All fish / Pomacanthidae

Bluering Angelfish

Pomacanthus annularis

Also known as blue ring angelfish, annularis angelfish, annularis angel, bluering angel, blue ringed angelfish, ring angelfish, サザナミヤッコ, ikan injel biru, 环纹刺盖鱼, 蓝环神仙

Adults are orange-brown with bright blue diagonal lines running over the body, a blue ring above the gill cover and a white tail. Juveniles look very different, dark blue with thin white and blue vertical stripes. People keep it as a hardy, showy centrepiece for large fish-only or rock-heavy reef systems.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

30 cm

Temperature

23 to 27 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

800 litres

Keep as

Keep singly; only one large angelfish per tank

Diet

Omnivore: marine sponge-based foods, spirulina and algae, mysis, krill, chopped seafood and quality angelfish pellets

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-West Pacific: East Africa and the Persian Gulf to Indonesia, the Philippines, southern Japan and New Caledonia

Breeding

It scatters eggs in open water as a pair, and the eggs drift with the plankton. Captive breeding is very rare and almost all fish sold are wild caught.

Good to know

Grows to about 45 cm in the wild and needs a very large tank; it will nip corals, clams and sessile invertebrates. It can be aggressive towards other angelfish and similarly shaped fish.