Multicolor angelfish

About

The pearlback angelfish (Centropyge multicolor) is one of the more elusive members of the pygmy angel group, found across a broad sweep of the central and western Pacific. From Palau and Micronesia out through the Marshall Islands, Fiji, the Cook and Society Islands, and occasionally as far as Hawaii and Tonga. In the wild it keeps to steep outer reef faces, typically picking through rubble patches wedged between dense coral formations at considerable depth, anywhere from around 65 to nearly 300 feet down. That depth preference goes a long way toward explaining why this fish appears so infrequently in the trade. Collecting from those zones is logistically demanding, and specimens don't turn up at your local fish store very often. When you do find one, you'll see a compact, laterally compressed fish with the bold contrast the name hints at. A largely white or pale body set against vivid orange and blue-black markings around the face and dorsal area. Like other Centropyge, it naturally forms small harems in the wild, so a single male with a few females can work in a sufficiently spacious system. It adjusts well to aquarium feeding and takes prepared foods without much fuss, which makes it somewhat forgiving once acclimated. Though sourcing a healthy specimen in the first place is the real challenge.