Lemonpeel Angelfish
Scientific Name : Centropyge Flavissima
Origin : Australia, Central Pacific Islands
Temperament : Semi-Aggressive
Temperature : 72F - 82F
Maximum Size : 5 Inches
Diet : Omnivore
Difficulty : Medium
Reef Safe : With Caution
Tank Size : 75 Gallons
The Lemonpeel Angelfish is another stunning member within the genus Centropyge. It is uniformly bright yellow throughout its entire body. A bright neon blue lines its eyes and its gills. It is a fairly popular dwarf angel within the marine aquarium community.
It is sometimes confused with centropyge heraldi, which is entirely yellow and lacks the neon blue lines around its eyes and gill plates. Also, it is also mimicked by Acanthurus pyroferus, the yellow mimic tang. This tang has a duller yellow and the same neon lines. However, they lose this coloration as they mature. The lemonpeel angelfish is cheaper than flame angels and can cost you anywhere from $30 to $35 for a specimen.
In the wild, it has been known to interbreed with other species of centropyge that live in the same areas. Two hybrids that are sometimes seen are the Lemonpeel and Eibli mix while the other hybrid is a combination of Lemonpeel and Vroliki. These hybrids can cost up to three times more than an original lemonpeel angelfish with prices reaching about $100 for a specimen. However, we are not great fans of the hybrids as we feel the original has colors that are a lot more striking.
The genus centropyge feed primarily on detritus, small crustaceans and algae. Despite this, the vast majority of them tend to accept most prepated foods in captivity. It is always important to offer a mix of both meaty and algae or spirulina best foods in the marine aquarium.
A good mix of meaty and vegetable matter is essential to the overall health of dwarf angels. Some other good foods to feed daily are * Sea Veggies Seaweed, which are nutritious seaweed for grazers. Prime Reef * Flake Food which is a blend of numerous seafood and algae such as seaweed, lobster meat, salmon, shrimp, squid and zooplankton.
The best dry pellet foods on the market come from the highly reputable makers, * New Life Spectrum. Use a * Seaweed Clip when feeding them seaweed sheets. Simply take a sheet, fold it and clip it. Secure the clip to the aquarium glass in a location of your choice and they should graze on it throughout the day. Centropyge species can nip on corals so be warned.
This fish requires a marine aquarium that is not smaller than 75 gallons. They are a bigger than normal centropyge species that can top out at 5 inches in the wild. As usual, if you can provide it with a 100 gallon or bigger tank, that would be better. You should always put all new fish in a quarantine tank for a period of time to treat for any parasites and diseases present.
They can get aggressive with smaller tank mates and you should never house two specimens in a small tank as this will almost certainly result in certain death for one of them. In such cases, you will be better off looking for a mated pair.
The lemonpeel is a very bright addition to any marine aquarium and will certainly catch the eye of the casual onlooker due to its great looks. Once acclimated and feeding, they are normally quite a hardy species to care for.
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