African
Flamebacks or Centropyge
acanthops are members of the
family Pomacanthidae.
They are
natives of the western Indo-Pacific. Significant populations can be
found
around the shores of the Archipelago
Island
chain as well as along the entire East Coast of Africa. These shallow
to
mid-water reef inhabitants occupy depths from 20 to 130 feet.
This is a small
fish, even
for dwarf angles. It only grows to a
maximum
adult length of 3 inches. What they
lack in size they more than make up
for in
exotic beauty. This is one of the most striking of all the dwarf
angles. The
bottom half of their bodies are a royal purplish blue. This is
contrasted by
dazzling yellow orange upper bodies. The upper body color starts just
below
their mouths sweeps upward behind their eyes and then follows the
curvature of
their backs all the way to the base of their tails, hence the name
Flameback.
Dorsal, anal and pectoral fins are accented in neon blues. Caudal fins
are
typically yellow and semi-transparent. This species is very similar in
appearance to the Brazilian flameback angelfish even though they are
entirely
different species. Brazilian Flamebacks can be distinguished by their
solid
blue caudal fins. This species is sold by the aquarium industry under
several
pseudonyms including; African Flameback angel, African Pygmy Flameback
Anglefish, African Cherubfish, Orangeback Angelfish, and Jumping bean.
The
latter reference should imply that this fish needs to be housed in a
tightly
lidded aquarium.
This fish has a
moderately
aggressive temperament. They are generally
peaceful in a community setting provided they are in the company of
equally
sized or slightly larger fish that are not docile in nature. This
species may
be reef compatible if it is introduced to your tank as a small
juvenile. An
abundance of cured live rock will help deter the possibility that it
will
develop a taste for coral and mollusks as it matures. Flamebacks
may express territorial behavior
toward similar looking species. These are harem fish. A single male and
several
females can be successfully housed together. The introduction of two
males into
an aquarium could easily result in a battle to the death. This species
is rated
at a moderate care level. A minimum tank size of 20 gallons with plenty
of
hiding spaces is recommended. Flamebacks can live up to 8 years of age.
This
is an omnivorous species. Juveniles are primarily planktonic feeders.
Adults
lean more toward being algaevores.
They will,
however, also eat
small crustaceans, mollusks and coral in their natural habitat. This is
why
only a very young flamebacks should be added to a mariner reef
aquarium. If the
fish’s diet consists of plankton, it can be conditioned to
finding all the
sustenance it requires in supplied aquarium foods and live rock before
it
develops its adult dietary habits. A well fed fish will be less likely
to
discover that clams and corals are its favorite taste treat.
These
fish should be fed a high quality marine angelfish
food preparation. Foods formulated especially for angelfish contain the
essential nutrients needed to maintain a healthy specimen. Its diet can
be
further supplemented with vitamin enriched brine shrimp, mysis shrimp
and dried
or frozen spirulina algae.
There
is more than one benefit to buying this species when
they are still quite young. There are no distinguishing characteristics
between
males and females. Thus you will not be able to determine their sexes.
Two
males can not be housed in the same aquarium together.
Problem
solved: These fish
are protogynous synchronous
hermaphrodites. They enter life genderless. They will all develop into
females
early in their lifecycles. If there are
no males present in the population as they reach sexual maturity, the
largest
most dominant fish will change into a male. The introduction of several
of
these fish when still young into an aquarium will result in a single
male with
a harem just as it would in nature. Despite their ability to change
gender,
these fish have not been known to breed in captivity.
