Bluering Angelfish
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- Name / Latin
- Bluering Angelfish — Pomacanthus annularis
- Brief description
- A large angelfish with orange-yellow body, blue curved stripes, and a characteristic blue ring near the head. Juveniles have dark bodies with light curved lines.
- Size:
- up to 45 cm
- Depth:
- 1–60 m
- Habitat:
- Indo-West Pacific, East Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Southern Japan
- Family:
- Pomacanthidae
- Type:
- Fish
- Activity:
- Diurnal
- Conservation status:
- Least Concern (LC) — not threatened with extinction according to IUCN assessment (2009)
The bluering angelfish (Pomacanthus annularis), also known as the blue king angelfish, gets its name from the characteristic blue ring near the head.
Young fish are strikingly different in appearance from adults. While juveniles have black bodies with blue and white vertical stripes, adults have orange-yellow bodies adorned with horizontal blue stripes, a yellow tail, and a characteristic blue ring near the head.
Inhabiting the Indo-West Pacific, their range covers eastern Africa, all of Indonesia and New Guinea, New Caledonia, and north to southern Japan. Bluering angelfish prefer coastal rocky coral reefs, occasionally peeking into caves or exploring shipwrecks, usually at depths from 3 to 30 meters.
Often found in pairs like other Pomacanthus species, they form harems where males defend territories and control several females. During courtship, males and females release eggs and sperm. Juveniles start life as females (protogynous hermaphrodites), transforming into males as they mature, accompanied by a complete color change from juvenile to adult stage. Juveniles usually inhabit very shallow waters with pebbles or dead coral substrates and short filamentous algae, while adults mainly feed on zooplankton, sponges, filamentous algae, and tunicates.
