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The Angelfish

Blue Faced Angelfish

The Angelfish is a name used for several different fishes, who belongs to the order Perciformes including the true angelfishes and the butterfly fishes. They are thin, deep-bodied fishes with elongated dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins. Angelfishes are native to the freshwaters of South America and may grow to a length of about 15 cm (6 inches). They are commonly silvery with vertical dark markings but may be solid or partially black. They are carnivorous and take care of their eggs and young.
Angelfishes differ from butterfly fishes in having a spine near the lower edge of the gill cover. These laterally compressed fishes are among the most beautiful of the tropical reef fishes. Most species are only a few centimeters long, but some grow to a length of 61 cm (24 in). In many species the juveniles and adults are colored differently; the young French angelfish of tropical Atlantic waters is black with bright yellow bands; the adult is predominantly black. The well-known queen angelfish is also differently colored as a juvenile. Most angelfishes feed on small invertebrates. Certain species are often called freshwater angelfish and are popular as aquarium fishes (see Cichlid). In the United States a spadefish is sometimes incorrectly called an angelfish.

King Angelfish

The brightly coloured marine angelfishes seen among tropical reefs are members of the family Pomacanthidae. Sometimes placed with the similar butterfly fishes in the family Chaetodontidae, they are compressed, deep-bodied fishes with small mouths and rather rough scales; the largest grows about 46 cm (18 inches) long.
These angelfishes are distinguished from the butterfly fishes by a sharp spine on each cheek. These angelfishes feed on algae and various marine invertebrates. The family, which includes fewer than 100 species, is represented in both the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. In many species, colouring of the young differs greatly from that of adults.

Caribbean Blue Angelfish

Among the better-known species are the black and gold angelfish (Centropyge bicolor) of the Indo-Pacific; the French angelfish, Pomacanthus paru (or P. arcuatus), a black and yellow species of the Atlantic; and the queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), a blue and yellow fish of the Atlantic.

"angelfish." Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite.(2007).