Angelfishes
Rock Beauty
Holacanthus tricolor
Species Overview
Front of body yellow, rest of body, dorsal fin and front of anal fin black; tail entirely yellow; anal-fin margin and gill-cover edge orange; iris bright blue above and below.
- Size
- Typically 12-20 cm (5-8 in) per ReefGuide; common length 30 cm TL; maximum recorded 35 cm TL (14 in) (FishBase).
- Depth range
- 3-92 m, usually 3-35 m (FishBase).
- Habitat
- Rock jetties, rocky reefs and coral-rich areas; juveniles often associated with fire corals.
- Diet
- Tunicates, sponges, zoantharians and algae (FishBase).
- Range
- Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, Bermuda, Gulf of Mexico and Brazil (ReefGuide); western Atlantic from Georgia, Bermuda and the northern Gulf of Mexico to Santa Catarina, Brazil (FishBase).
Life stages
Juvenile (ReefGuide photo): almost entirely yellow with a blue-edged black spot on the upper body; the black area expands as the fish grows (FishBase).
Explore reef conservation
Learn about Caribbean reef habitats, invasive lionfish and the work of the Caribbean Reef Fish Foundation.
TL means total length; SL excludes the tail fin; FL measures to the tail fork. These measurements are not interchangeable.