Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Not Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia, north to southern Japan.
Size: 7 inches (17 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow lagoons and coastal reef areas at depths of 10 to 70 feet (3 – 20 m) that are rich in coral growth and feeds on algae, sponges, tunicates and crustaceans.
General Husbandry: This beautiful, hardy and commonly distributed in the trade angelfish, which is often mistakenly thought to be a Butterflyfish, has blue lips, yellow face, with a black vertical ban running through the eye. Its two tone body begins with a somewhat ashen patch behind the head that fades into a larger black area, which is accented with a yellow speckled patterning throughout, and has a yellow tail. Its dorsal and anal fins are edged in bright blue. The odd patterning of the wavy or winding lines on the body has resulted in the species usually being referred to as the Vermiculated Angelfish.
When first introduced into the aquarium, preferably a well-established fish-only aquarium with lots of live rock and cave areas, it should be offered several daily feedings so as to quickly acclimate it to its surroundings. Like many others in this genus, their captive diet should consist of a wide variety of frozen foods including fortified brine shrimp, mysis, and especially those containing sponge matter/angelfish food preparations and be offered once or twice a day after its acclimated to its surroundings. Furthermore, this species is an excellent browser of filamentous algae, therefore flake foods, especially those containing Spirulina and/or Nori should also be offered.
Depending upon its tankmates, it can be quite shy when first entering the aquarium, and may hide in caves and crevices. But as time passes, will become more outgoing and begin to establish its territory. Nevertheless, those in this genus, as those in the genus Apolemichthys, are almost always very good tankmates and considered one of the least aggressive in the family.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Pomacanthidae
Genus: Chaetodontoplus
FYI: Keeping more than one genus of angelfishes in the same aquarium is possible, yet depends upon several aspects. The following suggested circumstances are just that, possibilities that when heeded and adjusted to actual aquarium conditions ‘may’ make multiple angelfish collections feasible.
Aquarium size – the larger the better.
Other species from the same genus should not be in the same aquarium.
The smallest and most docile genus species should be the first introduced with the largest and most malicious the last to be added.
Do not place similar coloration species in the same aquarium.
Those already in the aquarium should be well fed before adding a newcomer.
Have sufficient hiding places/rocky caves.
Keep in mind all angels have cheekspines at the edge of their gill cover; therefore use caution when handling and also avoid using a net to capture it, as it may become stuck or tangled in the net and become damaged when removed.
There is a very closely matching colored species coming from the same areas, however, its major difference is that it has a grey tail. In 2009 Randall & Rocha decided the gray tail variation had enough differences to warrant it being dubbed a different species all together and was labeled Chaetodontoplus poliourus.
Synonym - Chaetodon mesoleucus
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Diet: Omnivore
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium
Reef Safe: No - will nip clam mantles, large and small polyped stony (LPS/SPS) corals and some soft corals.
Minimum Tank Size: 125 gallons
Temperature Range: 73 - 82°F (23 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
