A few years back Frank Baensch of RCT fame, was the first to pair and successfully breed Centropyge resplendens x Centropyge fisheri creating unique hybrids that would never occur naturally. That is because C. resplendens is endemic to the Ascension Island in the middle of the South Atlantic while C. fisheri is a Pacific native [...]
A few years back Frank Baensch of RCT fame, was the first to pair and successfully breed Centropyge resplendens x Centropyge fisheri creating unique hybrids that would never occur naturally. That is because C. resplendens is endemic to the Ascension Island in the middle of the South Atlantic while C. fisheri is a Pacific native found in Hawaii! The father of these hybrids was even a captive raised Reslplendent that Frank previously reared before pairing the species with a female C. fisheri.
Above: C. resplendens. Below: RCT resplendens x fisheri hybrid
While Frank is no longer breeding these unique fish, their legacy lives on as seen by these photos of a Centropyge resplendens and an RCT C. resplendens x C. fisheri paired up in a Japanese reef aquarium. It is possible that the pure Resplendent is an older wild specimen, but odds are in favor of this fish also being a product of RCT. See the full set of photos at Mr. Mishima’s Aquagyu blog.
For more information on these hybrids see this RC thread where John Coppolino shows the parents of these hybrids, that retired in the comfort of John’s care: Mom and Dad of the Hawaiian Resplendens Angel. John’s captive raised C. resplendens that fathered these hybrids passed away last year, while the mother (C. fisheri) still lives today.
Photos via aquagyu
