rare dwarf angel

iplaydafoozball

iplaydafoozball

Large Fish
#1
Sep 12, 2006
186
0
0
37
Algonquin, IL
#1
wow. so i was checking out the reef shop by my school after class today, and i saw this really cool angel. a multi-barred angel, at a price of $49. i just figured it was some angel i hadn't heard of. so i went home and researched a little to find out these things are pretty rare. hard to keep in a tank, and normal price is $100+++. so, i guess the people there don't know what they've got in their tank! they labeled it right at least. i'm pretty tempted about this one. everywhere i've read says that they are the last angel to nip at corals, and rarely do. they're extremely docile and actually need peaceful tankmates. anyone know anything else about the multi-barred angel, Paracentropyge multifasciata?
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
#2
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
39
Cape Cod
#2
If it's hard to keep in a tank, it is usually because it's hard to feed. So, I would ask to see it fed first, and ask what they're feeding (see if it'll eat what you feed if it only eats something else). If it's doing well and eating fine, I'd say go for it! Those are gorgeous angels.
 

iplaydafoozball

iplaydafoozball

Large Fish
#3
Sep 12, 2006
186
0
0
37
Algonquin, IL
#3
yea, i actually just called the shop to have them hold the fish for me. i'll go over there after work tomorrow and check the little guy out. i will make sure that it eats, there is no way i'm buying something like this and watching it die in my care.
 

T

TheFool

Large Fish
#5
Apr 19, 2006
323
2
0
#5
It's on my list of target fish. The normal warnings apply - I would guess 99% of these fish starve to death in under a month as they do not feed well. Mine will go into a 200litre with 2 or 3 other fish, and I do not expect it to eat flake, brine or anything else floating - it will subsist by picking live rock.

They are not normally expensive, they're on exporter lists at the sime price as most 'normal' Centropyge, and they are not rare in the wild, however they are hard to collect as they're normally from deeper water. However they don't often come thro the lines as they have such a bad rep for dying. They are not easy. That said some captive bred/raised ones were for sale, and I hear well acclimated ones are pretty hardy. But if you look round, there are only a handful of good specimens.
As well as feeding there are decompression issues. Ones from shallower water are better feeders, and don't suffer from decompression, but are far rarer in the US as only one or two sites have them. I would have to say if you don't have a tank setup for it, give it a miss - 49 dollars is a normal price in my opinion, though maybe they're rarer in the US

I guess you've seen this ...
Multibarred Pygmy Angel
And Fenner rates it a 2, though I'd have thought a 3 more honest (not good)
 

iplaydafoozball

iplaydafoozball

Large Fish
#6
Sep 12, 2006
186
0
0
37
Algonquin, IL
#6
what type of setup are u referring to? i've got 55 pounds of cured live rock with overhangs and caves. i assume that's good enough? i've just heard that these are highly sought after and not many are in the trade. and i based the average price off of marinecenter.com and a few other sites. the angel looked fairly healthy. it was swimming around happily at the store. i'll be up there tomorrow night to check it out more and hopefully bring it home.
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#9
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#9
can i just ask if your new to sw and your tank has barley been setup for 6 weeks :eek: why on earth would you want something rare and hard to keep as one of your starter fish???
 

C

CoolWaters

Superstar Fish
#10
Dec 10, 2006
1,028
1
0
Milpitas
#10
iplaydafoozball said:
aw so maybe it wasnt much of a steal lol. the one at the store is about 2.5 inches, maybe 3. this is still the first time i've seen one at a store. i'm heading up there after work. i'll let you guys know how it goes.
Click to expand...

the shipping is like $20-40 so thats pretty much a steal XD
 

T

TheFool

Large Fish
#11
Apr 19, 2006
323
2
0
#11
They're always on the lists out of singapore. A newly setup tank is likely not the best enviroment to get one of these going. I would be surprised if it touched floating food for the first two months, and unless you had ultra primo rock, I doubt 55 pounds is going to sustain it. A genuinely tricky fish.

My setup will be a new tank, 60 gallons, lots live rock, lots sand, and a lot of caves. Probably not too many fish, and lit by a single MH so you can grow corals on the top, get shadows at the bottom.

The bigger this fish is, the harder it is too transition to captive foods. I will try to get one in the 1 inch, 1 1/2 range, and probably get a couple at the same time to try to pair them. Other occupants - fathead anthia, some flasher wrasse, that's it.

I have my share of experience with tricky angels, lets say I expect this to be harder than my navarchus.
 

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