The lemonpeel angelfish is bright yellow in colour with a bluish or whitish ring surrounding the eye.

[3] Records from some parts of the western Pacific Ocean are likely to refer to vagrants.

[1] The lemonpeel angelfish is found in shallow water, typically shallower than 20 metres (66 ft), in areas richness coral growth in lagoons and seaward reefs.

[2] They are normally encountered in small groups, a harem of a single male and several females.

[3] The lemonpeel angelfish was first formally described as Holocanthus flavissimus in 1831 by the French anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) with the type locality given as Uléa in the Caroline Islands.