What Do Pomacanthus Eat in the Ocean?

Pomacanthus is a genus of salt water angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae, which comprises all angelfish. Among the Pomacanthus genus are 15 species of angelfish, including the French angelfish, gray angelfish and emperor angelfish. Though the species of the pomacanthus genus can be found throughout the world in tropical areas, all species have a similar diet.

  1. Sponges

    • Marine sponges make up the majority of the diet of all Pomacanthus fish. Sponges are sessile (non-moving) invertebrate organisms that use a constant flow of water through their bodies to take in food and remove waste. Pomacanthus fish bite off large chunks of the body of a sponge, frequently returning to the same sponges for repeated feedings; however, they do not consume entire sponges in a single feeding.

    Algae

    • All species of Pomacanthus, especially juveniles, supplement their diets with algae ̵2; organisms that use photosynthesis to generate energy from the rays of the sun. This energy is distributed throughout the ecosystem when fish and other organisms consume algae and are subsequently consumed by other fish. Fish in the Pomacanthus genus also consume marine plant life such as seagrasses and seaweed.

    Marine Invertebrates

    • Fish belonging to the Pomacanthus genus are omnivores, meaning that they consume both vegetation and other animals. Adult Pomacanthus fish consume benthic invertebrates, or small invertebrates that live on or below ocean sediment, as well as a variety of other marine organisms including zooplankton, tunicates, zoantharians, gorgonians, corals and hydroids.

    Ectoparasites

    • Juvenile Pomacanthus fish eat ectoparasites ̵2; parasites that live on the outside of their hosts ̵2; that they clean from a wide variety of other fish, including morays, jacks, snappers, surgeonfishes, wrasses and grunts. Pomacanthus young tend "cleaning stations," which are areas where fish congregate to be cleaned of parasite infections by other fish.