Tiger Angelfish, Apolemichthys kingi

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

This is one of the Apolemichthys members, Tiger Angelfish or King's Angelfish, A. kingi, adult, 17 cm at a shop in Osaka. This is the only one imported to Japan and is doing well peacefully in a display tank there.

It was recently described with specimens from South Africa. It is VERY rare at shops but not so rare in natural habitat, I hear. It commands a very high price that one can afford a new small car !

 

[Anonymous]

It's a stunner, that's for sure!

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Did yah have to show me that, I've always drooled over that one :?

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

I do not have to show all the photos or fish species I ever saw, but I dare to show such rarities to all those who are interested in.

It is impossible to get the Tiger Angel, but one of my US friends obtained and kept juveniles of this species (he told me so whe we met in Tokyo some three years ago and I received a photo of a juvenile swimming in his home !!!; I am so sorry that I cannot show it here) You may find its juvenile in ANGELFISHES, A Comprehensive Guide to Pomacanthidae (H. Debelius, et al., 2003).

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a poor photo of a photo. A juvenile A. kingi from the book Angelfishes by Debelius et al. They also have a photo of an A. kingi X A.trimaculatus, which looks nearly identical to A. kingi except with more yellow in the ventral region.

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Thanks, Matt. Yes, two photos of this juvenile was shown in my first book ANGELFISHES...

 

[Anonymous]

<continues to drool>

no, no, lease show us all your isnanely cool fish

 

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah, I neglected to mention that Hiroyuki Tanaka is one of the 'et al'.

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Thank you, friends. Yes, I hope to show more soon. They will not always be rare or unusual, but probably beautiful or interesting.

 

[Vili_Shark]

Hmmm....I never understood why this fish was saught after.
It is not very beautiful , like let's say Clarion Angel, still, it commands a much higher price.
With the prices I hear these specimens are going, it'll be cheaper to fly to South Africa stay in a 5 stars hotel for a couple of nights, get a dive guide catch a couple of fish, which I also heard are common there, and take them out.

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Hahaha. Somebody wants for the reason that it is extremely rare but most aquarists do not attempt to get with much money. Actually no one tried to buy this fish at the shop and it survived there over four years. The owner of the shop payed much for foods to keep it, but his shop became so well-known.

I too hope to fly to South Africa and stay over seven days, and ask divers to catch it and bring several specimens (of juveniles of this species) to home, if I had much money and time. Not only this fish but also Paracheilinus hemitaeniatus, a rarely seen flasher wrasse restricted to Madagascar and South African coast. I really want the flasher, although not very beautiful but quite attractive to me.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd take it over a Clarion To be fair though, I've had Clarions, but never the tiger :lol:

 

[Vili_Shark]

C'mon my friend! since ya had a Clarion ya know that there is NO creature with gills that can compare to it.
personality + look = the mother of all aquarium fish.

 

[Anonymous]

Bah, Clarions aren't all that cool IMO, but hey, I wholesaled Baja fish for nearly a decade I'd rather have a Clarion x Passer hybrid like we had several times (Steve Robinson caught them).

 

[Vili_Shark]

I heard about these good old days.

Early last year there was a Clarion x Passer specimen that made it to Hong Kong and sold after few minutes, after a couple of weeks it was on a cover of the largest Hong Kong reefkeeper magazine.

If the talks of people getting permits soon is true I will get few Clarions this time and make a special tank for them, at any given time I will skip a kingii for a clarion.

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Getting Clarion permits soon. Sorry, but that's the biggest laugh I've had in YEARS. To understand the permit systemin Mexico currently, is to understand the joke you just told

Vincenta Fox basicly has to jump in the mix to get that permit happenning.

 

[Vili_Shark]

Thats why I wrote "IF".
Anyway,I did my homework,I dont really care how the Clarion will come my way legalor not,since it is not an endangered species, and the ban of fishing Clarions is just a crazy goverement's worker idea,since they are in the 4 islands by the thousands if not more, so I dont really care.
The ban is not for Clarions, the ban is for fishing , still there are sports fishing boats all over the Revillagigedos( far enough from the navy).

Anyway, I should get myself a couple when these guys will be avileable next time,I wont do this effort for getting those kingis though.

 

[clarionreef]

Vilis right,
They were banned in the same way...and for the same reasons that live rock was banned in Mexico....because there were many quieries about it.
Cultured rock was also banned...because there were too many quieries about it.
If too much interest is shown then it is asumed to be a goldmine and best kept for the self. In this case a fisheries biologist in the federal bureaucracy wants everything on hold until that biologist can make use of it somehow.
Banning the culture of live, artificial rock was the better proof of this corrupt myopia then anything else.
Of course

 

[The_Big_Fish]

Thats a NICE fish!

 

[marinebetta]

Vili, my friend.....I think you are the only guy I know that doen't like a kingii :lol: