Paracentropyge multifasciata - Multi-Barred Angel

[Anonymous]

I agree, James. Nutrition isn't given enough credence far too often in this hobby (how many starving mandarin threads can we find?). But then again, that is what GScheimer was pointing out earlier on. I think that unless/until we truly know what the animal feeds upon and requires for its life processes, we cannot hope to take a stand one way or the other in instances such as this.

 

[EmilyB]

Tarasco, I'd try feeding some Cyclop-eeze flake as well. Very good stuff, and seems to be really popular with the fish.

http://www.cyclop-eeze.com/

 

[Tarasco]

EmilyB - Thanks for the suggestion. Actually, I'm already trying frozen cyclop-eze, and the little guy hasn't shown any interest in it at all. Some of the other fish like it, so there's at least that benefit.

And I definitely plan on posting what happens with this guy, even if it does turn for the worse.

 

[John_Brandt]

Paracentropyge venusta ....FishBase says it is Centropyge venustus, a name that I have known for 23 years.

Whatever it's called it's another species that is nearly impossible to keep alive for long.

I sometimes wonder if there are problems with the collecting or handling methods for these two species.

I'm quoting myself from earlier in this thread.

This fish is known to be found in deeper water, about 60 feet +. There may be problems with decompression.

It is also notorious for being extremely shy. It is likely to retreat into the reef structure and stay there as a collector approaches. Because of this, in regions where cyanide is used, it may be a commonly used method to catch this fish.

The ultimate question of whether this is a fish that nearly everyone should avoid must be based on evaluations of groups of fish that have been collected properly - no cyanide and proper decompression.

These comments don't take into account possible dietary limitations in captivity. But we must start with a knowledge that these fish are arriving in truly good condition in the first place.

They generally don't show the typical signs of poor decompression, but rather seem to waste away over time. This condition has been attributed to cyanide poisoning, but is also the condition of malnutrition without cyanide poisoning.

I feel that this fish, among others, needs to be evaluated under strict context and conditions so that the hobbyist community may better understand it's suitability for captivity.

 

[Tarasco]

Update at two months:

Things are going good. He is now aggressively eating bloodworms, so I'm happy about that. But he doesn't like anything else, besides brine shrimp. Still picking at the rocks, but no aggression issues. Definitely one of the more shy fish in the tank, but we still see him quite a bit. Here's a pic that I took last night:

He is sooo hard to photograph, so anything that looks semi decent is good for me.

I got to talk to Bob Fenner at an SCMAS meeting on Friday night about the fish, and he basically said that they don't last longer than three months. However, he thought that the fact that it was eating bloodworms will give it a better chance at surviving. I hope so.

 

[Anonymous]

It's hard to tell in that pic, has he kept weight on?

 

[Tarasco]

He hasn't lost any weight over the past month, looking essentially the same. He isn't as plump as I'd like, but I'm hoping that now that he's interested in the bloodworms, that'll fatten him up a little. Crossing my fingers.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, ME, TOO!

 

[Tarasco]

I guess it's time for another update...

Things are going great! I've completely fazed out brine shrimp from the fish's diet. He has been heartily eating bloodworms for a while now, and about 2 weeks ago has started eating the flake food that I've been feeding (Formula 2 and Prime Reef). He has plumped up a little, not looking skinny at all, but not what I would call fat. He constantly explores the whole tank, and is just as aggressive at feeding time as all the other fish. I recently added a wavemaker and some more powerheads to the tank, and he really seems to like the changes in current.

Unfortunately, he has wiped out all but two of my LPS. The count right now is two brains and a plate coral. The plate lasted a while, but couldn't withstand the angel.

Other than that, things are going great! It's been three months now, and I'm really confident that it is going to be a happy, long lived member of my tank.

 

[Tarasco]

Still doing fine. Finally managed to take a couple of pics. Not the best quality, but we already knew that I was crap as a photog:

Hope you guys like.

 

[Anonymous]

So this is about 8 months now, right?

 

[Anonymous]

Good for you!!! Is he still nipping at corals?

 

[Tarasco]

Yup, about 8 months now.

Not nipping at anything that I have in the tank now. Since it started wiping out my LPS, I haven't added any more. I'm getting another tank soon, and this guy will be in one dedicated to shrooms and other softies.

 

[GSchiemer]

Is it me or did certain replies in this thread disappear for no apparent reason?

It's good to see that the angel is still alive, but it's apparent in the middle picture that it's pinched in the dorsal musculature. This is a sign of advanced starvation. I hope I'm wrong and it's just a weird angle in the picture.

Greg

 

[Arch01]

This is a beautiful little angel, and I wish you luck with it. Hopefully advances in the hobby will allow us all to keep these difficult species someday. I don't think I'll be trying any too soon though
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[Anonymous]

Same here. I'm happy Tarasco's angel is still alive, but his case seems like a huge exception to the rule concerning this fish.

 

[Anonymous]

This is a beautiful little angel, and I wish you luck with it. Hopefully advances in the hobby will allow us all to keep these difficult species someday. I don't think I'll be trying any too soon though

While I'm glad this indivual fish seems to be doing fine, I think many species are destined to keep their "best left in the ocean" status. Some fish just don't adapt to being kept in a glass box with any degee of reliability, even though we know exactly what they eat. Powder blue tangs are a good example of this. Going from the ocean, to a small closed system is just too much for some species to deal with it seems, diet and collection practices aside. A few will adapt, but not enough to justify the futher collection and importation of the species.
Others just have dietary requirements that are likely to remain impossible for the aquarist to emulate. Parrotfish, many butterflies, beaked leatherjackets all fall into this category.
Anyway, glad to see your fish is alive still Tarasco. I agree with Greg regarding the middle pic. Kind of strange as in the other two he looks just fine. Post more pics if you can.

Jim

 

[Tarasco]

Here's a couple more, I tried to get it so that you could see his sides. I think what Greg was saying about this guy still being skinny definitely has merit, it hasn't fattened up as well as a flame angel that I had in the past.

Aargh, not working! I'll try again later.

 

[GSchiemer]

Try to get a picture "head on." The "pinching" will be most visible from this angle. Unforunately, this is typical of this fish. Even if you get them picking at food, they inevitably starve.

I hope your experience doesn't encourage others to buy this fish.

Greg

 

[Tarasco]

Greg, I debated with myself about whether or not to continue to update my threads for the reason that you mentioned. But I found that people who were researching this fish would find one of my threads, and usually contact me, or post something. Most of these people I've been able to convince to not purchase one of these guys. I do know of at least two aquarists who did purchase a multibar angel, only to have it perish within a month.

So it's a touchy situation, but I decided to at least inform people of what's going on. People who find these threads will (hopefully) see that these are difficult fish with very poor records and that there are a lot of people who think that they should not be collected for the aquarium trade. I don't want to give anyone the idea that this was an easy fish to get to eat, but there was so little info out there that at least this provoked more discussion about the fish's suitability in the home aquarium. And in actuality, I don't think that I would purchase another one of these guys if he were to perish.

Anyways, here are a couple more pics, taken last night, including a head on shot that I was lucky to take.