Herald's Angelfish

Care at a glance

Overview

A steady grazer once established, needing constant algae growth in the tank plus small feedings of algae-based and meaty foods a few times a day. It can be slow to settle and is best added to a mature, well-cycled tank rather than a new one, after which it is one of the more dependable dwarf angels day to day. Reef keepers rate it caution: many leave corals alone, but it may nip large-polyp stony corals, soft coral polyps, or clam mantles.

In the wild

Ranges across a wide swath of the western and central Pacific, living on steep outer reef slopes and occasionally lagoon reefs over a broad depth range. It grazes algae off rock through the day and stays within easy reach of cover. In the tank it wants mature live rock with a strong algae film and enough structure to claim as its own.

Good to know

Centropyge heraldi grows to about 10 cm and is a protogynous hermaphrodite that lives in small harems, with the dominant female changing sex to male if needed. It is unusual for the genus in wearing an almost entirely plain, solid yellow body with no bars, spots, or eye markings, which is what makes it easy to confuse with a lemonpeel angelfish that has lost its blue eye-ring.

Did you know

Large-scale captive breeding has made Herald's angelfish one of the more affordable and consistently available Centropyge, in contrast to most of its wild-collected relatives.

Related species

• 

  Coral Beauty Angelfish

  Centropyge bispinosa

  3.9 in (10 cm)50 gal (190 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Flame Angelfish

  Centropyge loriculus

  3.9 in (10 cm)50 gal (190 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Half-Black Angelfish

  Centropyge vroliki

  3.9 in (10 cm)55 gal (210 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Rusty Angelfish

  Centropyge ferrugata

  3.9 in (10 cm)30 gal (115 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Joculator Angelfish

  Centropyge joculator

  3.5 in (9 cm)70 gal (265 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Multicolor Angelfish

  Centropyge multicolor

  3.5 in (9 cm)70 gal (265 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)