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Vermiculate Angelfish

Vermiculate Angelfish

Chaetodontoplus Mesoleucus

Quick Facts

Scientific nameChaetodontoplus Mesoleucus

Other namesSingapore Angel, Vermiculated Angelfish, Red Sea Butterflyfish, Vermiculated Angelfish

SizeUp to 18 cm (7 in)

WeightUnder a kilo (2.2lb)

FamilyAngelfish / Pomacanthidae

Distribution

Habitat & AU DistributionInner/Outer reefs with rich coral growth

The Vermiculate Angelfish is a small, boldly coloured reef fish that grows to about 18 cm long. It is one of the more striking angelfish found in Australian tropical waters.
In Australia, this species turns up along the Kimberley coast of northwestern Western Australia and around the Northern Territory coastline. It has also been recorded at Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea.
The Vermiculate Angelfish’s range extends well beyond Australia. It reaches through tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from Indonesia and Malaysia north to the Philippines and southern Japan.
This fish likes shallow, sheltered water close to the coast. It tends to favour inner reefs and lagoons, often in silty areas where coral growth is rich. When threatened, it will tuck itself among hard coral.
The Vermiculate Angelfish has a colour pattern that is hard to miss. Its snout is yellow with blue lips, and a broad black band runs through the eye. Behind that, the body fades from white to a purplish-grey with pale wavy markings, and the tail is yellow.
Those pale wavy markings across the rear of the body give the fish part of its name. Up close, the pattern looks like fine worm tracks across the skin.
The Vermiculate Angelfish feeds on sponges, sea squirts and algae. These are tough, low-nutrient foods that many other reef fish ignore, so it fills a fairly specialised role on the reef.
This species is usually seen on its own or in pairs. It rarely forms large groups.
Like others in its group, the Vermiculate Angelfish is thought to start life as a female and may later change to become male. Males are thought to hold a territory with one or two females nearby.
When spawning, Vermiculate Angelfish release their eggs into open water, where fertilisation occurs and the developing eggs are carried away from the reef by the currents.
The Vermiculate Angelfish stays fairly shallow, typically between 1 m and 20 m down. That makes it visible to snorkellers as well as divers on inner reef flats and lagoons.
They are generally thought to live for around 10 years, although some individuals may live longer under favourable conditions.

Species Interaction

Vermiculate Angelfish: A Collector's Reef Species

Aquarium
Research & Rare Encounters
Ecosystem Role

The Vermiculate Angelfish is best known to the aquarium trade, where it is collected commercially across its Indo-Pacific range and kept by experienced reef hobbyists. In Australian waters it occurs on inner reefs and lagoons of the Kimberley and Northern Territory coast, putting it well outside popular dive destinations, so encounters with snorkellers and divers are uncommon. It is considered harmless and carries no safety concern. Research interest exists given a possible undescribed cryptic species, with some populations showing an all-yellow tail and others a grey tail.

Species
Sustainability

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Acanthuriformes
Family: Pomacanthidae
Genus: Chaetodontoplus
Species: Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus

Conservation Status

The Vermiculate Angelfish is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, assessed in October 2009. It is not listed under Australia’s EPBC Act. The species has a low to moderate fishing vulnerability score and is collected for the aquarium trade, though it is not considered a target of significant commercial fisheries pressure.