Very few Centropyge angelfish can rival the beauty and grace of Centropyge interrupta. The combination of iridescent blue and orange coupled with the yellow tail fin screams for attention and it’s hardly a surprise that this fish lands itself right at the top of most rare fish aficionado’s shopping list. The Japanese dwarf angelfish however can hardly be classified as a “pygmy angelfish”, in all technicality of the word. C. interrupta is one of the largest species of its kind and can grow up to six inches (15cm) in total length, dwarfing almost all other Centropyge.
Check out the video above filmed in Midway Atoll by Bruce Carlson of C. interrupta swimming amongst the fuliginous live rock in the wild. This intersection between Japan and Hawaii is the only place where C. interrupta swims with the likes of Hawaiian endemics such as C. potteri, G. personatus and C. miliaris. In case you were wondering, Bruce Carlson co-described Cirrhilabrus marjorie, and named it after his wife.
