Blue Ringed Angelfish

Learn about the Blue Ringed Angelfish Koh Tao

Blue Ringed Angelfish are strikingly beautiful marine life and are regularly found around the many Coral reefs of Koh Tao.

Often found in many shallow bays offering the perfect opportunity to see them when snorkeling or scuba diving.

Where to find the Blue Ringed Angelfish on Koh Tao

The Blue Ringed Angelfish can be found at nearly every single dive site on Koh Tao.

Due to their tolerance for turbid water, you can often see them swimming close to piers whilst waiting for your scuba or snorkeling boat to depart.

How to identify the Blue Ringed Angelfish

The Blue Ringed Angelfish has a vibrant blue pattern of upcurving bands with a golden-brown background on the rest of the fish and their name comes from the blue ring that is formed on the side of their gill.

Blue Ringed Angelfish mate for life in couples or harems and so it is very common for you to see them as couples or in small groups swimming around the Coral reefs together.

Blue Ringed Angelfish Characteristics & Behaviour

Research has shown that when the mating groups have spent long periods of time apart, they engage in a dancing ritual of spinning from head to tail in what is thought to be a way of welcoming each other back.

They are also thought to be the only species of angelfish that engage in making a grunting sound when they are distressed or excited.

Their diet mainly consists of zooplankton, tunicates, algae and various sponges and prefer shallow reefs offering a richer variety of food source.

Interesting facts about the Blue Ringed Angel Fish

All Angelfish are born females and as they grow and begin to mature some of them then change to males.

Juvenile Blue Ringed Angelfish are actually black with vertical blue and white stripes.

It is believed that the Blue Ringed Angelfish can live as long as twenty-five years or even longer.