Colin's Angelfish

Centropyge colini

Also known as Colini Angelfish, Cocos-Keeling Angelfish

SaltwaterFish

Colin's Angelfish (Centropyge colini) — Poseidon822 · CC0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 3.5 in (9 cm)
Minimum tank: 55 gal (210 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Reef safe: Reef safe with caution
Origin: Eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific
Family: Pomacanthidae

Overview

A retiring cave dweller for a calm, mature 210 litre or larger tank with heavy rockwork, shaded retreats, and no bullies. It grazes constantly and can pick lightly at fleshy corals, so keep it well fed with several small daily meals of small pellets, mysis, and sponge-based angel foods.

In the wild

Patchily distributed from the Cocos-Keeling Islands and Indonesia east to Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Fiji. It lives on steep outer reef slopes from roughly 20 to 70 metres, sheltering in caves and crevices and often hanging upside down beneath ledges.

Good to know

Centropyge colini stays under about 9 cm, lemon yellow with a wash of royal blue along the back and dorsal fin. It was described in 1974 from specimens collected at nearly 70 metres off the Cocos-Keeling Islands, which explains how it stayed unknown for so long.

Did you know

Wild imports refused food so often that many keepers swore off the species entirely, and its reputation only began to recover once captive-bred juveniles raised on prepared foods reached the trade.