Labyrinth Angelfish

Chaetodontoplus chrysocephalus

Also known as Orangeface Angelfish, Blue Vermiculate Angelfish

SaltwaterFish

Labyrinth Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus chrysocephalus) — Izuzuki Diver · CC BY-SA 2.5

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 8.7 in (22 cm)
Minimum tank: 151 gal (570 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Very rare
Reef safe: Not reef safe
Origin: Western Pacific, Indonesia to the Philippines and southern Japan
Family: Pomacanthidae

Overview

This is a fish for experienced keepers with a mature fish-only tank of at least 570 litres held at 22 to 26 C. Offer sponge and tunicate based angelfish foods alongside mysis, brine shrimp and spirulina, and give it caves to retreat to while it settles. It nips clams and both stony and soft corals, so leave it out of reef displays.

In the wild

The labyrinth angelfish inhabits deep rocky reefs in the western Pacific, from Indonesia east to the Philippines and north to southern Japan, mostly between 15 and 25 meters. It is genuinely scarce in the wild and is hardly ever collected. Sponges and tunicates form the bulk of its diet.

Good to know

Chaetodontoplus chrysocephalus reaches about 22 cm and wears greenish blue scribbles over a dark body with an orange toned face. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes treats it as a valid species described by Bleeker in 1855, though some researchers suspect it arose as a natural hybrid between related Chaetodontoplus species. Hatchery crosses of the phantom and maze angelfish produce fish that look remarkably like it, which keeps that debate alive.

Did you know

True wild labyrinth angelfish are almost never exported, so most fish sold under the name today are hatchery bred lookalikes produced by crossing the phantom and maze angelfish.