Care
The French Angelfish is known from the shallow reefs of Florida, the Bahamas and southwards to Brazil (including the Gulf of Mexico) and the Caribbean on the western side of the Atlantic, and from Ascension Island and St Paul's Rocks to the east. These majestic fish are often seen in pairs as they cruise about the reef, feeding on algae, bryozoans, gorgonians, sponges, tunicates, and zoantharians. Juvenile fish, which look rather different to the adults, tend cleaning stations where they service a broad range of clients, including grunts, jacks, morays, snappers, tangs, and wrasses. This angelfish is a large-growing, active species and requires a voluminous aquarium. Due to its territorial nature, it will need to be provided with plenty of live rockwork that has a multitude of visual barriers and bolt holes, as well as a roomy swimming space along the front of the tank. Keep only one specimen per tank, and not with any other angelfish. Tankmates should be equally large and belligerent - this species should never be kept with invertebrates or small, passive fish. The aquarium should be well filtered, as these fish are voracious eaters, and do provide areas of brisk current with a good level of oxygenation. As mentioned above, in the wild, French Angelfish feed on many sessile invertebrates, including stony corals and soft corals, so unfortunately it is not suitable for reef aquaria. We recommend that the French Angelfish is the last addition to an aquarium, as otherwise it can behave somewhat pugnaciously when introducing new tankmates into what it perceives as its established domain. It is best to source a medium sized specimen (i.e. over 5" in length) as they are more likely to acclimatise well to life in captivity. Tiny or extra large specimens may have a difficult time settling in, so aim for a healthy-looking fish that is neither too small nor excessively large. Juvenile fish look rather different to the adults: young fish display a pattern of six vertical yellow stripes (including two on the tail), some mildly curved. Once the fish reaches 12.5cm (5") or so, the pattern will begin to change into the adult form with the stripes disappearing completely and the fish displaying yellow flecks across the dark grey flanks. The pictured fish is a young adult which is still displaying the stripes, and the yellow flecking has started to appear on the flanks. Confusingly, juvenile French Angelfish look almost identical to juvenile Grey/Gray Angelfish (P. arcuatus); however, the caudal fin of P. arcuatus is more squared off and has a transparent margin in comparison to that of P. paru.
Feeding
Should be offered a varied diet including ample Spirulina & marine algae as well as meaty fare. Mysis shrimp, vitamin/Spirulina-enriched brineshrimp, special sponge-based Angelfish preparations, and finely chopped krill/squid/cockle/mussel, should all be taken eagerly. Feed small amounts 3 times per day.
Breeding
This species has not been bred in the home aquarium, but has been captive bred in the trade. In the wild, these fish form monogamous pairs. At sunset when a pair is ready to spawn, they ascend the water column in a slow, side-by-side fashion, angling their bodies so that their vents are touching as gametes are released, and they then separate on the descent.
