We wrote about the brand new Cirrhilabrus squirei from the Coral Sea on our last visit to BlueHarbor, and we’re glad that the fish is still around looking healthy as ever. C. squirei recalls the more familiar C. johnsoni in terms of general appearance – long filamentous tail, orangey base color. However the streaks of brilliant pink highlights some traits from the impressive Pintail fairy wrasse as well.
We’re glad that Koji decided to keep it, and it is looking mighty fine. It now shares a tank with a C. narcosis that is also doing just as well. The last time we checked, this fish was munching on pellets like as though the Mayans were right. Another video update added to Koji’s seemingly endless stream is that of Centropyge nigriocella.
Typical of its behavior in the wild, the angelfish in video shows nothing but a glimpse of itself as it hovers inside the rock coverage. C. nigriocella is one of, if not, the most cryptic of all dwarf angel species. Having a wide range and inhabiting shallow water, this fish is even harder to find and obtain than most other deepwater counterparts. We’re unsure if this specimen is the same one that Cairns Marine caught a few months back, but with so little of them around, we won’t be surprised if it was.
The last two years we saw two specimens of Centropyge nigriocella in Japan, one to B-Box Aquarium and the other to BlueHarbor. Two Japanese powerhouses in the fish realm. It’s truly amazing how something can go unseen for years and years, only to pop up suddenly in small numbers and then disappear again.
