We all love Angels around here, from the littlest Argi, to the biggest Emperor, there's a lot to love about all of them in the right display. The single catch to this gorgeous group of fish, is that the vast majority of them aren't trustable in our reef tanks. Even some of the Centropyge that are model citizens just might one day decide that the Strawberry Shortcake Acro you've been growing for 10 years looks as tasty as it sounds and munch on it. However, there is one genus of Angelfish that isn't a risk this way, and it is Genicanthus. These planktivores (animal that eats plankton or other suspended foods), aren't natural grazers and as such, are very unlikely to ever look at your corals, sponges and other sessile (stuck in one place) invertebrates as food. One of our favorites of this genus is Genicanthus lamarck, which is a gorgeous Angelfish, whose silvery-blue body is lined with three to six black stripes and topped with a black fin. While both sexes will develop deeply spotted, swallow shaped tail fins, those found on the male will be more enhanced; males can also develop a yellow spot on their forehead and blue spots near their pectoral fins. These are stunning fish at any time, but right now, (March 2024) we also have some that have unique, aberrant barring, and you'll want to ask your LFS about them as soon as possible!
One of the really great things about fish that are planktivores is that their entire mechanism for feeding is just eating whatever the current brings them. This means that they are well adjusted to a wide range of foods, and thus they adapt well to the foods that are easily available to the home hobbyist. Here we feed them a meaty mix of foods from Gamma, including mysis, brine, and a variety of chopped product like mussels, shrimp and fish. They also learn how to take pellets quickly when introduced at the same time as the meaty food. To this end, we add Nutramar Complete Pellets to their diet. They should be fed at least twice a day to help offset their high activity level. Click here to learn more
One of the really great things about fish that are planktivores is that their entire mechanism for feeding is just eating whatever the current brings them. This means that they are well adjusted to a wide range of foods, and thus they adapt well to the foods that are easily available to the home hobbyist. Here we feed them a meaty mix of foods from Gamma, including mysis, brine, and a variety of chopped product like mussels, shrimp and fish. They also learn how to take pellets quickly when introduced at the same time as the meaty food. To this end, we add Nutramar Complete Pellets to their diet. They should be fed at least twice a day to help offset their high activity level. Click here to learn more
