The angelfishes' brilliant color patterns and expressive eye movements are indeed captivating. Their stately poise, graceful movements, and unabashed curiosity make them quite memorable.

There are a total of 74 angelfish species found in tropical waters around the world, but only two species can be found locally. Angelfish have a very distinctive appearance, quite different from other fish. Their bodies are very thin, yet tall, their profile rounded, almost disc-shaped, perhaps better described as pie plates standing on edge. Angelfish have very pretty faces. The mouth is small, the lips pronounced, and the nose upturned. They are the beauty queens of the coral reef.

The regal appearance of angelfish is punctuated by an extraordinary arrangement of fins. Large, long dorsal fins sweep backward to the end of the body. The tail has a handsome, fan-shaped design. Their eyes are positioned well forward on the body providing angelfish with binocular vision similar to that of humans. The eyes are very expressive as they rotate in their sockets, watching divers' movements.

Please click on photos below to enlarge

Angelfish are best known for their dazzling color patterns. The Cortez Angelfish has a gray-black mottled body with black and yellow bands on the head. Juveniles appear to be a totally different species with their bright yellow and brilliant blue stripes on a black body. The Cortez angelfish can be found along the rocky shores in depths of five to twenty feet.

The king angelfish has a yellow tail and a vertical white bar on the sides just behind the origin of the pectoral fin. Juveniles have more yellow on the body and yellow pelvic fins. The white stripe is still distinctive. This species also prefers shallow areas.