This week, Bali Aquarich founder Wen-Ping Su shared these stunning images of a hold-back from the latest captive-bred hybrid Angelfish to be released from the aquaculture facility in Bali, Indonesia.
The hybrid is that of the Lemonpeel, Centropyge flavissima, and the Half-Black Angelfish, C. vroliki. This hybrid is not new, being commonly found in nature. In fact, it’s so common that you’ll even see it listed as a stock item on various wholesale and online retail websites.
Biota Aquariums is currently distributing some of these man-made versions within the US, applying the trade name of Smokey Lemonpeel Angelfish. Among the wild-caught imports, most often then have been simply called Hybrid Lemonpeels or Blacktail Lemonpeels. This hybrid is know to present some variation in coloration, particularly in wild specimens where the level of inbreeding and backcrossing to parental species is unclear; specimens can lean more towards either parental species and the most desirable individuals may be adorned with a smattering of blue posts.
But in this case, the intentional hybrid offspring with deep orange coloration in the dorsal and anal fin offers a starting point for the selective breeding progress. “That is the plan,” says Wen-Ping Su, when talking about this particularly nice specimen that has been held back to potentially play a role in the next generation of captive-bred hybrid dwarf angelfishes.
While you can’t purchase this specific angelfish, a limited number of Bali’s Smokey Lemonpeels are still available through Florida-based Biota Aquariums. Since they’re all still young, and the fish is variable, who’s to say your’s won’t grow up looking this nice, or even more spectacular?! Talk to your Biota dealer, or you can order direct from Biota’s retail website at a retail price of $550 at this time.
