Holocanthus townsendi I presume

[Winwood]

I bought this angel for someone else, but after watching it for a few hours, I'm growing awfully fond of it. I bought it off someone who bought as a juvenile queen. Apparently, it didn't develope out like he hoped. I find it beautiful with the extra yellow color (more than the standard blue). Anyways just wondering if my assumption is correct in it being a hybrid.

 

[SoloChromis]

Hard to tell. To me it just looks like a normal blue angel. Beautiful fish!

 

[SDguy]

Very little blue accents. As I understand it.... townsends come in a wide range or blue/queen percentages. This looks mostly blue to me. Will depend on how much the crown fades and the tail gets dark at the base IMO/E. Beautiful fish regardless. My very first angel I ever had was a baby blue that ended up being a Townsend

 

[Winwood]

Ok so do young blues have the solid yellow tails similar to queens, but then become restricted to the margins as they age? Also, there is some blue on the top of the eye. From what I understood, any blue around the iris is strictly a queen trait, but I'm not certain on this. Although the fish isn't giant yet, I'd put it at a solid 8 inches.

 

[SDguy]

Also, there is some blue on the top of the eye. From what I understood, any blue around the iris is strictly a queen trait, but I'm not certain on this. Although the fish isn't giant yet, I'd put it at a solid 8 inches.

From a quick Google image search, it looks that way, but maybe it will still change as it grows? 8" isn't much for this species

 

[SDguy]

Other than the hint of blue on the eye, I'd be hard pressed to call this one anything but a blue. What do you think?

 

[Winwood]

Other than the hint of blue on the eye, I'd be hard pressed to call this one anything but a blue. What do you think?

Agreed, that one looks a little further along in its transformation as well, so you might be on to something Peter.

 

[Winwood]

Quick question, Do blues get as big as queens? Many sites list their max size at 15" and queens at 17-18". I've seen a queen that was every bit of 18 inches, so I believe the queen estimate is accurate.

 

[SDguy]

I was actually under the impression blues got bigger. I think it was the Tennessee aquarium where I saw absolutely ginormous blues.... none of the queens were as big.

 

[alton]

I thought only queens had crowns, blues do not? So if it looks like a blue but has a crown you have a Townsend?

 

[SDguy]

I thought only queens had crowns, blues do not? So if it looks like a blue but has a crown you have a Townsend?

As the eye band on a juvi blue slowly fades, it often leaves a crown-ish mark on the forehead, which eventually fades into just a blue smudge.