Kingdom : Animalia Class : Actinopterygii Family : Pomacanthidae Scientific Name : Pomacanthidae Origin : Southern Hemisphere Size(L) : 7cm - 30cm (3in - 12in) Life Span : 8 - 15 years Colour : Orange, White, Blue, Black, Purple, Green, Silver, Yellow Skin Type : Scales Distinctive Features : Body shape and brightly coloured markings
- There are a 100 different species of Angelfish around the southern hemisphere.
- The two main species are-The Freshwater Angelfish and the Marine Angelfish.
- The Freshwater Angelfish are tropical species of Cichlid.
- They are native to the Amazon Basin preferring temperatures between 25-30 degrees Celsius.
- They are triangular in shape with the wild ones having dark vertical stripes.
- They are known to mate for life.
- They lay 100-1000 eggs which take only a couple of days to hatch.
- Their young ones called fry detach themselves from the broken egg after a week and start swimming.
- They prey on smaller fish and invertebrates.
- Their predators are larger fish, birds and marine mammals.
- The Marine Angelfish are related to the Butterfly fish and can grow up to 12 inches.
- They are found in shallow reefs up to 50 meters deep.
- Some of them are solitary, whereas others form territorial mating pairs or groups.
- They lay their eggs directly in water, which float and get mixed with Plankton till they hatch.
- The Marine Angelfish have bright colored bodies with different patterns.
- Their colors and patterns change with age, and also indicate their position in their social hierarchy.
- They feed on algae, smaller fish and crustaceans.
- Sharks, Marine mammals and humans prey on Adult Marine Angelfish.