Golden Angelfish

Habitat: Natural geographic location:
   The Golden Angelfish are found in the Western Pacific; American Samoa, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, northern Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Indonesia, Palau and Pohnpei. Randall and Wass (1974) described the Golden Angelfish when they were collecting many fish species with drugs on the reefs of American Samoa. At first they did not notice its existence while they were diving in the field until they unexpectedly found dead specimens as they were collecting.
   In Indonesia the fish has been recorded from various localities including Sulawesi, Bali, Lombok, Komodo and Flores. It will probably be found also in Irian Jaya, and the gap between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia will be bridged in the future. In Pohnpei and Palau of Micronesia it is rare and these islands also are very distant.
  This species of Centropyge live in their natural habitat alone or by forming a small group. It prefers deeper waters and is said to be seen among rocks at depths below 164 -197 feet (50 - 60 meters), but in Papua New Guinea it was collected in waters as shallow as 10 feet (3 meters).

Status:
   These fish are not listed on the IUCN Red List.

Description:
   The Golden Angelfish is uniformly orange to brownish orange with numerous vertical yellow stripes and the face and head are sometimes slightly duskier. The fins are orange to brownish with some curved yellow lines, except the pectoral fins which are translucent. The species has a relatively higher body similar to the Peppermint Angelfish C. boylei, Colin's Pygmy Angelfish C. colini, Barred Angelfish C. multifasciata and Purplemask Angelfish C. venusta.
   Dr. Bruce Carlson (former director of Waikiki Aquarium, who now he lives in the mainland USA) photographed one specimen in the Solomon Islands that was completely dark orange (B. Carlson, pers. comm.; H. Tanaka, 1999). There was also a blackish specimen that turned to normal coloration in a few weeks in a tank (R. Pyle, 1993).
   Its scientific name aurantia comes from the New Latin for orange, not for golden.

Length/Diameter of fish:
   Adults reach 4 inches (10 cm), but most available specimens are below 2 3/4 inches (7 cm).

Maintenance difficulty:
   Special care is needed to get this fish to eat when you first acquire it. They often refuse foods for a long time and in some cases a fish will hold out to the last, eventually starving to death. Provide many crevices for it to hide in as it is a rather shy fish and will stay among or under the rocks, though once acclimated will show itself when being fed. You must take care to keep it with peaceful fish. If you add aggressive fish to the aquarium it will hide all day long and not come out for food even after acclimation.
   Most of the Centropyge members are very colorful but unfortunately are rather difficult to keep for a long period, and on occasion they suffer from “ich” (white spot disease) and other infectious diseases. They can be treated successfully with medical care or copper drugs, but some species hate sudden changes of water including PH and temperature, and any drug treatment. In the wild a cleaner wrasse (Labroides spp.) will help them by taking parasites from their bodies.

  Diseases that marine angelfish are susceptible to:
Marine Ich (white spot disease), Marine Velvet, and Lymphocystis (a viral infection).

Foods:
   The Golden Angelfish are omnivores. Provide a varied diet. Meaty foods, dried flakes, shrimps, frozen prepared diets for sponge and algae eaters, and tablets are acceptable. Feed frequently at first with various foods, including ‘wet foods’ like frozen shrimps. Once it is successfully acclimatized it will become a hardy fish. Feed at least twice a day.

Maintenance:
   When you first acquire a Golden Angelfish keep it alone. Add other non-aggressive tank mates after it has acclimated and you have confirmed it is eating well. Frequent water changes are not necessary, rather normal water changes at 10% biweekly or 20% monthly are fine. Sudden massive water changes can cause trouble.
   For more information see, Marine Aquarium Basics: Maintenance

Aquarium Parameters:
   This fish needs an aquarium well decorated with rocks/ corals providing many hiding places. It is a shy fish so not an active swimmer and tends to retire around the rocks or corals, but it will venture to the surface for foods when it is well acclimated.
Minimum Tank Length/Size:
   A minimum 50 gallon (189 liters) or more.
Light: Recommended light levels
   It prefers to be kept in a dim-light tank but can also be kept under normal lighting.
Temperature:
   This species lives in tropical areas. Temperatures between 75 -79° F (24 - 26° C) will serve them well, but temperatures higher than 84° F (29° C) or below 72 ° F (22° C) would not be good.
Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong
   Water movement is not a significant factor. It can tolerate a rather stronger flow, but slow-moving
water is preferable.
Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom
   They will spend most of their time in the rocks/ corals, coming out to feed once acclimated.

Social Behaviors:
   The Golden Angelfish is recommended for fish only community aquariums housed with other peaceful species. It is also said to be a reef safe fish as it does well in a coral-rich tank with sessile inverts, but it may eat some species of hard and soft corals. However, not every fish is going to damage corals, the behavior of each individual fish will be different. If you do want to keep it in a reef observe its behavior towards the corals closely, removing it to a fish only tank if it tends to pick at them for any length of time.
   Select tank mates that are essentially non-aggressive. A group of several individuals of this angelfish can be kept. Larger and rather territorial angelfishes like Pomacanthus and Holacanthus are not recommended even when they are juveniles, but other smaller angelfish such as the Centropyge, Apolemichthys, Genicanthus, Chaetodontoplus and Pygoplites could be good tank mates. Smaller and the ‘weaker’ cardinalfish, gobies, tilefish, butterflyfish, fairy basslets, fairy and flasher wrasses are also good candidates; as are other non-aggressive wrasses. Small but very aggressive fishes like dottybacks should be avoided.

Sex: Sexual differences:
   No sexual difference is known.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   No report for reproductive behavior or for aquatic cultivation is known. Perhaps it has the same manner as other members of the genus, but again the species is scarcely observed by divers.
   For more information see, Marine Fish Breeding

Buy Golden Angelfish From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:
   The Golden Angelfish are fairly rare and a bit costly, starting at about $130.00 USD. This is a spectacular fish. If you get a chance to acquire this angelfish observe it carefully. See whether or not the specimen is breathing slowly and is adequately fat (especially on head). Many reef-keepers wish to keep it in a mini reef setup, but it will often pick at the polyps of living corals