• Often very brightly coloured, slim disk-shaped body
• All angelfishes possess a spine coming from their gill cover near their pectoral fin - this is an easy way to distinguish angelfishes
• Typically found in crevices and under cover of coral bommies, reef shelves and rocky caves
• Usually 7 to45 cm in length
• Feeding varies with species, eat plankton, algae (by grazing), sponges, invertebrates, tunicates, gorgonians, hydroid

Identification Tips

Use your slate to record fin shapes and where stripes and colour borders are in relation to fins, tail, eye, mouth, etc

• Often very territorial and tend to remain on a relatively small area of the reef; will often dart for cover when approached
• Generally larger than butterflyfishes in the family Chaetodontidae
• Often found darting about feeding during the day
• Males are often larger and more colourful than females
• Move around singly or in pairs or small groups

1. Using snorkel or scuba and underwater slate, try to observe at least 3 different species of Pomacanthidae
2. Try sketching the shape and colour patterns of the different species you observe
3. Try estimating the size of individuals you observe
4. Try to observe general behaviours of angelfishes

• Many large angelfishes have juvenile colour patterns that are extremely different from the adult colouration
• There are about 80 species of Pomacanthids
• Angelfishes are among a handful of fish families in which individuals can change sex if required - some angelfish males have harems of females, and if something happens to the harem's male, the dominant female with change sex to take his place!
• Angelfishes (in the family Pomacanthidae) are very closely related to Butterflyfishes (in the family Chaetodontidae)