either alone or in pairs. Queen angelfish eat sponges, tunicates, jellyfish, corals, plankton, and algae. Juveniles act as cleaner fish and establish and remove ectoparasites from bigger fish. Off St. Thomas Island and Salvador, Bahia, 90% of the diet of adults is sponges. Off the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, more than 30 prey species may be consumed, 68% being sponges, 25% being algae, and 5% being bryozoans. Queen angelfish appear to be selective feeders as the proportion of prey in their diet does not correlate with their abundance. On the species level, the angelfish of the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago target the less common sponges Geodia neptuni, Erylus latens, Clathria calla, and Asteropus niger. Life cycle Male queen angelfish have large territories with a harem of two to four females. Little is known about the sexual development of the species, though they are presumed to be protogynous hermaphrodites. The largest harem female may transform into a male if the territorial male disappears. Around midday, the females forage individually in different locations. The male tends to each of them, rushing at, circling, and feeding next to them. Spawning in this species occurs year-round. It is observed sometime around a full moon. Courtship involves the male showing his side to the female and flick his pectoral fins at her or "soaring" above them. At the beginning of spawning, the female swims towards the surface with the male swimming under her with his snout pressing against her vent. They then deposit their eggs and semen into the water. The female discharges between 25 and 75 thousand eggs a day. After spawning, the pair split and head to back to the ocean floor. The transparent eggs are pelagic and remain suspended in the water for 15–20 hours. The hatched larvae have a large yolk sac with no functional eyes, gut or fins, but two days later, the yolk is absorbed, and the larvae have more of a resemblance to fish. These larvae are plankton-eaters and grow quickly. Between the ages of three and four weeks old, when they have reached a length of , they descend to the floor as juveniles. Juvenile angelfish live alone and in territories encompassing finger sponges and coral, where they establish cleaning stations for other fish. Human interactions Queen angelfish are not normally eaten or commercially fished. They are captured mostly for the aquarium trade,