Yey First! The first gratuitous rare fish post of the year is of this darling juvenile joculator angelfish. This species originates from a very small range of islands in the western Indian Ocean called the Cocos-Keeling Islands. This region is “off the beaten path” and therefore the fish commands a high price because special arrangements must be made to visit and collect it in it’s native range. The juveniles of this and many other Centropyge species sport a dosal spot called and ocellus which fades with age and maturity. Don’t expect to see this one at your LFS though, only a handful of specimens are imported each year and they command prices north of $700. We’ll post our video of Dr. Joshi’s pair spawning soon. The first person to comment that this fish looks like a bicolor angel will forever be branded as a n00b. Thanks to Greenwich Aquaria for letting us deluge this specimen with our camera flash.
