The trials and tribulations of Apolemichthys kingi: From capture to grave

By Tea Yi Kai on Mar 07, 2012

The holy grail creme de la creme of Angelfish, A. kingi. Picture by Taiwan reefer known online as "Pineapple42".

When we use phrases and words like holy grail, creme de la creme, emblamatic and symbolic to describe any angelfish species, one of the first to pop up into your mind other than the Peppermint Angelfish would definitely be the iconic and highly sought after Apolemichthys kingi, more famously known as the Tiger Angelfish from Africa. Remember the tiger angelfish we talked about on the April of last year? Well this post will show you the journey it made to Taiwan where it sadly, did not live a very long and fulfilling life.

The majestic and powerful Tiger Angelfish is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful species of Pomacanthid.

This picture taken by the diver who caught the Tiger Angelfish shows the shark infested waters of Africa at around 50m.

The journey of this Tiger Angelfish started out in the cool, deep waters of Africa. A. kingi is typically found in deeper waters at depths below 50m. The diver who caught this fish said that the waters where this Tiger Angelfish was caught from was particularly shark infested. Another challenge to the already difficult nature of obtaining this fish. The following accounts on the Tiger Angelfish is shared by Taiwan Angelfish fanatic who is known online as “Pineapple42″. This is, as far as we know, the first ever account of the captivity of the Tiger Angelfish. The video we linked showed the Tiger Angelfish in a holding facility, most probably in quarantine before it was ready for its final display tank. Judging from the feeding response to pelleted food, the fish was overall very healthy. However bear in mind that A. kingi is a touchy and still, very difficult fish much like the Bandit Angelfish. Also large adult specimens have a hard time adapting to captivity.

Online user Pineapple42 from Taiwan managed to photograph a whole bunch of really good pictures of A. kingi.

The Tiger Angelfish was housed in a 10ft FOWLR tank with a bunch of other angelfish. Some of them almost just as rare and just as sought after. You may notice that we’re using the past tense “was” as this post doesn’t end in a happy ending unfortunately. We’re getting there, but die-hard fans of this fish may want to prepare yourselves.

The 10ft tank in which the A. kingi was housed. Can you spot it?

The Tiger Angelfish shared it's home with many other Pomacanthids, including a very rare Clarion hybrid and a pure blooded Clarion Angelfish.

The Tiger Angelfish was reported to be very shy and difficult to feed. Despite it already having a taste for pellets and other aquarium fare, the feeding was finicky and mostly on-off, typical for large Apolemichthys angelfishes which can also be seen in bandits and large trimaculatus angels. To make matters worse, the Tiger Angelfish showed signs of infection, probably bacterial, around the vent area. Being a shy and retiring species, the Tiger Angelfish was also subjected to stress induced by the notoriously boisterous Clarion Angelfish that shared its tank. The tank also featured a Clarion x Passer hybrid which was also just as brazen.

This picture shows the bloated abdomen as well as the inflamed vent of the Tiger Angelfish.

It is not uncommon for certain species of Angelfish to show signs of break down a few weeks or even months after the initial capture. Large and touchy species often develop red sores or infection that can quickly lead to the demise of the fish. Quarantine, treatment and a protocol for damage control may be carried out but sometimes the problem may already be there since day one, and the symptoms only show up much later on.

Here's a mugshot of the murderous duo. A hybrid clarion on the left and a pedigree clarion on the right.

Unfortunately the Tiger Angelfish kicked the bucket soon after. Below is a really heartbreaking picture of one of the rarest angelfishes in the aquarium trade lying lifelessly on a red towel. The owner felt that the Tiger Angelfish stood a better chance had it been kept in a peaceful tank by itself away from all the hustle and bustle of the busy Angelfish community tank. The boisterous tank mates certainly contributed to most of the stress received. It’s really unfortunate to see the Tiger Angelfish end up in such a state.

A very difficult image to process for any Angelfish aficionado.

We would still like the thank Pineapple42 for sharing his story of the Tiger Angelfish on his local Taiwan forum. It is not easy caring for a full grown adult Apolemichthys that comes from deep, cooler water. Think Bandit angelfish, except maybe harder, and more traumatic. There’s no telling when another specimen will show up but when it does, someone’s surely going to buy it and hopefully, he or she can learn from this. Here’s one last look at the Tiger Angelfish in all its “tiger-yness”

Magnificent is an understatement to this spectacular species.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HXHVFY3JDHW6PFJLGY4YT73XQY Sean

Derp.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ziyaad-Zee-Bayat/636884404 Ziyaad Zee Bayat

Fish from SA are not allowed to be sold!!!!!

Not even our Largest South african Aquarium centre has 1 of these in captivity (http://www.ushakamarineworld.co.za/sea-world)

Now that thats out of the way heres to hoping someone else will get lucky with 1 of these amazing fish.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Adelberg/1503824278 Jim Adelberg

I’m sorry, but I feel the need to comment here and I’m not
going to pull any punches.
A smallish, rare angelfish was acquired as a wild-caught specimen and without
quarantine or conditioning was put into a steel cage match with much larger and
meaner angelfish. A 10-foot tank ‘sounds’ big until you take a moment to
consider the sizes, numbers, temperaments, and natural territoriality of the
fish pictured. Viewing the pictures, it’s clear that this tank was set up
purely for the viewer’s pleasure with little to no concern for the animals’
comfort. The tank is clearly overstocked and there is almost no way a bullied
fish could escape from more aggressive tank-mates since the aquascaping is
obviously designed to keep all fish in view at all times. I’m not an angelfish
expert but even I know that this angel was not given a fair chance and was
probably bullied from the first moment it hit the tank to its last moment of
life. I fully believe that “The
owner felt that the Tiger Angelfish stood a better chance had it been kept in a
peaceful tank by itself away from all the hustle and bustle of the busy
Angelfish community tank” yet there’s no mention of any attempt to move the
fish out of that tank before it died. Surely catching a fish in a tank with
such limited rockwork is possible, if not easy.

I’d prefer our hobby didn’t support this kind of callous fishkeeping.
-Respectfully yours, Jim Adelberg Executive Editor Reef Hobbyist Magazine
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003248447542 Joshua Borsack

I agree that this fish should have never been in that tank. When a fish is that rare and difficult it should be handled as such and given every chance available to adapt to its captive environment and thrive. (all our fish should, but especially ones of this nature) It should have been presented with a quiet dimly lit aquarium that had ample rockwork and minimal tankmates, if not no other angels.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Adelberg/1503824278 Jim Adelberg

Another point, which most experienced fishkeepers already know, is that as you continue to stock up a tank, it becomes harder and harder to peacefully add new fish into the existing territories of the resident fish. That’s where the advice of adding the smaller, more timid fish first and then the larger fish later comes from.
jake_harvey

agreed. Looks like a “pick your dinner” tank at a seafood restaurant.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Adelberg/1503824278 Jim Adelberg

I hope people outside our hobby/ industry don’t think we all keep fish like that. I also hope no beginners get the idea that it’s ok to keep a tank like that.
TeaYK

i perfectly understand where you’re coming from, but we’re not promoting anyone to keep fish tanks like that. the fish tank set up above is typical for hong-kong or taiwan fish keepers and is not encouraged. i personally dislike this kind of tank set ups as well. the main point of this post however, is to talk about what happened to this fish since it’s capture which unfrotunately, would up being in this tank.

The fish, given it’s status, should have been in a tank made solely for it but that was sadly not the case.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Adelberg/1503824278 Jim Adelberg

Thank you for that comment, I believe we all need to take more responsibility for the lives of the fish we keep and that we should do everything we can to help them survive in our care. I agree with you that this is an unfortunate situation and hope that new hobbyists are actively discouraged from setting up that ‘style’ of tank. I think it’s good to report failures in our hobby as well as successes and I do feel that more could have been done to ensure this fish’ survival. In that respect I feel it’s right to point out that the aquarist failed to do some things that could have saved this fish.
TeaYK

We tried to present the story in the most neutral way possible by just focusing on the fish itself and the set up it was kept in. i really hope that this doesn’t come across as condoning the hongkong style tank concepts though.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Adelberg/1503824278 Jim Adelberg

I felt it was very neutral reporting which is why I felt it necessary to comment. We, as members of the press, have the responsibility of informing public opinion. On that level, we help set the bar for what is acceptable and what is not. I want people to know that some of us think this is not the way to treat fish.
Sabine Penisson

I feel very disturbed by these particular asian tanks (not saying at all that all asian tanks are like that, but overpacked and nude tanks are something we see regurlaly in asian countries – and unfortunately not only there), and Jim Adelberg is right to emphasize the totally unethic position of these, even if it’s not the actual “point” of your article, he’s really right to point out that beginners could think this is a “normal” stocking, as the article is really neutral about it.
I feel as well puzzled by the fact that people say that a rare, shy and expensive fish shouldn’t be put at risk in such tank. To me NO fish at all, even a $15 clownfish, should be kept this way.
I wonder when people will put the needs of fish before their urge to consume and possess.

For one Kingii, how many dozens of thousands “cheap” and therefore “replaceable” fish die every year?
Everybody in this hobby exepriences a death of fish from time to time, but isn’t it a true minimum that we try at least to know about the species needs, mimic its environment the best possible, and give it a proper husbandry?

Oh, I know, when we get this conversation, usually, we have this answer “we can’t do anything, it’s a cultural thing”…
When will someone stand out and strongly oppose to such animal abuses, made under the cover of tradition and folklore, but deeply unethic?

Sorry to bring out such a sad speach on an article that isn’t really about this, but sometimes, it has to be said.
velvetelvis

^ This.
velvetelvis

Yes. It looks like this fish was acquired as a status symbol, another addition to a collection (and kept that way, like china in a crowded cabinet) of angelfishes. “Callous” is right.
http://www.facebook.com/mindy.vanleur Mindy van Leur

Presenting the story in a “kicked the bucket” fashion is disgusting.

Presenting the story with a “how this could have been prevented” take would have been much, much more productive.
http://www.facebook.com/mindy.vanleur Mindy van Leur

Well said.

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