French angelfish

Pomacanthus paru, also known by its common name the French angelfish, is a slow growing coral reef fish from the Caribbean. The species is of the family Pomacanthidae, which contains other species of marine angelfish. Its closest relative is the grey angelfish (P. arcuatus).

Distribution

French angelfish can be found in the western Atlantic from Florida to the Gulf of Mexico and down towards Brazil and the Caribbean, including the Antilles, Roatan, and the eastern Atlantic from around Ascension Island and St. Paul's Rocks.

These fish can be seen in water depths above about 15ft, or about 4.5m, and they have also been reported at depths within the mesophotic zone, which is between 30m and 150m, or about 100ft - 500ft.

Behaviour

French angelfish live in and around coral reefs and rocky shores. As adults, these fish primarily feed on sponges with around 70% of their diet consisting of sponges. The comb-like teeth of adults help to grind up pieces of sponges. In contrast, juvenile French angelfish feed by consuming ectoparasites on larger fishes. As a result, juveniles spend a huge portion of their time at or near their cleaning stations.

As juvenile French angelfish grow in size, they become more generalist when it comes to species of sponge they eat, eating around twelve to fifteen sponge species, which is similar to their adult diet. This shows there is a direct relationship between the size of the juvenile and how much sponges contribute to their diet, with large juveniles eating more sponges than smaller juveniles.