When I first got into the marine aquarium hobby back in 1993, I was so fascinated by the angelfish family that I immediately had to get a saltwater tank set up and running in my own room. The queen angelfish and the emperor angelfish are still to this day, my favorite out of all the exotic marine fish in the ocean. The colors of the queen angelfish can only be described as “pretty” and their bizarre oval shape with two streamers make the queen angelfish literally the “Queen of the Ocean!” The emperor angelfish on the other hand is beautiful with gorgeous velvet blue and purple markings that accompany white circles in its juvenile coloration and after 5 long years of being kept successfully in the marine aquarists’ private home aquarium, this fish undergoes a complete color transformation; bold yellow stripes diagonally zip across its body and a black mask bordered with fluorescent blue majestically hides the adult emperor angelfish from predatory fishes.

The juvenile emperor angelfish pictured here is my very own pride and joy and I’m glad to have purchased him on Valentine’s Day last year. But let me tell you that marine aquariums are both a science and a hobby. You can’t just go out there, buy a brand new aquarium, add saltwater to it, and add fish right away. The entire process begins with letting the tank cycle for at least 6 weeks without any fish in it. Only sand and saltwater is allowed in the tank for the first 6 weeks because the cultivation of aerobic bacteria is ideal to establishing a successful marine aquarium and this step is extremely critical in the beginning. Many first time marine aquarium hobbyists’ end up with all their beautiful fish dying because they didn’t do enough research from the beginning about properly setting up a marine aquarium and letting it cycle first before adding any fish.

The pair of queen angelfish pictured here are in their adult stages and their colors are amazing! Juvenile queen angelfish are just as beautiful but they don’t have their two streamers like the adults do. I am waiting to get my hands one!

These two types of marine angelfish need lots of swimming space and the larger the aquarium, the happier they will be and the longer they will live in captivity. Emperor angelfish can grow up to 12”, a foot, and so can the queen angelfish. There are dwarf angelfish such as the flame angelfish that reaches only a mere 4” in length that can live happily in a 30 - 55 gallon aquarium. But the queen and emperor, what can I say, are my favorite of all the fish in the sea!

The emperor angelfish makes a grunting noise when you rub its body while the queen angelfish looks at your finger for food and then swims off. I can’t wait until my emperor angelfish begins showing his spectacular adult coloration which will probably be in another 2 years or so. If you want to keep a marine aquarium, I strongly suggest you do a lot of research first before you step into this wonderful hobby.