The Biota Group has announced that they are now selling captive-bred Emperor angels, Pomacanthus imperator. Bred by Mr. Wen-Ping Su of Bali Aquarich in Indonesia, the man who bought us fish such as the Yurple Tang has also unlocked the code to breeding another angelfish, and due to the sterling, pioneering work by him and other saltwater aquarium fish breeders we can now purchase everything from captive bred Conspics to Venustus angelfish, and now the iconic Emperor.
Emperor angelfish are not uncommon in the wild and are widely traded, but depending on their country of origin, capture, handling, and shipping, they aren’t easy fish to keep and are prone to a reluctance to eat once first imported, flukes, and Ich. That, their eventual size, aggression, and propensity for munching on corals makes them a poor choice for the majority who want one – beginners.
Fully ready for aquarium life
A captive-bred Emperor angelfish should be a very different prospect however, being raised on pellet food among other things, used to swimming in close proximity to its own kind, healthy, rested, feeding, and fully ready for aquarium life, and that list of positives should make them available again to many more people who want one, and with no damage or degradation to wild stocks.
Mr. Wen-Ping Su is no stranger to creating angelfish hybrids either, so we fully expect to see more imperator crosses in the future, as well as those hand selected for pattern aberrations. Biota is advertising 1.5” plus specimens for $225, which equates over here to about double what we would pay for a 2-3” wild fish. But if your tank is gentle enough (yet large enough long term,) to look after such a small fish, it could, and should be like purchasing a different animal altogether.
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