Passer Angelfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Deep-bodied, laterally compressed angelfish reaching about 35 cm
• Deep blue to blue-black body coloration
• Broad, pale white to cream vertical bar crossing the midbody, the species' signature mark
• Bright orange to yellow tail fin
• Yellow pectoral fins
• Blue ring encircling the eye
• Juveniles are blue with vivid, thin electric-blue vertical stripes rather than the single broad adult bar

Common look-alikes

• Clarion Angelfish (Holacanthus clarionensis): overall orange-brown body with fine blue-edged scales throughout, lacking the bold pale midbody bar of the Passer Angelfish.
• King Angelfish juveniles can resemble other Holacanthus juveniles, but the Passer Angelfish's stripes are notably thin, numerous, and electric blue on a dark blue base.

Where you'll see one

Passer Angelfish inhabit rocky and coral reefs of the tropical eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California south through Central America to Peru and the Galapagos, typically near caves, ledges, and rubble at moderate depth. They are territorial and often observed patrolling a defined stretch of reef, defending it from other angelfish and grazing on sponges and algae along rock faces.