All fish / Pomacanthidae

Majestic Angelfish

Pomacanthus navarchus

Also known as majestic angel, blue-girdled angelfish, bluegirdled angelfish, navarchus angelfish, navarchus angel, blue girdled angel, アデヤッコ, 蓝带神仙鱼, 蓝纹神仙

Adults have an orange-yellow body sprinkled with blue spots, a deep blue saddle bordered in light blue running from the face to the rear fins, and a yellow tail. Juveniles are dark blue with pale curved lines. It is kept for its striking colours and stays smaller than many of its relatives in the genus.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

22 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

500 litres

Keep as

Keep singly; one large angelfish per tank

Diet

Omnivore: sponge-based angelfish foods, spirulina and nori, mysis, chopped seafood

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Pacific: Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, northern Australia

Breeding

A pelagic spawner that releases eggs into open water at dusk. It has not been bred reliably in home aquariums, so nearly all specimens are wild caught.

Good to know

Not reef safe, as it nips sponges, soft and stony corals and clam mantles, and can bully other angelfish. Newly imported fish can be shy and slow to feed, so buy specimens already eating.