The most endearing member of the genus Centropyge (Dwarf angelfish family). Centropyge argi is everything regular sized dwarf angelfish are, except in a really small package. They are sold in sizes ranging from an inch to 3 inches. At 3 inches, centropyge argi is fully grown and will remain at that size.

They are commonly known as Cherub Angelfish, Atlantic pygmy angelfish and simply, the pygmy angelfish. They possess a yellow face and a deep royal blue throughout their bodies with electric blue linings on their dorsal and anal fins.

They hail from the Caribbean ocean, from South America, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. They’re pretty cheap fish as far as angelfish go, priced at $20 to $30 USD, these little angels are a very affordable dwarf angelfish for marine aquariums big or small. They are regularly available and their price reflects that fact.

Despite their size they are a feisty little ball of aggression and can usually defend themselves against larger more aggressive fishes, but they must have space to retreat and hide. Do not add two cherub angelfish into a small tank, one of them will most likely sustain serious injuries. I’ve heard of cherub angelfish harassing a smaller one in a 30 gallon tank until they die. If you want a pair of them, you have two options. Buy a mated pair or introduce both of them together (Only in a large tank) and hope they form a pair eventually.

Due to their small size the cherub angelfish can actually be housed in aquariums as small as 20 gallons. This make centropyge argi uniquely qualified for those that want an angelfish, but lack an aquarium large enough for one. Of course it is recommended that you get the biggest tank you can for your fish. But smaller specimens under 1.5 inches should do fine in a 20 gallon.

Centropyge argi are grazers in their natural habitat. Like surgeonfish, they scan the rock throughout the day for food. They feed on detritus, tiny crustaceans and a wide variety of algae.

A balanced diet should be given in a saltwater aquarium. A wide range of foods should be given, variety is important. Feeding them a single type of food for too long is generally a bad idea. Although there have been hobbyists that have fed them new life spectrum for long periods of time with no ill effects. It seemed like they were doing great in fact. They should be fed a frozen food that has both meat and algae (Formula One, Formula Two), algae and nori sheets as well as a pellet from a reputable brand like New Life Spectrum.

The Pygmy Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is just about the perfect food for dwarf angels. Ingredients such as kelp, krill, squid,squid, vitamins and minerals and much more are used in this frozen food. Prior to freezing, the cubes are mixed with these ingredients. Pygmy Angel Formula is only available in frozen form i believe.

The Multicolor angelfish (Centropyge Multicolor) is a deep water angel that live at depths from 50 to 200+ feet in the wild. So named because of the myriad of colors this fish has. Its body is white while its chest has a patch mixed with yellow, orange and red. Its tail is yellow while its anal and dorsal fins are blue. The multicolor angel’s most striking feature is its crown, a small patch of neon blue and purple lines that is also found on very rare Centropyge Nahackyi.

Like the Flame Angelfish, they are commonly thought to come from Hawaiian waters but are actually collected from Fiji, Marshall Islands and the Cook Islands.

Centropyge Multicolor tend to be pricey due to the fact that they’re collected at deeper depths. Expect to pay upwards of $120 for one. Some deep water dwarf angelfish tend to fare poorly in captivity, not so for the multicolor angelfish. It is a very hardy fish once fully acclimated.

Look out for swim bladder problems as they may have been damaged during collection. If they are brought up too fast their swim bladder will start to expand, collectors solve the problem by poking it with a needle. Done incorrectly, severe damage may to the swim bladder may be sustained. A sure sign of swim bladder damage include :-

* Inability to maintain a leveled buoyancy * Tilting left, right, up or down inexplicably

Once a multicolor angel settles into your marine aquarium and starts staking out its territory it will become a bully. The multicolor angel along with the Brazilian flameback angel are two of the most aggressive marine angels i have ever kept.

Expect some hostility towards smaller tank mates. Nothing extreme, just a quick reminder of who’s boss around the tank. You must give the rest of your fishes enough space.

Putting two multicolor angelfish together is not recommended. If you must have a pair, either buy a mated or buy a large one along with a small one and introduce them to the aquarium at the same time. Never attempt this in small tanks, larger tanks (75 gallon and above) are required this.

Multicolors are medium sized dwarf angelfish (Like the Coral Beauty Angel, flame angels). They are usually sold at sizes ranging from 2.5 to 4 inches. They should be housed in a saltwater aquarium no less than 50 gallons, a 75 gallon or larger tank is ideal.

There is not a lot of light at the depth its collected at so provide plenty of live rock for it to seek refuge. It must be given time to acclimate to captive lighting intensities. Once acclimated however, they are fearless.

In the wild, dwarf angelfish are all grazers. Like surgeonfish, they scan the rock throughout the day for food. They consume algae, tiny crustaceans and sometimes even detritus.

A balanced diet should be given in a saltwater aquarium. A wide range of foods should be given, variety is important. Feeding them a specific food for too long can be detrimental to their health. Although i’ve heard of hobbyists feeding them new life spectrum pellets for prolonged periods of time with no ill effects. They were all very healthy in fact.

A good pellet like those by New life Spectrum should be offered along with algae/nori sheets plus a balanced frozen food (Formula One, Formula Two).

The Pygmy Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is just about the perfect food for dwarf angels. It closely resembles their natural diet in the wild with a whole slew of ingredients that include krill, algae, kelp, shrimp, squid, vitamins and trace minerals plus many others. The ingredients mentioned are all added prior to freezing. Unfortunately Pygmy Angel Formula does not come in flake form.

The Coral Beauty (Centropyge Bispinosus) is a commonly available marine angelfish that sits firmly within the lower price range bracket unlike many of its cousins. They can be had for as little as $15 on the market. It is very popular angel (not as popular as the Flame Angel though), the combination of flame like coloration on a deep blue body plus the price is bound to make this angel a popular fish among hobbyists.

Common names include the Two-Spined Angelfish and the Dusky Angelfish. Distributed throughout the Indo-pacific, this is a heavily collected dwarf angel.

Some of them have been known to have been caught with the use of cyanide, particularly those from the Philippines. Coral beauty angelfish from the Philippines tend to have high mortality rates, no surprises there. Goosed colors (Brighter than usual colors) are common in cyanide collected fishes. They may do fine for a month and then suddenly perish inexplicably.

The coral beauty angel can reach up to 4 inches in the wild so in the interest of allowing it room to breathe i’d suggest at least a 50 gallon. The recommended size for them is 75 gallons or larger.

They are not as aggressive as its other cousins and generally ignores species from outside its genus. Avoid putting two coral beauty angelfish a small tank as they are aggressive towards members of the same genus. If you want two coral beauty angels then ensure you have a large tank or if you’re lucky you can actually buy one. Not likely though. Fights between marine angelfish are pretty rough so expect torn fins.

Angelfish from the genus centropyge are all grazers in the wild. Like surgeonfish, they scan the rock throughout the day for food. They feed on detritus, tiny crustaceans and a wide variety of algae.

A balanced diet should be given in a saltwater aquarium. They should be fed a wide range of foods for variety. They should never be fed a single type of food for too long. Although i’ve heard of hobbyists feeding them new life spectrum pellets for prolonged periods of time with no ill effects. They all looked very healthy in fact.

They should be fed a frozen food that has both meat and algae (Formula One, Formula Two), algae and nori sheets as well as a pellet from a reputable brand like New Life Spectrum.

The Pygmy Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is just about the perfect food for dwarf angels. It closely resembles their natural diet in the wild with a whole slew of ingredients that include krill, algae, kelp, shrimp, squid, vitamins and trace minerals plus many others. The cubes are frozen after these ingredients have been mixed into it. Unfortunately Pygmy Angel Formula is only available in frozen form.

The Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus Splendidus) is one of the most stunning fishes ever to reach the hobby. Blue, green and orange lines and patches are intricately painted onto this spectacular fish. Despite not being a true goby, the name “mandarin goby” seems to have stuck with this fish. A more accurate name for it is the mandarin dragonet.

The mandarin dragonet is heavily collected from the Indo-Pacific. Unfortunately they do poorly in captivity despite their popularity. I will address this problem later in the article.

The mandarin dragonet is one of the most unaggressive fishes available in the trade. They are aggressive only towards other members of the genus such as the scooter dragonets. If you’re interested in a pair of mandarin dragonets, buy a female and a male (elongated first dorsal spine) and introduce them together in the tank.

Fully grown mandarins come in a about 4 inches in length. 30 gallons should be the minimum size for this species, only if you can get them to eat. Getting them to eat prepared foods is a real challenge. Copepods in the wild are all they eat. Therefore, they need a tank full of live copepods, something like a 75 gallon established aquarium. You’ll never have to feed them in an established tank that large. The copepod populations in the tank will sustain them.

With some time and a lot of effort, mandarin fish can be trained to accept prepared foods, even pellets.You’ll need live adult artemia to accomplish this task. Getting them to eat live brine is easy enough, they’re receptive to live artemia. Next, introduce some frozen artemia with the live ones during your next feeding. Once they start taking frozen artemia the task is half done. Since brine shrimp is nutritionally poor, we need to get to feed on something like mysis shrimp or krill.

As before, slowly introduce some mysis in with the frozen artemia. If you can get them on a frozen mysis shrimp diet, you’ve completed the task. Expand to other foods like a good pellet and krill.

But wait, thats just one problem out of the way. They are extremely slow eaters. Their tank mates will finish everything before it gets a chance to grab a single mysis. This problem can be solved in three simple ways. You could blast food into the tank to ensure the mandarin gets some. Or, you can use a pipette to spot feed your mandarin dragonet. Lastly, you can find a plastic soft drink bottle that has a hole only the mandarin can fit through and put some foods there.

All three options can work, but its up to you to choose one.

The royal gramma (Gramma Loreto) along with 4 others, the flame angel (Centropyge oriculus), yellow tang (Zebrasome Flavescens), blue tang (Paracanthurus Hepatus) and the percula clownfish (both ocellaris and percula) are the most recognizable fishes in the hobby. It is commonly called the fairy basslet as well.

The royal gramma is a beauty. It is blueish-purple from the front as it fades into a bright orange/yellow towards the back half. It has a thin dark stripe that runs from its snout through its eyes.Also present is a black spot on its dorsal fin.

Royal gramma’s are found around the Caribbean Sea where they are quite common. They go for as little as $15 USD, are disease resistant and hardy. A winning combination. Always available, cheap, beautiful and easily kept in a home aquarium. They are commonly mistaken for the bicolor dottyback (Pseudochromis Bicolor) as they both have very similar colors. Telling them apart is easy. The bicolor dottyback does not have a black streak running from its snout through its eyes.

The royal gramma is a good candidate for a wide variety of aquariums. They are a relatively peaceful fish, provided they have a small territory of their own. I have personally kept the royal gramma with clownfish, dwarf angels, large angels, gobies, damsels and dottybacks and have found that it does well with all of them. Again, only if they have their own territory. There can be trouble if any fish continually attempts to enter its shelter.

Royal grammas can reach lengths of nearly 4 inches in the wild. In captivity however, they usually reach a maximum of 3 inches. Royal grammas have been successfully kept in aquariums as small as 10 gallons. Minimum tank size should be at least 20 gallons since they will eventually attain a length of 3 inches.

Royal grammas are carnivores that eat copepods and plankton in the wild. Your corals are safe with them as they are reef safe. Offer them a variety of meaty foods. Frozen foods such as Krill, Mysis shrimp and Prime Reef (A good blend of raw seafood) are all great choices. They normally begin eating very quickly after introduction.

Efforts to breed the royal gramma have been successful. They are a nest building fish, utilizing macroalgae as for their spawning site (usually a cave). The male tries to lure the female into its newly built spawning site by quivering and flaring its fins. Assuming the female is receptive, they will begin mating in the males cave. Their larvae accept rotifers and eventually baby brine shrimp without hesitation.

Holacanthus Ciliaris, the queen angelfish, is among the three most recognizable angelfish in the marine aquarium hobby. The other two being the French Angelfish (Pomacanthus Paru) and the emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus Imperator). It reigns as the most popular species within its genus, much like the flame angelfish (Centropyge Loriculus). They are part of the Pomacanthidae (Marine Angelfish) family and are one of the largest angelfish among its cousins.

The queen angelfish can be found throughout the Caribbean Sea, Brazil all the way up to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. It is very closely related to Holacanthus Bermudensis (Blue Angelfish) and they look completely alike to the untrained eye. These two angelfish have been known to interbreed in the wild. Their offspring have been called Holacanthus Townsendi. It should be noted that Holacanthus Townsendi is not a valid species within the genus Holacanthus. Thankfully, telling the two apart is an easy enough task, queen angels have a blue crown on their heads, that crown is missing on blue angels.

Like all large angelfish, the juvenile form of the queen angelfish is colored very differently from adults. Juveniles possess bright blue vertical bars from its face to its main body. These bars will slowly disappear as they grow. Adults are a beautiful iridescent blue and yellow throughout their bodies.

Juvenile angelfish also take on a peculiar role in the wild. Like the cleaner wrasse, they act as “cleaners”. As cleaners, they service larger fishes that need some form of parasite removal.

Queen angelfish are pricey no doubt, small ones cost between $80 to $90 while adults can fetch $200 and beyond for show quality specimens.

Almost all larger angelfish have the potential to become massive bullies in a marine aquarium and the Queen angelfish is no exception. It is hostile towards other large angelfish but it generally ignores other species of fish. It often exhibits extreme hostility towards other queen angelfish. Or towards the blue angelfish for that matter. Keep only one queen angelfish per aquarium.

Queen angels are huge, they can reach up to 18 inches in the wild. One and a half feet!. However, they rarely achieve such lengths with a maximum size of 12 to 13 inches in captivity.

An aquarium no smaller than 150 gallons should be used to house a queen angelfish. As with all larger marine fish, a bigger tank is a better tank. They require large amounts of space to swim so ensure that your rock scape allows for this. Resist the the temptation to get those cute 2 inch juveniles for your 50 gallon aquarium. They will quickly outgrow such small tanks in no time at all, leaving you with the headache of either selling or finding larger quarters for it.

The queen angelfish is not reef safe, it can eat corals or at least nip on them until they eventually perish. Although some hobbyists have kept them in reef aquariums with minimal damage to their corals, queen angelfish are better suited to large, fish-only aquariums.

In the wild, their diets are made up of plankton, algae, corals, tunicates and marine sponges. Housing them in a reef aquarium where they are surrounded by corals is not a good idea. Your corals may end up as expensive meals for them. Offer them a good variety of foods from sheets of nori/seaweed to meaty foods like krill or mysis shrimp. A pretty good to offer is Formula Two, containing a blend of seafood and an extra amount of algae. It is available in three forms, flake, pellet or frozen cube.

Ocean Nutrition produces By far the best foods for any large angel, Angel Formula. Specifically designed for large angelfish, they contain a good mix of fresh seafood, algae, vitamins and most importantly, marine sponges. Angel Formula is only available in frozen cube form.

Should you opt to buy some seaweed from your local mart, always remember to buy the plain unflavoured/unspiced version. Raw nori is a good choice if available. Get a clip for your nori and stick it on the side of the aquarium glass.

The Powder Blue Tang (Acanthurus Leucosternon) is another popular surgeonfish that we see from time to time. It has a dark blue face, a yellow dorsal fin and a light blue body. Their natural range occurs around the Maldives through to Sri Lanka.

$50 to $60 bucks will buy you a juvenile, which make it more expensive than adult Blue Tangs (Paracanthurus Hepatus) or even adult Yellow Tangs (Zebrasoma Flavescens).

Members of the same genus usually get some aggression while fishes outside the surgeonfish family are let alone. In the wild, Powder Blue Tangs are either found alone or with a shoal. If more than one is desired then introduce them at the same time to limit aggression.

Attaining 8 inches in length, they are considered a moderately large surgeonfish. Nothing smaller than a 100 gallons should be used to house the powder blue tang.

Powder Blue Tangs are reef safe.

Despite the fact that they’re primarily herbivores in the wild, they are open to just about anything offered once acclimated. Krill, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, pellets, they take them all.

Algae sheets like nori are a great algae to feed all herbivorous fish.Prices vary greatly depending on the brand. Julian Sprungs Sea Veggies may be a little too pricey for some. They produce good algae sheets though. They’re also available as flakes, which is very convenient since there’s very little work involved during feeding.

Most nori sheets are produced for human consumption, primariy as sushi wrappers. Some are cheap while the really high quality sheets can be very expensive.

You’ll need to secure the nori to a clip. You could DIY a clip yourself and spend a couple of bucks on a commercial type. The sheets are sometimes rolled up and cut beforehand, most however, feed it as is. Secure the nori to your algae clip and attach it to the side of the aquarium.

Another good food to feed herbivores are Formula Two by Ocean Nutrition. It has an extra amount of algae in it along with a good mix of seafood, trace minerals, vitamins and more. It is available as a flake food, pellet or frozen cube.

While Formula Two is a good flake, it surpassed by Sea Veggie mixed flakes by Two Little Fishies. A great all-rounder with a good balance of ingredients, New Life Spectrum comes highly recommended as well.

After the Ocellaris Clown fish (amphiprion ocellaris) and the Percula Clownfish (amphiprion percula), the Maroon Clownfish (Premnas Biaculeatus) sees heavy trading in the industry. They are hail from South East Asia (Malaysia) and can be found in Australia as well. They are considered by many to be the most beautiful member of the clownfish family.

They look like an ocellaris or a percula, except for the fact that their bodies are all a maroon-red. However, their white stripes are thinner than Percula’s. There is a variant that has yellow stripes instead of white.

They are also known as the spine-cheek anemonefish, due to a spine that is found on their cheeks. They are called anemonefish because they share a symbiosis with anemones. They have figured out how to escape the anemones powerful sting, they create a mucus that hides their presence from the anemone. Anemones are not required despite clownfishes needing one in the wild.

Despite heavy collection, their prices are usually higher than that of ocellaris or percula clownfish. Expect to pay up to $40 for larger specimens while juveniles retail for between $20 to $25. Tank raised specimens cost a few dollars more than their wild caught counterparts. Never go with wild caught specimens as tank-bred ones are generally hardier and better suited to the aquarium.

Maroon clownfish are the most aggressive species within the clownfish family. It will not tolerate the presence of other members of the Pomacanthidae family, which are damselfish and clownfish. It will aggressively defend its territory, even from us humans sometimes.

And it doesn’t end with their aggression, they are the largest species within the clownfish family. Known to reach lengths of up to 6 inches.

Feeding them prepared foods is an east task because they will eat just about anything. While they are omnivores in the wild, they consume both meaty and algae based food in the aquarium. They should be fed a wide variety of foods. Prime reef, Formula One and Formula two are some good dry foods to offer. Formula two is a seafood mix with an added amount of algae thrown into it while Prime reef is mostly made up of seafood.

The best pellet food on the market are those made by New Life Spectrum. Feed them some frozen mysis shrimp and krill occasionally.

The Sohal Tang (Acanthurus Sohal) is one of the more beautiful tangs in the family. Black lines streak across its white/cream body while its caudal and pectoral fins are yellow.

It goes by a few names which include the majestic tang, zebra tang and the Arabian tang.

Sohal Tangs are collected from the Red Sea and Sri Lanka. Highly prized among hobbyists, it is not a cheap fish. Smaller sohals go for between $110 to $150 while adults fetch more than $200. Show quality specimens can fetch more than $300 on the market.

As with most tangs, they are prone to lateral line erosion and marine parasites so pick with care.

The Sohal Tang is reputed to be one of the more aggressive surgeonfish in the family. This tang fears nothing and no one. Not even scuba divers are exempt from their aggressive behavior.

Assuming everyone knows their place, sohal tangs can get along with other species of fish. However, it is aggressive towards its cousins, the surgeonfish. It is especially hostile towards members of its own genus, acanthurus (Powder Blue Tang, Achilles Tang). Lastly, unless you want a severely injured (or dead) fish, do not put two sohals in a small aquarium.

Sohal tangs are commonly seen living alone in the wild, unlike most of their cousins. Perhaps this has something to do with their aggressive disposition.

They are very hardy but like most tangs they are prone to parasite attacks (ich) and lateral line erosion.

Topping out at 18 inches, the sohal tang isn’t just bad to the bone, its huge. Thankfully, it only reaches lengths of up to 10 to 11 inches in captivity. The minimum size tank for this beast is 100 gallons. Larger tanks are recommended as they require ample swimming room.

They are reef safe, making them great choices for large reef aquariums. In the wild they graze on algae throughout the day so their foods in captivity should reflect this.

While they’re herbivores in the wild, they will consume a wide variety of foods in captivity. Krill, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, pellets, they take them all.

We should ensure that a large part of their diet is algae based, since they eat so much of it in the wild.

Nori is a good form of algae to feed tangs.Depending on the brand, prices vary greatly. Some people may find Julian Sprungs Sea Veggies to cost a little too much. They produce good algae sheets though. They’re also available as flakes, which is very convenient since there’s very little work involved during feeding.

Most nori sheets are produced for human consumption, primariy as sushi wrappers. Prices vary here as well, some are cheap, some are expensive depending on quality.

A clip is normally used to secure the nori for feeding. You can buy a commercial type of fashion one up yourself. The sheets are sometimes rolled up and cut beforehand, most however, feed it as is. Once the nori is secured, stick the clip to the side of the tank, sit back, and enjoy the show.

Formula Two is a good quality algae based mix for herbivores. It has an extra amount of algae in it along with a good mix of seafood, trace minerals, vitamins and more. It comes in 3 forms, frozen cube, flake or pellet.

While Formula Two is a good flake, it surpassed by Sea Veggie mixed flakes by Two Little Fishies. A great all-rounder with a good balance of ingredients, New Life Spectrum comes highly recommended as well.

Do not feed your tangs lettuce of any kind (romaine or iceberg). I see this happening mainly in pet stores, probably trying to save a buck or two. Nutritionally, lettuce offers very little and should not have a place in this hobby.

Liopropoma Swalesi is a small deep water basslet commonly found around the waters of Indonesia. It looks like other members of the genus Liopropoma, sleek, streamlined, with a body shape that resembles an arrowhead. It rarely tops 4 inches while most specimens come at 2 to 3 inches in size. They don’t enjoy popularity among hobbyists like the royal gramma (Gramma Loreto) does.

Its light purple body is streaked by horizontal orange stripes from its grey mouth to its tail. There is a single black spot on both its dorsal and anal fins.

It is commonly known as the shyest member of the Liopropoma genus. Common names include the Pacific Candy Basslet, Swalesi Basslet, Swale’s Swissguard Basslet and my favorite, the poor mans Candy Basslet. That last description is in reference to Liopropoma Carmabi, the candy basslet.

Telling the two apart is very easy. Liopropoma Carmabi lacks a black spot on the anal fin, costs ten times as much as Liopropoma Swalesi and has colors that are very striking. So striking that they’re usually at the top of the list for basslet enthusiasts.

They are an expensive fish as far as ornamental marine fish go, expect to pay between $80 to $120 USD for one. Finding one may prove to be tough as they’re not all that common. Unfortunately Liopropoma Swalesi is considered one of the harder basslets to keep due to its shy disposition.

In a nutshell, rearing of the swalesi basslet is either going to be nearly impossible or very easy. Success depends on a number of factors that i will touch upon throughout this article.

The Swalesi Basset is a very shy, very reclusive fish. It does well with non-aggressive fishes. Smaller tank mates such as the neon goby and the sexy shrimp will likely be consumed.

In the overview i mentioned how this fish would either be very easy or very difficult to keep in a saltwater aquarium. Their difficulty is greatly dependent on 3 things :-

* The size of your aquarium * Tank mates * Available caves

A 15 to 30 gallon tank is better suited to these shy fish. This is because in smaller aquariums they have fewer tank mates (well at least they should) and you have more control over the tank. Changes to the rock scape as well as removal of tank mates can be done with ease. Not so in a large 150 gallon tank. In tanks that size, removal is nearly impossible without a total tear down. You will probably never see it either.

“Quiet” tanks are a important if you want them to do well. By quiet i mean an aquarium with very little daily activity. Putting them in a small tank that is packed with fishes zipping around constantly will spell doom for them. They should be in smaller aquariums that were designed just for them or tanks with very few tank mates. The genus Liopropoma are made of deep water cave basslets. As such, the rock scape in your saltwater aquarium MUST contain at least a few caves for them to take refuge in. These fishes do not do well in tanks with “open” scapes and will surely die in such settings.Avoid housing them with aggressive fish, if there is any bullying they might refuse to come out of their hiding spots to feed. Which happens all too often i might add. They just find a dark spot, refuse to come out to feed and slowly wither away.

Since they come from deeper water, they aren’t used to lighting levels as intense as is normally seen in aquariums. Don’t worry if you don’t see them too often after introduction. Give them time to slowly adjust.

All cave basslets are carnivores. They actively scan the rock work in and around their shelter for small crustaceans. Dry foods are not accepted. I’ve tried many types of pellets from a variety of brands, they spit them all out. I;ve also tried dried krill, dried shrimp, basically dried anything won’t work. Only frozen foods should be offered.

They should be given a wide range of meaty foods in captivity. Offer frozen foods like Krill, Mysis shrimp and Prime Reef (A good blend of raw seafood). Don’t be worried if they don’t feed right away, they require up to a week to adapt to their new environment. When feeding initially, turn off the pumps and put frozen mysis shrimp in their cave. Wait 10 minutes, then turn the pumps back and look for any floating pieces of mysis, there should be none. They seem to accept mysis shrimp with ease, maybe because mysis has a very familiar shape.

Despite its beauty, this fish isn’t for everybody. This fish isn’t for you if you want a fish that you can see swimming out in the open everyday.