Coral Beauty

Maintenance difficulty:
   The Coral Beauty, Two-spined Angel, or the Dusky Angel is fairly easy to keep.

Maintenance:
   The Coral Beauty, Two-spined Angel, and the Dusky Angel are very hardy and generally good eaters, taking all manner of offered foods and grazing on hair algae on live rock. As with any saltwater fish, it is best to feed small amounts of varied foodstuffs several times a day. It is important that you feed angelfish all kinds of live, frozen, and prepared formula foods. Pygmy angelfish are known to eat mostly algae in the wild, so a diet rich in vegetable matter is essential. There are several good commercial foods available including Formula II and Angel Formula.

Habitat: Natural geographic location:
   Coral Beauty, Two-spined Angel, and Dusky Angel are common to South Africa, Mauritius, the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, Tahiti, the Philippines and Fiji islands. Generally found at depths above 5 meters (16 ft.) Most Coral Beauties available in the pet stores are collected from the Fiji islands. The Philippine variety reportedly has a beautiful blue-red coloration.

Natural Foods:
   Algae eater. Grazer.

Social Behaviors:
  They usually are found singly or in small groups. The Coral Beauty Angel is a medium maintenance fish and may act semi-aggressively toward other fish. It doesn't get along with other dwarf angels. Keep with caution in a reef aquarium as it may eat/nip sessile invertebrates.

Sexual differences:
   The male is generally larger than female.

Light: Recommended light levels:
   No special requirements; although dim or blue lighting is predominant in natural deep water environment.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   There have been spawnings in hobbyist's aquarium, but it is known if successful yet in rearing to adulthood.

Dr. Jungle says, " Mike is sharing the spawning behavior of his pair of Coral Beauties! ...thanks Mike!"
"The Coral Beauty's spawning happens about an hour before the lights turn off, their timing is phenomenal. The male begins to circle the tank and begins challenging some of the larger fish in the tank, here he challenges my female Cinnamon Clown.    "The female Coral Beauty begins to become receptive to the dashing movements of the male. The male clamps his fins at times as he swims by her. Then the two meet at the top of the aquarium by a powerhead, The male rubs his nose into her side as she expands her fins in a flashy display, and then they dash off. They go through this false spawn (courting session) many times before the actual spawn. In a split second the eggs are released. Coral Beauty Eggs Spawning Photos Courtesy: Mike Evans    "The female spurted out 16-20 eggs one time and I was lucky enough to catch them in my net and put them in a glass for this photo. The males dorsal and caudal fins actually completely attach with the back tail to look like one big fin. The female does not have the same fin arrangement.    "I first managed this in my 20 gallon aquarium. I recently upgraded my aquarium from a 20 gal to a 40 gal breeder aquarium and the male instantly forgot his breeding pal and started to nip at her. Since then I have fixed things and they are back to breeding. However, my Cinnamon Clown has now caught on to their breeding and comes up as well for a nice snack. They do chase him away 50% of the time.   "I hope this helps all the people out there that believe in breeding and fish conservation. Angelfish are magnificent fish and I feel very responsible to the ones I have as my own." "Good luck to all." .... Mike Evans

Temperature:
   No special requirements. Normal temperatures for marine fish lie between 75 and 79 degrees.

Length/Diameter of fish:
   Coral Beauty, Two-spined Angel, and Dusky Angel adult males can grow to 4inches. Usually smaller specimens (about 1 - 1 3/4inch) are found in pet stores.

Minimum Tank Length/Size:
   A minimum 30 gallon aquarium with plenty of places to hide is recommended.

Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong
   No special aquaria requirements.

Buy Coral Beauty Angelfish From LiveAquaria.com

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom
   No special aquaria requirements.

Availability:
This fish is generally available and relatively inexpensive.