All fish / Pomacanthidae

Cocos pygmy angelfish

Centropyge cocosensis

Also known as cocos lemonpeel angelfish, cocos angelfish, christmas island lemonpeel, lemonpeel angelfish

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This dwarf angelfish is bright lemon yellow with blue rings around the eyes, blue edges to the fins and a blue mark on the gill cover, and juveniles carry a dark blue-ringed spot on the body. It was split from the lemonpeel angelfish, C. flavissima, in 2016 and lives only around the Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas Islands. Keepers want it because its colour is so bright and it is rarely seen in the trade.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

10 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

200 litres

Keep as

Singly, or as a male and female pair in a large tank

Diet

Omnivore: algae and turf grazing, spirulina and seaweed based foods, mysis, brine shrimp and quality marine pellets

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Eastern Indian Ocean: Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island

Breeding

Like other pygmy angelfish, it lives in harems and can change sex from female to male. Pairs spawn in open water around dusk and release tiny floating eggs, and the larvae are very hard to rear, so breeding at home is almost never successful.

Good to know

It may nip at clams, large-polyp stony corals and soft corals, and it is aggressive towards other dwarf angels, so keep only one per tank unless you have a lot of space. It looks very similar to the lemonpeel angelfish and is often sold under that name, so check where the fish was collected.