Related FAQs: Best FAQs on Centropyge, Centropyge Angels, FAQs on Centropyge Angels 2, Centropyge Angels 4, Dwarf Angel Identification, Dwarf Angel Selection, Dwarf Angel Compatibility, Dwarf Angel Compatibility 2, Dwarf Angel Systems, Dwarf Angel Feeding, Dwarf Angel Disease, Dwarf Angel Disease 2, Dwarf Angel Disease 3, Dwarf Angel Reproduction, Marine Angelfishes In General, Selection, Behavior, Compatibility, Systems, Health, Feeding, Disease.  

Related Articles: C. loricula/Flame Angel, Lemon/y Dwarf Angels, A Couple of Lemons; the True and False/Herald's (nee Woodheadi) Centropyges, Potter's Angels, The Marine Angelfish Family, Pomacanthidae, 

/The Conscientious Marine Aquarist

Perfect Little Angels, Genus Centropyge, pt. 2

To: Part. 1, Part 3,

By Bob Fenner

Centropyge argi

Centropyge fisheri (Snyder 1904), Fisher's Dwarf Angel (3), is one of the many Hawaiian endemics. This is a "dwarf" Dwarf Angel, usually no more than two inches in length. Closely related to Centropyge flavicauda. Hawaii and Johnston Atoll distribution only. A juvenile off of Kona and a more typical adult in captivity.

 Update from Fishbase.org: "Indo-West Pacific: widespread, from the Gulf of Aden and Oman along the East African coast to South Africa to the Tuamotu archipelago, north-eastward to the Johnston Atoll and Hawaii, northward up to Ogasawara Island, southward through the Coral Sea down to New South Wales, Australia."

Centropyge flavicauda Fraser-Brunner 1933, the Damsel or White-Tail Dwarf Angel (2), is rarely seen in the trade; one of the dwarf-dwarf angels, growing to only a couple of inches in length. Indo-west and central Pacific. RMF pic from Gili Air, Lombok, Indonesia.

Centropyge flavipectoralis Randall & Klausewitz 1977, the Moonbeam or Yellowfin Pygmy Angel (2), is a good fish for medium aggressive fish-only set-ups. At first glance the Yellowfin is easily mistaken for a darkened Coral Beauty, with bright yellow pectoral fins. Sri Lanka and Maldives, Indian Ocean.

Centropyge flavissima (Cuvier 1831), the True or just the Lemonpeel Dwarf Angel, (3) look for and pay the extra-cost for Indian Ocean specimens (Christmas and Cocos-Keeling Islands)(1-2); they are much more likely to live. Centropyge heraldi, sometimes called the False Lemonpeel, is very similar, but lacks the True Lemonpeel's blue markings. Pix by Hiroyuki Tanaka and RMF of a juvenile and adult in captivity.

Centropyge heraldi Woods & Schultz 1953, Herald's or the False Lemonpeel Angel (2), are overall yellow with a variable amount of black on their dorsal fins and behind the eyes (males), but never with the blue outline around the eyes of the "true" Lemonpeel, Centropyge flavissimus. Central and western Pacific Ocean. Aquarium and N. Sulawesi pix.

Centropyge hotumatua Randall & Caldwell 1973, Hotumatua's Dwarf Angel (1). Found amongst a string of south Pacific Islands. A smaller dwarf species at 3 inches maximum length.

http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=10982&genusname=Centropyge&speciesname=hotumatua

Centropyge interruptus (Tanaka 1918), the Japanese Pygmy Angelfish (1), a gorgeous and tough dwarf. Found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean off southern Japan eastward. Aquarium photos of an adult by Hiroyuki Tanaka. 

Centropyge joculator Smith-Vaniz & Randall 1974, the Cocos (Keeling, island in the Indian Ocean) Pygmy Angel (1). Very rare in the trade. Found only in the eastern Indian Ocean about Cocos and Christmas Islands. Photo at right courtesy of John Boe and Michelle Lemech

http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=10997&genusname=Centropyge&speciesname=joculator

Centropyge loricula (Gunter 1874), the Flame Angel (1), is a staple in the ornamental marine trade, with some 5,000 individuals collected and sold worldwide every week. Western to central Pacific Ocean. Shown: An aquarium specimen (likely Marshall Islands) and one in Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, Polynesia where they typically show just one body band.