False Personifer Angelfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep it in 680 litres or more with plenty of live rock, open water column and a temperature of 22 to 26 C. It is a moderate care fish for an angelfish this size and accepts sponge-based angel rations, mysis, spirulina and nori. Corals and clam mantles can be nipped, so a fish-only or rocky display suits it best.

In the wild

This angelfish is endemic to eastern Australia, from Cape York in Queensland south to Sydney and out to Lord Howe Island. Adults favour deeper outer reefs as well as sponge-rich bays and estuaries, while juveniles settle on protected inshore reefs and around jetties. It feeds mainly on sponges and tunicates.

Good to know

Chaetodontoplus meredithi reaches about 30 cm and was only separated from the personifer angelfish in 1990, when Rudie Kuiter described it. Adults lack the black tail band that marks true personifers, and males develop a speckled yellow face that females lack. The dark body scales have a raised, almost blistered look.

Did you know

Fishes of Australia lists jellyfish among its natural foods, an unusual menu item for a marine angelfish.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Maze Angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus cephalareticulatus

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  11 in (28 cm)251 gal (950 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Scribbled Angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus duboulayi

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  11 in (28 cm)180 gal (680 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)
• Personifer Angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus personifer

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  13.8 in (35 cm)180 gal (680 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Conspicuous Angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus

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• 

  Blueline Angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus septentrionalis

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  8.7 in (22 cm)185 gal (700 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Labyrinth Angelfish

  Chaetodontoplus chrysocephalus

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