Emperor Angelfish Care Overview
The emperor angel (Pomacanthus Imperator) is one of the three most popular “large” angelfish in the marine aquarium hobby. The other two are the queen angelfish (Holacanthus Ciliaris) and the french angelfish (Pomacanthus Paru). It is the most popular angelfish in the genus Pomacanthus. Also goes by the name “Imperator Angelfish”.
One of the most distinctively colored marine angelfish, it has bright yellow horizontal lines on its blue body, while a black band lined with neon blue covers its face. Its tail is either yellow or orange. Juvenile Emperor angelfish are no less stunning. Its entire body is filled with white concentric circles on a deep blue body.
The Emperor angelfish is commonly found throughout the Indo-Pacific ocean, Red Sea and even the Great Barrier Reefs in Australia.
As juveniles, Emperor angelfish provide cleaning services to other fish in the wild. They will constantly pick at any parasites it may find on the bodies of other fish.
Not a cheap fish, juveniles usually cost between $60 to $80 USD while i’ve seen some large show quality adults fetch up to $400 usd before.
Temperament
Most species within the genus Pomacanthus are bully’s in one form or another. The emperor angelfish is aggressive towards other large angels and is very hostile towards other emperors.
Fishes not from the Pomacanthidae family are generally ignored. It might bully large tangs and butterfly fish but generally ignores them.
Tank Size
The emperor angelfish attains lengths of up to 16 inches in the wild. This means you can expect lengths of up to 10 to 11 inches in the tank as Emperor angelfish do not normally achieve their full length in captivity. But its still a big fish so it requires large tanks to truly do well. 150 gallons should be the bare minimum and a 200 gallon or larger tank is highly recommended.
Caves and overhangs really only work with larger tanks, most opt for an “open” scape when housing large angels such as the Emperor Angelfish. They need large amounts of swimming space.
Diet
The Emperor Angelfish is not considered reef safe. You’ll come across a few reef aquariums housing emperors but they’re generally better suited to fish only aquariums.
In the wild their diet is made up of coral, sponges, tunicates and algae. Try to avoid housing them in an aquarium full of corals as they can make short work of them.
Offer them a good variety of foods from meaty foods like mysis shrimp and krill to sheets of nori/seaweed. New Life Spectrum offers a very balanced pellet food.
A balanced food that is pretty good for your Emperor Angelfish is Formula Two. It contains a mix of seafood and an extra portion of algae for herbivorous fish. It is available in three forms, flake, pellet and frozen.
Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is by far the most complete food you can offer your Emperor Angelfish. This food was specifically designed to cater to the needs of large angelfish, they contain a good mix of fresh algae, fresh seafood, vitamins and most importantly, marine sponges. Unfortunately, Angel Formula is only offered in frozen form.
With regards to nori sheets/seaweed sheets for your Emperor Angelfish, you could choose either seaweed sheets from companies catering to angelfish or you can always run down to your local supermarket and get some there. They can be very cheap or very expensive depending on the brand.
When buying from a supermarket, make sure the nori is unflavoured/unspiced. Just get regular, plain nori. Raw if you can find some. Attach the seaweed/nori to a clip and stick in onto the side of the aquarium.
