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Queen Angelfish
Angelfish

Queen Angelfish

Holacanthus ciliaris

The showpiece large angel of the Caribbean — electric blue and gold with a crowned blue-ringed spot on the forehead — bold, intelligent and enormous at nearly half a metre. It is a semi-aggressive, dominant fish that needs a very large fish-only or FOWLR system with open swimming room and aged rock to graze, and it should be added last. It is not reef-safe: in the wild it eats mostly sponges but in a reef it nips stony and soft corals, sponges, tunicates and clam mantles. An advanced keeper's centrepiece, and a heavy waste producer.

Temperament
Semi-aggressive
Max size
17.7"
Min tank
180 gal
Reef-safe
Not reef safe
Diet
Omnivore
Zone
Rockwork, Open water, Mid-water
Keep just one per tank — two will fight.
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Tankmates

How Queen Angelfish gets on with the rest of the reef, checked pair by pair by the same engine as the live pre-flight.

Best kept apart

A real clash — aggression, predation or a same-genus fight.

Emperor AngelfishTwo large angels (Holacanthus + Pomacanthus) — most care guidance advises against housing a Queen with an Emperor; both are dominant grazers that clash except in very large systems introduced together.Regal AngelfishThe bold, dominant Queen (Holacanthus) will harass the timid, easily-stressed Regal (Pygoplites) — a shy angel that is usually the loser in any large-angel pairing and may stop feeding.Blueface AngelfishTwo large angels of different genera (Holacanthus vs Pomacanthus) will fight over the same grazing/territory niche; cross-genus is safer than same-genus but still needs 250–300+ gal and simultaneous introduction to work.Copperband ButterflyfishCare sheets explicitly warn against housing Copperbands with large aggressive angelfish; a Queen will bully the timid, deliberate-feeding Copperband until it stops eating.Zebra MorayZebra Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Queen Angelfish.Blue-Leg Hermit CrabQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Blue-Leg Hermit Crab is on the menu.Trochus SnailQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Trochus Snail is on the menu.Astrea SnailQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Astrea Snail is on the menu.Cerith SnailQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Cerith Snail is on the menu.Nassarius SnailQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Nassarius Snail is on the menu.Nerite SnailQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Nerite Snail is on the menu.Mexican Turbo SnailQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Mexican Turbo Snail is on the menu.Bumble Bee SnailQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Bumble Bee Snail is on the menu.Fighting ConchQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Fighting Conch is on the menu.Scarlet Reef Hermit CrabQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab is on the menu.Zebra Hermit CrabQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Zebra Hermit Crab is on the menu.Halloween Hermit CrabQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Halloween Hermit Crab is on the menu.Emerald CrabQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Emerald Crab is on the menu.Sally Lightfoot CrabQueen Angelfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Sally Lightfoot Crab is on the menu.Skunk Cleaner ShrimpQueen Angelfish hunts ornamental shrimp — your Skunk Cleaner Shrimp is on the menu.

Keep an eye on these

Usually fine, but worth watching in a smaller tank.

Percula ClownfishQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Percula Clownfish and may harass it.Purple Queen AnthiasQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Purple Queen Anthias and may harass it.Banggai CardinalfishQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Banggai Cardinalfish and may harass it.Radiant WrasseQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Radiant Wrasse and may harass it.Pajama CardinalfishQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Pajama Cardinalfish and may harass it.Green ChromisQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Green Chromis and may harass it.Helfrich's FirefishQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Helfrich's Firefish and may harass it.Yasha GobyQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Yasha Goby and may harass it.Tailspot BlennyQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Tailspot Blenny and may harass it.Kole TangQueen Angelfish and Kole Tang both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.McCosker's Flasher WrasseQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful McCosker's Flasher Wrasse and may harass it.Sixline WrasseQueen Angelfish and Sixline Wrasse both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Leopard WrasseQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Leopard Wrasse and may harass it.Lubbock's Fairy WrasseQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse and may harass it.Melanurus WrasseQueen Angelfish and Melanurus Wrasse both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Yellow Coris WrasseQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Yellow Coris Wrasse and may harass it.Red Head Solon Fairy WrasseQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse and may harass it.Cleaner WrasseQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Cleaner Wrasse and may harass it.Royal GrammaQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Royal Gramma and may harass it.Blackcap BassletQueen Angelfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Blackcap Basslet and may harass it.