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Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus

Goldflake angelfish

The goldflake angelfish, known in Italian as pesce angelo in scaglie 5, is a central Pacific angelfish 1 with a yellow spot on every scale and black fins edged with blue. 2 3 It lives on outer slopes and reef walls, where it eats sponges and tunicates. 2 3

PomacanthidaeIUCN: Least concern
Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus

At a glance

Data from the scientific sources listed at the bottom.

Depth in the wild

10–65 m

0 m20 m40 m60 m80 m100 m

Size

up to 25 cm

0612182430

maximum total length [2] [3]

Conservation

NEDDLCNTVUENCREWEX

IUCN Red List: least concern (2009). Red List data taken from FishBase and GBIF. 2 5 It does not appear in the CITES lists checked on Species+. 6 It is exported only now and then for the aquarium trade. 2 3

Where it lives

Red SeaWestern Indian OceanEastern Indian OceanCentral Indo-PacificWestern PacificCentral PacificEastern PacificWestern AtlanticEastern AtlanticMediterranean

From the Gilbert Islands to the Line Islands, with records from Kapingamarangi, Nauru, Canton, Howland, Baker and Fanning. 2 3 The Catalog of Fishes adds Micronesia and the northern Cook Islands. 4 Nausicaá also mentions Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii, not confirmed by the other sources. 7

How to recognise it

Tap a number on the photo: the key explains what to look for.

1234
  1. 1Yellow spots on the body an irregular yellow spot on every scale 3
  2. 2Black spot on the forehead about the size of the eye 2
  3. 3Black dorsal fin with a bright blue margin 2 3
  4. 4Black anal fin this one also with a blue margin 2 3

Life in the wild

Where it is found

Channels, outer slopes and walls of coral reefs. 2 3 On the same page FishBase gives 10-65 m and, as a general range, 3-8 m. 2

What it eats

Sponges and tunicates. 2 3 Nausicaá describes it as an omnivore and adds algae and small invertebrates. 7

Behaviour

It lives alone, in pairs or in small groups. 2 3 Angelfish have one or more prominent spines at the corner of the preopercle, a cheek bone, and strong spines on the dorsal and anal fins. 3 FishBase classes it as harmless to humans. 2

In the aquarium

From the experience of the BallingMania community.

Community rating
Level in the tank
lowmediumhigh
Coral compatibility
lowmediumhigh
Aggression
lowmediumhigh
Care difficulty
lowmediumhigh
Original sheet

A fish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae, an animal coming from the central/western Pacific: the Gilbert Islands, Kapingamarangi Atoll (eastern Caroline Islands), Nauru, Canton (Phoenix Islands), Howland, Baker and Fanning, the Hawaiian Islands and Christmas Island. In the wild it lives in channels and on the outer slopes of the coral reef at depths of 10-65 m. The livery shows beautiful bright lemon-yellow/gold spots all over the body on a brownish-yellow base. The mouth area is blue and the head yellow, the snout purplish, the forehead with a black spot as wide as the eye; the dorsal, caudal and anal fins are black with a bright blue margin. To keep it in a tank, excellent water quality is needed; in optimal conditions it is an animal resistant to disease; it suffers from low pH and excessive concentrations of nitrite. When stressed it is prone to attacks of Oodinium and to fungal skin infections. Prone to intestinal parasites and worms.

It can be kept in tanks larger than 500 litres with plenty of hiding places; once settled in it can become very territorial. In the wild it feeds on sponges and tunicates. Once introduced and during acclimatisation it accepts food with difficulty, but once settled in it is omnivorous; it can be given frozen food, Artemia, chironomus, mysis, dry foods and sheets of Nori seaweed. Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus cannot be called "reef safe", but among angelfish it is one of the safer choices.

Species sheet by Massimo Ramogino and photo by Luca Bergianti

What studies say about keeping it

The Nausicaá public aquarium displays it, but does not describe how it keeps it. 7 No rearing studies on this species were found.

Did you know?

The specimen from which the species was described comes from Fanning Island (Tabuaeran), in the Line Islands. 4

Sources

  1. WoRMS Editorial Board (2026). Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus Burgess, 1973. World Register of Marine Species.
  2. Froese R., Pauly D. (eds.) (2026). Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus, Goldspotted angelfish. FishBase.
  3. Pyle R., in Carpenter K.E., Niem V.H. (eds.) (2001). Pomacanthidae. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific, vol. 5. FAO.
  4. (2026). Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus, in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences.
  5. GBIF Secretariat (2026). Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus, common names and IUCN Red List category. GBIF.
  6. UNEP-WCMC (2026). Search for Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus in the CITES lists. Species+.
  7. (2026). Goldspotted angelfish. Nausicaá, Centre National de la Mer.

Sources checked on 5 November 2026. Community texts and ratings are kept separate from the scientific data.

View the original sheet (Italian)All species