ANGELFISH
POMACANTHIDAE
French Angelfish
Pomacanthus paru
    Ecological Descriptors
Habitat Size (cm) Diet Behaviour Sex 
Co, R 25-35 Spo ( Veg, Gor, Bry,Tun, Cl) Pr F
Description:
Adult: Body laterally flattened with a discoid profile, black in color with bright
yellow rims on the scales. Pale grey head and with yellow ring around the eyes. All fins black, except for the base of the pectoral fin that is bright yellow. Tail rounded.
Juvenile: black with three yellow body bars. A yellow band extends down from the forehead, stops at the base of the upper lip, splits and goes around the mouth. Tail rounded with
yellow borders including rear, forming an oval, differentiating it from the Grey Angelfish (latter with squarer tail and transparent/ white terminal stripe).

Ecology
Common in shallow rocky and coral reefs, down to 40 m. It is usually found in pairs, often near sea fans. Feeds on sponges, algae, bryozoans, zoantharians, gorgonians and tunicates. Spawning pairs are strongly territorial, with usually both members vigorously defending their areas against neighbouring conspecifics. Juveniles tend cleaning stations where they service a broad range of clients, including jacks, snappers, morays, grunts, surgeonfishes and wrasses. Vey small juveniles (<2cm) exhibit a fluttering movement, to advertise their staus as cleaners.

Life Cycle
ComMating season occurs during the months of April to September, peaking in July. Due to the strong bonding between the mating pair, no courtship is necessary for spawning events to take place. Other French angelfish that approach the mating pair are chased away. Mating events usually take place at dusk, during which a pair would rise together in the water column forming a shallow arc after a short chase, bringing their vents close together until they release both sperm and eggs. Approximately 25,000 to 75,000 eggs are released during each spawning event. The eggs are pelagic in nature, with a diameter of 0.9mm. Approximately 15 - 20 hours after fertilization, eggs hatch into larvae which live among plankton. When larvae reach 15mm in length they settle onto reefs.
French Angelfish Adult
(C) P Ryan
French Angelfish Intermediate
French Angelfish Juvenile
French Angelfish Adult
French Angelfish Adult
154
161
232
3
French Angelfish Juvenile
(very young)
560
French Angelfish Intermediate