Queen or Townsend Angel?

[SUP]

Have owned this angel since Feb. 10, 2012. He/She was about 3.5 inches. He has grown quite a bit during this time and the colors have come out. When I bought the Queen, I was told they thought it was a Townsend (mix between a blue and a queen angel.). My angelfish definitely has a crown. What do you guys think?

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[runintoluck]

I have one similar and I've had it for almost a year now. When I bought it was a townsend and the tail stayed yellow whereas a blue would have the body color (grayish blue) on it as well, according to my wholesaler. Only time will tell if its a blue or townsend, and I believe there might even be different degrees of hybridity thats expressed in a townsend, possibly.

 

[Triton_Z]

I suspect it is a hybrid of a H. ciliaris and H. bermudensis given the crown and darker body, however its coloration may change as it grows to a mature adult. It's a beauty. Thanks for sharing.

 

[philter4]

From dealing with these guys for years as a collector my thought is it is a hybrid but not a full hybrid, maybe a Townsend and a queen. It's color is too muted (maybe dull is a better word but the fish looks healthy and is in great condition) to be a full queen. My guess it's parents were both hybrids that were not 50-50 and then crossed back to a queen giving it a nice but smaller crown and a full yellow tail of the queen, but the body color of a blue

 

[SUP]

I like the color combination the way it is now and hope it stays this way. The angel is now about 5 1/2 - 6" inches in length.


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[humaguy]

I'm thinkin a blue and a Townsend..will still give you a partial crown...
toss up a pic of her at 3.5 if you have one...
too muted to have much Queen in her, imo...
but really a really cool fish!!

 

[humaguy]

a townsend is a blue and a queen...
due to the lackluster color on the body but the almost full crown...
I still think a blue and townsend....been looking thru my books and notes...check out angel fish of the world...

 

[humaguy]

Kiyoshi Endoh's book Angel Fish of the World...pg 104, 4th pic down...looks very similar though the spec in the book is larger...

 

[geaux xman]

SUP, awesome looking angel.

A general question to all. How come so many people shy away from the Blue Angels? Seems like everyone wants a Queen, but not the Blue's. I've never had either, but just know they both look fantastic.

 

[humaguy]

Queens are the prettiest and have the boldest colors and full crowns...when they are watered down with blues or townsends the colors become washout...but, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? so, just my thoughts...
easy to tell a baby queen from blue...I always went for a pretty queen..

 

[humaguy]

blues and townsends have undefined crowns...and to me..that makes a queen...and the vivid colors...

 

[geaux xman]

Gotcha. I dont get to see many of these fish in person. A very occasional blue or queen at the LFS thats it. Most times, they are smaller too and still have some juvie coloration/patterns.

 

[humaguy]

when they are small check out the second stripe...queen's have a curve...blue's are straight...the difference as they age is quite diff...many not so reputable lfs stores will try and pass a blue as a queen...

 

[humaguy]

that is the 2nd stripe behind the fin and gills...not the stripes on their heads...

 

[humaguy]

juvi queen...notice the curved 2nd stripe- or middle stripe, blueish white behind the pectoral fin..

juvi blue angel...notice the staight 2nd stripe- or middle stripe- more white on this specimen...

 

[humaguy]

even as a juvi the queen packs more punch with colors..though both are pretty fish...

 

[humaguy]

interesting too how the baby blue is very yellow in the rear as is the op's beautiful fish...

 

[philter4]

blues and townsends have undefined crowns...and to me..that makes a queen...and the vivid colors...

Pure blue angels have no crown at all, if there is a hint or under developed crown then at some point there was queen genes mixed in.

 

[humaguy]

agree that a pure blue does not have a true "crown"...but to quote Kiyosh Endoh in Angelfishes of the World..., "The crown is not present on the forehead of H. bermudensis, but a faint blue mark is sometimes on the same location." That is what I was referring to...tk

 

[SUP]

Here is a picture a couple of weeks after I got him. He was about 3.5 inches.

SUP