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Open
Daily
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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Emperor Angelfish |
| Scientific Name: |
Pomacanthus imperator |
| Range: |
Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean |
| Habitat: |
Coral reefs |
| Natural Diet: |
Sponges and sea squirts |
| Zoo Diet: |
Scallops, capelin, shrimp, squid, krill, aquarium flake
food, brine shrimp, and vegetables |
Physical
Characteristics: |
Juveniles are dark blue to black with semi-curved white
lines on their sides. When the juvenile reaches about five inches, the
colors completely change to yellow and purple stripes with light blue,
dark blue, and black markings on the head and around the pectoral fin.
They can grow to 13 inches in length. |
| Behavior: |
If the fish is alarmed, sometimes it will make a loud
thumping sound. |
| Reproduction: |
Males defend a territory where two or more females also
live. A pair of angelfish mate near the surface of the water. The
fertilized eggs drift into the open ocean. After the eggs hatch, the
small fish remain near the surface. When they are larger, they will swim
down to the coral reef. |
| Notes: |
An adult angelfish looks like it is wearing a black
mask. This mask confuses predators because they don't know whether to
attack the front end or the back. The angelfish is one of the few fish
to eat sponges because sponges are made of needle-like silica. The
angelfish coats its food with a layer of mucus to protect its digestive
system from the sharp silica. |
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