Among the large angelfish in the hobby, the emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus Imperator) is on of three that reign as most popular. The other two being the french angelfish (Pomacanthus Paru) and the queen angelfish (Holacanthus Ciliaris). It is the most popular angelfish in the genus Pomacanthus. It also goes by the name "Imperator Angelfish".
One of the most distinctively colored marine angelfish, its dark blue body is streaked by yellow lines, 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. A pricey fish, juveniles are priced from $60 to $80 USD while very large "show quality" adults can fetch up to $400 USD.
Pomacanthus is home to some very big bullies. The emperor angelfish is aggressive towards other large angels and is very hostile towards other emperors. Fishes from outside the Pomacanthidae family are generally left alone. Might bully butterfly fish and large tangs but generally ignores them.
The emperor angel is big, reaching up to 16 inches in its natural habitat. That translates into lengths of up to 10 to 11 inches in the aquarium as angelfish rarely achieve their full length in captivity. But its still a big fish so it requires large tanks to truly do well. A 150 gallon is the bare minimum while a 200 gallon or larger aquarium is recommended as they need large amounts of space to swim in.
Sadly, this fish is entirely not reef safe. Though you may see some Emperor Angelfish housed in reef aquariums, they're better suited to fish-only aquariums.In the wild their diet is made up of coral, sponges, tunicates and algae. They should be offered a good variety of foods from algae based foods like nori/seaweed to meaty foods like krill and mysis shrimp. New Life Spectrum offers a very balanced pellet food. Formula Two is a balanced food that is pretty god for your Emperor Angelfish. It contains a mix of seafood and an extra portion of algae for herbivorous fish. They only come in three forms, frozen cube, pellets and flakes.
The most complete food available for your Emperor Angelfish is Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition. 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. Angel Formula only comes in frozen cubes.
You can either buy branded seaweed or get some from your local supermarket (prices may vary). Depending on the brand they can be very cheap or very expensive.
Make sure you buy unflavoured/unspiced nori when shopping at the supermarket. Just get regular, plain nori. Raw nori if it is available. Attach the seaweed/nori to a clip and stick in onto the side of the aquarium.
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