Centropyge

Angelfish from the genus Centropyge are quite popular in the marine aquarium hobby. Over 30 species of these have been discovered to date. They are popularly called the dwarf angels as they rarely exceed 4 inches in captivity. This has made them common marine aquarium fish in the trade as many hobbyists have a love for these little beauties. For guides on their larger cousins, visit Pomacanthus-Holacanthus.

The smallest of them usually reach a length of 3 inches and are made up of the Cherub pygmy angel, both the African and Brazilian Angels as well as Fishers angel. The giants in the family include the very rare and expensive Centropyge Interruptus and the common Bicolor and Keyhole angels.

They are found in a variety of tropical climates and can live at depths of over 200 feet in the wild. They share very similar diets in as they are all grazers that feed on sponges, small crustaceans, detritus and algae.

They are haremic, with the dominant male controlling many females within its territory. Centropyge Breeding takes place during the evenings. As evening approaches, the male will typically pay a visit to each and every female in his harem. Upon selecting a suitable mate, he will nudge her up the water column until they both release eggs and sperm in a quick motion.

Efforts to breed Centropyge angels have been successful. Frank Baensch of Reef Culture Technologies was among the first to discover a successful breeding method for them. It involved a specific type of copepod that were fed to centropyge larvae.

Traditionally, providing the larvae with suitable food items was the stumbling block to successfully raising centropyge angels. Upon this discovery, Reef Culture Technologies went on to raise a number a wide variety of Centropyge species for the market.

Unfortunately, they closed their doors some years ago and the marine aquarium community has been awaiting their opening ever since.