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Three New Angelfishes - Anyone Know About Them?

I've recently encountered three new Angelfish species to add to my database. Unfortunately, two of them I only have names for, and the third, for which I have an illustration, I have precious little information about. Has anyone here encountered them, and if so, what can you say about them?

First, two species that have apparently been recently discovered and described. They are both deep water fishes, found in the Pacific Ocean, and are known as Centropyge narcosis and Centropyge pylei. I suspect that the first was so named because collecting it involves, upon the part of the diver, the risk of nitrogen narcosis! Which should give an indication of the depth of water in which they are found ... I therefore suspect that [1] they will be rare, [2] they will be more difficult to acclimatise to the aquarium than shallower-water Centropyge species, and [3] that they may in addition manifest other specialised aspects of lifestyle that will make them a challenge for the experienced aquarist. If anyone has pictures of these, please post them here or link to them!

Second, a species that appeared in an advertisement in one of my Today's Fishkeeper back numbers, and which appears to be a very pretty dwarf Angel indeed. However, Paracentropyge boylei, the Candy Striped Angelfish, which has five narrow vertical white bars on a pinkish-orange background, is one I am wary of for one simple reason - the Genus in which it is placed. The only other member of the Genus with which I have some familiarity is Paracentropyge multifasciatus, the Multi-Barred Angel, and this one is regularly listed in textbooks as an 'impossible', i.e., one of those fishes that regularly displays an extreme tendency toward anorexia in the aquarium, and which is regarded in some quarters as worse in this regard than either the Moorish Idol or several of the 'impossible' Butterfly Fishes. Since C. multifasciatus ranks alongside the Purple Queen, Mirolabrichthys tuka, in this regard, I have deep suspicions about the Candy-Striped Angel, and whether or not it too will display the same recalcitrance with respect to feeding. If it turns out to be more adaptable, easier to acclimatise, and easier to persuade to feed, then this will be welcome news, because the Candy-Striped Angel is a lovely little fish, with one of those 'baby-cute' faces that should make it an instant hit amongst female aquarists in particular! Sadly, the only illustration I have of this fish has a dirty great advertising sidebar chopping off part of the tail, but it is a lovely fish. The vertical bars, incidentally, become increasingly more slanted and curved toward the head, which seems to add to its 'cuddly infant' countenance, and if it proves to be a reasonably hardy aquarium occupant, then I suspect that it will become very popular indeed. Like its relative C. multifasciatus, it is deeper-bodied than the true Centropyge Angels, and has a body shape reminiscent of a juvenile Euxiphipops Angelfish - it is pretty close in overall morphology to a photograph I have of a juvenile Majestic Angel, E. navarchus.

Anyone have any extra info on any of these Angels? Only given how Centropyge Angels are one of my 'soft spot' groups of fishes (and became so when I saw my first live Centropyge loriculus - that is one achingly gorgeous fish!), I'd love to know more about them!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

You've piqued my interest, Calilasseia.. I have a soft spot for the dwarf angels myself..

I can't do any involved searches here at the lab, we haven't had our DSL lines installed yet , but I'll dig around online either when I get home this morning or once I get up in the afternoon.. I'll post back if I find anything interesting..

[link=http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?id=47059]http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?id=47059" style="COLOR: #ffe303[/link]

from wetwebmedia:

Centropyge narcosis Pyle & Randall 1992, Deep-Reef Pygmy Angelfish (2). Named for the narcotizing effect on the collectors of the only specimens taken so far at 75-120 meters depth. Known only from Cook Islands, mid-South central Pacific.

Here's a lovely little picture of C. (or P., dependant upon where you look) Boylei and an interesting read: [link=http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-02/hcs3/]http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-02/hcs3/" style="COLOR: #ffe303[/link]

[link=http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/zoo/fish/angelfishes/paracentropyge/Pboylei.htm]http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/zoo/fish/angelfishes/paracentropyge/Pboylei.htm" style="COLOR: #ffe303[/link]

also:

[link=http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=25427&genusname=Centropyge&speciesname=boylei]http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=25427&genusname=Centropyge&speciesname=boylei" style="COLOR: #ffe303[/link]

I guess from the way this fish is listed on several different sites, it's still under a bit of discussion as to whether or not it shall be going under the scientific name of Centropyge or Paracentropyge..

Paracentropyge boylei

Very attractive fish. Unfortunatlly it comes at a serious cost. Last one I saw was $4,000.

I asked about new Centropyge Angelfish species in the aquarium, including Centropyge narcosis and Centropyge pylei, and made a truly wonderful discovery.

ReefCentral.com has a major article devoted to this Genus. I found it before Oleta linked to it, but since Oleta has already posted a link, I'll refer eferyone to her link above.

The aritcle, part of the "Fish Tales" series by Henry C. Schultz III, gives a wealth of detail about these fishes, including the fact that many Centropyge Angels are rare (and consequently hideously expensive!) in the hobby because collecting them requires diving to depths of 300 feet, an ambitious undertaking even for a skilled scuba diver. Needless to say, at those depths, decompression becomes a serious issue, not only for the diver, but for the fish too. This explains why the beautiful Paracentropyge boylei that I sought information on, and which I have now succeeded in doing, is not only achingly rare, but commands a price tag that here in the UK is equivalent to buying a second-hand BMW car!

One of the real joys of the ReefCentral article was that it gave me access to a truly gorgeous picture of P. boylei - this is truly a 'must see' fish, but many here will doubtless lament that for the moment, it is WAY beyond their reach price wise!

Furthermore, the article gave some clues as to reproduction, citing that research had produced the first successful raising of fry of Centropyge loriculus (I just cannot WAIT for tank-bred Flame Angels!), and citing also that the Genus as a whole has a very interesting reproductive strategy: I shall point interested readers to the article, as the esteemed Mr Schultz is an excellent writer.

The article also covers in detail such matters as diet (one fact that I was unaware of, was that Centopyge Angels browse upon filamentous algae - that will make my future fishkeeping potentiall a LOT more successful!), compatible aquarium companions, and hints for successful integration with said companions. Furthermore, the web page is lavishly illustrated with some truly resplendent photographs of a range of Centropyge Angelfish species, including several I have never seen before, and believe me, you haven't lived until you've seen a top quality photo of species such as Centropyge acanthops, which here in the UK is known aptly as the Purple Fireball Angel - an almost luminous little gem of a fish that deserves every last penny spent on its well-being.

One issue that caused my antennae to twitch was that of taxonomy: apparently, the entire Family Pomacanthidae has been extensively worked, and is due for yet more upheavals, principally centred around Centropyge, to appear in a thesis by Richard Pyle (after whom the recently described Centropyge pylei was named) in which various interesting (and controversial) developments will take place. Hold onto your hats with respect to this one! Pyle will, apparently, decide that a separate Genus, namely Paracentropyge, is appropriate for the two species multifasciatus and boylei (which I'm minded to agree with - their body morphology manifestly differs substantially from the 'typical' Centropyge Angelfish), and he is likely to put the species venustus into this Genus too, although this is a particularly controversial move, given that ichthyologists disagree where this fish should reside with a vengeance! In my Burgess' Mini-Atlas, this fish is listed as Sumireyakko venustus, but then Burgess places multifasciatus in Centropyge, for reasons not entirely clear to me. Such are the vicissitudes of the taxonomic world ...

However, regardless of where one stands on the taxonomic issues, the simple fact remains that Centropyge Angels are, as the article states succinctly, very popular staple 'show fishes'. I would go further - many species are literally ablaze with colour, and exude in copious quantities that magnetic "stop and buy me NOW!" look. Some of the care details in the article should be heeded, however, including the fact that too great a variation in water chemistry parameters will inevitably result in a very sick Angel. A dedicated and careful aquarist, who plans the aquarium for these fishes beforehand (yes, I'm on that theme again!) should experience few problems with the majority of species, including the utterly heavenly C. loriculus, although C. bicolor, the largest of the so-called 'Dwarf Angels', should be left to an expert, and as the article states, Phillipine specimens should be avoided even by experts because of unsound collecting techniques still in use there.

However, I am indebted to the esteemed Mr Schultz for pointing out that the notoriously difficult P. multifasciatus is a deep-water species that lives under overhangs and crevices: once again, I suspect that failure with this fish has been brought about by placing the fish in an open, brightly lit aquarium. Schultz suggests that a dimly lit aquarium with well-designed overhangs and a plethora of hiding places is the best way to keep this species, and consequently, if ever I have the funds to try, I shall experiment along these lines and see if this does not make a big difference to the maintenance success of this fish, which remains a major challenge even to expert aquarists.

Go view the article, and as well as being impressed by the wealth of information, be utterly wowed by some of the pictures!




Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002