Coral Beauty Angelfish care guide

Coral Beauty Angelfish (Centropyge bispinosa) — minimum tank 200 L, temperature 24-27 °C, pH 8.1-8.4.

Overview

The Coral Beauty (Centropyge bispinosa) is a dwarf marine angelfish reaching about 10 cm, with a deep purple-blue body washed in iridescent orange or red across the flanks. The pattern varies markedly between specimens from different parts of the Indo-Pacific range.

Taxonomy

Family: Pomacanthidae
Genus: Centropyge
Scientific name: Centropyge bispinosa
Common synonyms: Two-Spined Angelfish

Habitat

Widely distributed across the tropical Indo-Pacific, from East Africa and the Red Sea to the central Pacific including Hawaii. It is found on outer reef slopes, coral-rich lagoons and rubble zones from about 5 to 60 m depth.

Tank requirements

Minimum tank volume: 200 L (52.8 US gal)
Adult size: 8-10 cm
Temperature: 24-27 °C (75-81 °F)
pH: 8.1-8.4
GH: 8-12 °dGH
Water flow: moderate
Lifespan: 5-10 years
Salinity: SG 1.024-1.026
Carbonate hardness (dKH): 8-12

Diet

An omnivore grazing on filamentous algae, detritus and microfauna in the wild. In captivity it requires a varied diet of high-quality marine pellets, frozen mysis and enriched brine shrimp, plus dried algae sheets (nori) to maintain colour and condition.

Compatibility

Peaceful for an angelfish but territorial towards conspecifics; keep only one Centropyge per typical reef tank unless the system is very large. Compatible with most peaceful reef fish — clownfish, gobies, blennies, smaller wrasses and tangs in adequate volume.

Reef compatibility

Reef-safe with caution. Most Coral Beauties leave hard corals alone, but individual specimens may nip large-polyp stony corals (LPS) and clam mantles. Established colonies of soft corals are usually tolerated.

Breeding

A pelagic spawner that releases buoyant eggs into the water column at dusk. Rearing the planktonic larvae is exceptionally difficult and successful captive breeding is rare; most aquarium specimens are wild-caught.

Conservation status

IUCN Red List: Least Concern. The species is widespread and the global population is not considered to be at risk.