelfish. This is also true of the Pomacanthus genus of angelfish, as an example see the French Angelfish Pomacanthus paru.

The King Angelfish is a very hardy aquarium inhabitant, but like so many angelfish, it can get quite belligerent. So aquarist feel this fellow is actually the most aggressive of all angelfish. It needs to be kept singly and a minimum sized tank of at least 60 gallons is suggested. It can also be kept in a large community tank of 135 gallons or more. Tank mates do need to be active, as sedentary or passive fish will get picked on.

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

Maintenance difficulty: The King Angelfish is moderately difficult to keep.

Diseases that saltwater angelfish are susceptible to:

• Marine Ich (white spot disease)
• Marine Velvet
• Lymphocystis (a viral infection)

Maintenance: This angelfish survives on sponges so make sure you can get an angel formula with sponge in it. 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: The King Angelfish Holacanthus passer are found in reef areas of the Eastern Pacific: Gulf of California to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. Found at depths from 4 to 30 meters.

Natural Foods: The King Angelfish are omnivores. Eats sponges, tunicates and other benthic invertebrates, and a small amount of algae. These fish act as cleaner fish, eating external parasites, from hammerhead sharks!.

Social Behaviors: Found singly in pairs, or groups. In the aquarium they become aggressive towards their own species so you should keep only one per aquarium.

Description:The adult King Angelfish is a dark brown overall with a green or blue cast, a large white stripe just behind the pelvic fin, a 'crown' with brignt blue spots on its forehead, and a yellow or orangish tail fin. The juvenile is more colorful with blue-white stripes on a light orange background. On adult females the pelvic fins are yellow while the males are white. Males are also larger than females.

Sexual differences: Unknown.

Light: Recommended light levels: No special requirements.

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

King Angelfish (juvenile) Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Hiroyuki Tanaka

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

Length/Diameter of fish: King Angelfish adults can grow to 25 cm (9.84 inches).

Minimum Tank Length/Size: A minimum 60 gallon aquarium is recommended.

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

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

Availability: This fish is generally rarely available and is expensive.

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 King Angelfish View all 5 comments on King Angelfish Add Your Comment

chris - 2009-11-10 I had a king angelfish for 27 years and I can say they are the most colorful fish I had every seen. quella - 2011-08-15 I really really want some Reply

alaica parker - 2007-02-24 The King Angelfish is surely a beauty to lay eyes on. I had mine all for a mere week, and within that week it ate and seem to do extremely well, and I awoke one morning to find it dead. It gave no warning that it was even sick or dying. I immediately tested the water to see what could have happened to it, all the testings were fine. All I can say is that maybe this fish is exactly like it says, moderately hardy. Reply

Brian - 2005-05-17 My Passer is a periodic hellion, but like him any way, and he lives with a Queen, an enormous French angel, and a blue-ringed angel as well. He was raised with the blue ringed and queen since they were babies, it worked out, but have tried it the other way and introduced an older one and that was a disaster. The french angel is 12 inches and she/he keeps everyone in check including my queen trigger - they all reside in a 280 gallon tank now, but when the 3 angels I raised together were babies, I brought them up in a 55 gallon for about 2 years. Use a lot of vitamins! Get one! Brian Reply

angelica - 2005-03-03 They are very good pets! Reply

Tom Jorden - 2004-04-22 ok i do not personally keep these fish, but i plan to. I have read that the males have yellow pectoral fins, and females have white Reply

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