angelfish

Bruce Carlson shares first known video of Chaetodontoplus vanderloosi

Chaetodontoplus vanderloosi is one of the newest and least known species of velvet angelfishes. Known only from Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea, Chaetodontoplus vanderloosi ranks right up there with Chaetodontoplus niger in terms of elusiveness, and its nearly all…

The vitiligo angelfish, and Centropyge colouration

The dwarf angelfishes of the Genera Centropyge and Paracentropyge are amongst our favorite reef fishes, in part for their fabulous array of colour morphs and hybrids. We’ve always been fascinated by the variety of these aberrant individuals, and seem to…

This is the best photo of Chaetodontoplus niger to date

For a fish that gets as big as a football, it’s a mystery why the black angelfish, Chaetodontoplus niger is scarcely ever seen much larger than a juvenile fish in size and color. We know that large adult C. niger are…

Reef Builder’s recap on 2013’s most alluring hybrids

We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t cover any hybrids this year, and like the hardworking elves at Santa’s factory, we made sure we did it with glitter and bow ribbons. This year we had our fair share…

Building a coral aquarium for a coral-eating lemonpeel angelfish

We’ve always thought it was odd that our marine fish get discretely divided into the reef-safe and non reef-safe camps because as we’ve seen time and time again, it’s very possible to keep predators in a reef tank; they don’t…

Hong Kong through Digiman’s eyes part 1: Legendary reefers Dr. Chung and Jimma Ma

Here’s another exciting Reef Builders travelogue showcasing the sights and adventures of the reefing scene in a foreign country. Like our Japan and Bangkok travelogues, we visit yet again another Asian country – the mystical land of Hong Kong. This…

Tail-less bandit angelfish is practically beyond belief

A bandit angelfish is a very special fish to begin with but a tail-less Apolemichthys arcuatus is unheard of. This wild-caught specimen is the first documentation of tail-less-ness in this species that we know and while it looks really strange in…

Captive raised maze angels land at Quality Marine

The maze angelfish, Chaetodontoplus cephalareticulatus, is one of the elusive species of large marine angels that we’ve been particularly obsessed with for quite sometime. To make up for practically never seeing any specimens in the country, we’ve frequently shared amazing…

Vanuatu’s second black spot pygmy angelfish is already in Japan

The black spot pygmy angelfish may not carry with it the same mythology as the recently collected peppermint angelfish, but it is arguably much more rare. Only the third specimen of Centropyge nigriocella collected alive for the aquarium trade, the…

Coral Beauty angelfish hybrids seem to be the result of three way hybridization

Just when we think we’ve seen it all when it comes to pygmy angelfish hybrids, along comes not one but a pair of unusual coral beauty angelfish which make us rethink this whole concept of hybridization. Classically, what we are…