Queensland Yellowtail Angelfish

Interesting Info

• The Queensland Yellowtail Angelfish is endemic to eastern Australia, found only from northern New South Wales to the southern Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.
• Its body is a deep blue-black colour, broken by bold white vertical bands and a bright yellow tail that gives the fish its name.
• The face is decorated with a pale mask and bluish highlights, making it one of the most easily recognised Australian angelfish.
• Adults are omnivores, feeding on sponges, tunicates, algae, and small invertebrates scraped from the reef.
• They are often solitary or found in pairs, rather than large schools.
• Divers and snorkellers sometimes encounter them around steep reef slopes and rocky drop-offs, where their bold stripes stand out in the blue water.
• They play an ecological role on reefs by controlling sponge growth and grazing on small organisms.
• Breeding takes place in pairs, with males and females rising in the water column at dusk to release eggs and sperm into open water.
• Fertilised eggs drift with the currents until hatching into larvae, which eventually settle onto reefs.
• Juveniles are differently coloured: they are mostly black with white bars and a yellow tail, making them easy to spot hiding among corals.
• The lifespan is thought to be around 10–15 years, similar to other large angelfish.