Angelfish

Holacanthus bermudensis, also known as the blue angelfish or Bermuda blue angelfish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Habitat

Holacanthus bermudensis is found in the western Atlantic from North Carolina to Bermuda, into the Bahamas and Florida to the Gulf of Mexico, and also to Yucatan, Mexico in the west and east to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Holacanthus bermudensis is a benthic species, living close to the seabed where there are areas of sponges, coral, or rock at depths between 2 and 93 metres (6.6 and 305.1 ft). It is a diurnal species, active in daylight and hiding within the reef at night. Juveniles prefer more sheltered area such as bays, channels, and inshore reefs.

This species has a diet that comprises largely of sponges although they have been occasionally recorded feeding on tunicates, corals, and algae. The juveniles act as cleaner fish, feeding on the ectoparasites picked from the skin of other fishes visiting communal cleaning stations. They have the ability to produce loud thumping sounds which are thought to startle predators and draw the attention of conspecifics.