Blue Angelfish
A Beginner’s Guide to Blue Angelfish
While some types of Angelfish are common, both the Queen and Blue Angelfish are not. These hybrids are simply beautiful with patches of distinct colors although some are pure green or pure blue. When young, this type of Angelfish looks very different from that of an adult. For instance, juveniles are very dark blue, the area around the pectoral fins and tail are bright yellow, and the body features vibrant blue bars.
Interestingly, if you had a juvenile Queen and Blue Angelfish side by side, it would be near impossible to tell the two apart but as they mature, you would see distinct differences. The Blue Angelfish was first documented in 1876 at which time it was called its formal name of Holocanthus isabelita and Holocanthus ciliaris bermudensis.
Not only is the Blue Angelfish relatively hard to find but this fish can also be hard to keep. For one thing, they live primarily on sponges so if you decide to raise this type of fish, you need to make sure you purchase a sponge formulated specifically for Angelfish. Additionally, this species of fish needs frozen, prepared, and live foods to include shrimp, mussels, and squid, as well as spinach. When feeding, make sure you provide the Blue Angelfish only a small amount each day.
While Angelfish are known to be solitary fish, the Blue Angelfish does well alone or in pairs. In fact, adults are usually in pairs, which consist of the male and female. Although experts are unsure, most believe that since you see a male and female together as adults that the Blue Angelfish is monogamous. For breeding, spawning involves moving toward the top of the water slowly where the two bellies meet at which time a significant amount of sperm and eggs are released.
Interestingly, the female Blue Angelfish can release anywhere from 25,000 to 75,000 a night. That means in a single spawning cycle, she could easily release 10 million eggs. These eggs take about 20 hours to hatch, which produce pre-larval Angelfish that are connected to a large sac. In this state, the fish have no eyes, fins, or gut. Then over the next two days, the yolk of the sac is absorbs and the fish is now larvae, feeding on plankton. Without another month, the Blue Angelfish is a juvenile and settling low in the water to feed and grow.
When raising Blue Angelfish at home, the aquarium needs to be maintained between 75 and 79 degrees. Because adults can easily grow to 18 inches in length, we suggest you choose an aquarium no less than 100 gallons. Remember that finding Blue Angelfish is difficult and when you do find one, chances are the price is going to be higher than what you would pay for other Angelfish but their beauty is worth the time to find them.