Pomacanthus maculosus
The Pomacanthus maculosus, yellow-striped angel is one of the most coveted fish among aquarists due to its beauty. In nature, these fish live in the Indian Ocean. The fish can be found in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, in coastal areas of western India and off eastern Africa. Macusolus keep singly in coral reefs at a depth of 4-60 m. Each fish occupies an extensive area that it zealously guards.
Pomacanthus maculosus is a very large fish. The body of the angelfish is blue or blue in colour with a large oblong yellow spot located on the sides closer to the rear of the body. This spot, depending on the emotional state of the fish, can become contrasting or pale. The tail plumage is the same colour as the body, bluish. The head and rear are decorated with dark scales that fade away from the head. The dorsal and anal plumage are elongated and crescent-shaped, which gave the fish its name. Young fish are dark blue in colour with alternating transverse stripes of white and blue. Adult coloration they begin to acquire at a size of 10 cm or more. There is no sex difference. In the wild, the fish are sometimes up to 50 cm in size, although in aquariums they usually do not exceed 30 cm.
The Pomacanthus maculosus is not an easy fish to keep, but because of its attractiveness, many aquarists consciously go to the trouble, as they can not resist its beauty. Keep the fish one at a time. One juvenile requires an aquarium with a capacity of at least 400 litres. Place large rocks and other decoration in the aquarium in order to provide shelter for the fish. At the same time, the aquarium needs enough space to swim freely.
It must be said that the Pomacanthus maculosus is a poor candidate for an aquarium with corals and mollusks, to which it causes irreparable damage. The fish is moderately aggressive towards other fish species and exhibits increased hostility towards other angelfish species. Preferably keep Pomacanthus maculosus together with fish of comparable size, which will largely avoid clashes between them.
Water parameters: temperature 24-27° C, pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.024-1.025.
The Pomacanthus maculosus find it rather difficult to acclimatize to aquarium life. Initially, the fish refuse to eat trying all the time to hide in a shelter, but gradually it is increasingly appears in the open space and begins to eat a little. Feed fish a variety of live and frozen food, including plant supplements: dry food containing spirulina, lettuce and spinach, algae and aquarium plants with soft leaves. Feed 2-3 times a day.
Reproduction
The Crescent Angel does not propagate under aquarium conditions. All fish are supplied to the network of domestic pet shops from their natural habitat.
