All fish / Pomacanthidae

Golden angelfish

Centropyge aurantia

Also known as golden dwarf angelfish, golden pygmy angelfish, gold angelfish, aurantia angel, golden angel, オーランティア, オウゴンヤッコ, injel emas, 金刺尻鱼, 金色神仙

A small dwarf angelfish with a deep orange to reddish gold body crossed by fine darker wavy lines, with blue edging on the fins. It is shy and spends much of its time weaving through rock caves, which makes it a prized but less often seen rarity for experienced reef keepers.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

9 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

200 litres

Keep as

Keep singly, one dwarf angel per tank unless very large

Diet

Omnivore: algae and biofilm grazed from live rock, spirulina-based foods, mysis, brine shrimp and quality marine flakes or pellets

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Pacific: Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Great Barrier Reef, Solomon Islands, Samoa

Breeding

Like other Centropyge it is a protogynous hermaphrodite that spawns pelagic eggs at dusk in harems. Captive breeding is very rare and the larvae are extremely difficult to raise.

Good to know

Very secretive and often slow to feed, so it needs a mature tank with plenty of live rock and calm tankmates. It may nip at clams and some corals, and it can fight with other dwarf angels.