The continually elusive Peppermint Angelfish (Paracentropyge boylei) has gotten a recent YouTube cameo, compliments of 44AZR. The tank has gotten a re-scape or is entirely new, but the shrimp and notched dorsal (albeit healing) suggest this is still the specimen belonging to Mr. Uragami.

Update: This little gem is being held at Japanese LFS Marin Technique while a new tank is worked on.

Mr. Uragami’s fish is the only publicly known specimen in captivity. Read into that as much or little as you’d like.

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A handful of special fish have been collected over summer, but this tiny Orange Margined Butterflyfish (Prognathodes basabei) takes the adorable prize. Collected in the deep waters of Hawaii, this little one was destined for Japan upon entering Rufus Kimura’s net. To no surprise it is headed to Koji Wada’s Blue Harbor in Osaka.

Over two years ago, Kimura made a splash with rare fish enthusiasts with the commercial availability of Prognathodes basabei. As was true then, their appearances in captivity are extremely rare due to the extreme depth at which they are found and the accordingly high price tag. Like many sought after species, the Basabei commands an inverted pricing structure–meaning smaller specimens command higher prices than their larger brethren.

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1. 440ft Dive Finds the Illusive Prognathodes basabei, Ballparked at $6K For years divers and ichthyologists have been seeking the Hawaiian...
2. A Rough Landing in Japan for Roa excelsa A week from today,  the two Roa excelsa or Brown Barred...
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Japanese marine specialty store SplashSea, has recently uploaded this brief clip showing off the incredibly rare Resplendent Angelfish (Centropyge resplendens).

Centropyge resplendens is so rarely seen due to its limited range. Endemic to Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic, the collection of this species is a logistical and legal nightmare. Every so often a few will illegally find their way into the markets–and being on the IUCN red list (least concern, due to limited range) this is not a another bruise that the hobby needs. That said, it is important to note that the Resplendent Angel was captive bred by Frank Baensch (RCT) and some legal specimens are out there.

A true Resplendent paired with an RCT Hawaiian Resplendent

I won’t delve into the legality of this particular specimen, but the google translation of the video’s description is worth a laugh:

“I will present a very rare fish in your customer’s safety deposit box.”

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3. Just Published : Baensch Paper on Breeding the Rare Centropyge debelius This month’s, the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, features...

Chaetodon paucifasciatus

Ubiquitous in the wild, the once very common Red Sea pearlscale butterflyfish has been nearly impossible to obtain in recent years, with only a few emerging sporadically in unimpressive numbers. (A painful phenomenon for its admirers.)

Fortunately, I’ve recently had the opportunity to obtain a pair;  shown here the duo is a gorgeous representation of the Xanthurus complex, highlighting the beautiful silvery body and vibrant oblique red patch.

Another interesting fish on-board this particular shipment was this Gramma linkii. Often teased as being the “ugly duckling” amongst the brethren of Gramma species, (G. loreto, G. melacara, G. dejongi, G. brasiliensis and G. linkii), G. linkii is no stranger to rare fish enthusiasts.

Gramma linkii is rare and difficult to obtain in the trade.

The specimen shown here is exhibiting its stressed colouration. Under normal circumstances, it’s a uniform blue-grey with yellow highlights on the face and some spots on the body. We hope to obtain better photos of it when the fish settles down.

A big thank you to Jenn Chye for making this two species available to the Singapore market, and a big thank you to Tay Yu Zhe for the photos and for overseeing the arrival of the C. paucifasciatus pair while I’m away.

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Awhile ago, the story of two extremely rare deep water butterflies was first shared here. The capture of not one, but two very rare Roa excelsa butterflyfishes made big news worldwide. Roa excelsa is a member of the genus Roa, which includes two other species. R. modestus and R. jayakari.

Of the three, R. modestus is the most common and is sometimes offered for sale in Japan. The other two are extremely rare and found at extreme depths. R. excelsa is found in Guam and the Hawaiian Islands. The other species, R. jayakari, is seldom heard of and it’s lesser known compared to the other two species.

Not too long ago, a specimen of R. jayakari was trawled up from a fishing boat in the Andaman Sea, in the waters near Thailand. The specimen was a good sized individual, about 3 inches, and a shame that it had to arrive like this, for it would have made a spectacularly rare and impressive specimen. R. jayakari is not recorded in Thailand and its range was previously thought to only cover the Red Sea to the West coast of India. This makes it a new record for Thailand.

The butterflyfish was trawled up by accident and was mixed with other food fish. Another impressive member on board the ship was this Decodon pacificus.

Very little is known about D. pacificus, except that it is mostly found in the Northwestern Pacific, in Taiwan and Japan. It was also trawled up from the depths of the Andaman Sea in Thailand, and like R. jayakari, is a new record for the area!

Thank you to Ohm Pavaphon for the pictures and exciting insights on these rare fishes.

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Just over 10 days ago, the third documented Centropyge fisheri x Centropyge potteri hybrid was collected by Alika Garcia, a diver on Oahu, Hawaii, at apprximately 75′ on the south side of Oahu. This stunning hybrid was promptly sent to wholesaler Tropical Fish Emporium where it has been made available to the retail world.

The rarity of this Fisher’s x Potters hybrid angelfish has not been lost on Hawaii’s diver community. With all of the diving, collecting, and general exploration of Hawaii’s relatively shallow waters, this is just the third we humans know of. No word where this fish ended up–we hope it finds its way into a safe and happy home.

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With the recent influx of designer clowns from big companies like ORA and local breeders from around the world, who would have thought that Mother Nature was also busy producing some of her own! Here’s a beautiful wild caught Amphiprion percula that certainly makes for a good conversation piece. A “tear drop” just beneath the eye on one side of the body adds to it’s unique quality, and not forgetting the first white bar that extends infront of the eye.

The extensive black coloration over much of it’s body and the unique white belly is truly beautiful. Wild caught clownfishes often succumb to the dreaded brooklynellosis , but if a healthy specimen is obtained and put through stringent quarantine, the risk of infection or mortality could be reduced drastically.

One more photo shown below showing off the left side of this clown.

Thank you to Bryan Ong for these photos of a truly beautiful clownfish. We hope to find more surprises like this mixed into a rather seemingly normal shipment of percula clowns in the future.

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Pseudochromis tapeinosoma is an unusual and seldom seen dottyback that has made its way into the aquarium trade. We’ve already seen a handful of rare and luxurious imports from the Indo-Pacific region such as the White bar anthias (Pseudanthias leucozonas), the False Shepardi angel hybrids (Centropyge loricula X C. ferrugata), the diminutive Whitecap Gobies (Lotilia graciliosa), and the gorgeous Pintail fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus cf. lanceolatus), just to name a few.

It’s no surprise then, with the rich biodiversity of the Indo-pacific, that the Tapeinosoma Dottyback hails from this region. More specifically, it ranges from Southern Japan to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It can also found on the West Coast of Thailand.

This particular specimen shows some very unique coloration. Tapeinosoma dottybacks are usually yellow with a black margin from the eye, to the tail. This specimen has a beautiful navy blue margin instead.

Add this dottyback to the list of interesting exports from the Indo-pacific region. Who knows what surprises the oceans in this area have for us next.

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Minute by minute, we grow with anticipation during the acclimation process. Maybe immediately after releasing the fish to its new home—or for the truly patient, the next day—we add prepared food in hopes that the new animal eats with vigor. We expect hope the fish takes to the offered food, but step back for a moment and realize how large of an expectation that is.

These animals have evolved over million of years and so have their diets and feeding behavior. We can’t then expect them to go after mysis floating in the water column when they may not even be open water feeders.

Angelfish and Butterflyfish often get a bad rep for being difficult to adapt or to wean onto prepared foods. We can offer a variety of fare: mysis, live brine, blackworms, copepods, pellets, you name it,  only for the fish to completely ignore it. Why is this?

There are generally two issues or a combination there of. The fish is:

• …stressed or physically not well
• …does not recognized water column offerings as food

If its stressed, clean water, ample hiding spaces, and solitary confinement in a quarantine system can usually take care of this. If needed, treat for disease, but be cognizant of the fish’s metabolism and of medications like Copper that can reduce appetite.

To address the second point, how can we train fish to recognize our offerings as a meal? For grazers and opportunistic feeders like Pomacanthids and Chaetodonts, a simple fish food paste can do the trick. [I wrote a piece in 2010 for PFK outlining this technique in more detail, which can be found here.]

The goal here is to take smelly, prepared foods, and present them in a manner that is more natural to the fish. Smear it on liverock, or in this case inside a snail shell. The shell or rock is then put in the freezer to harden the food. Once placed in the aquarium the food will thaw and is hopefully consumed–it will soften and begin to float in the water column.

Next thing you know, your prized new acquisition is eating mysis mid-tank.

If you get a fish that is not eating, first eliminate any stressors. Then think like a fish and try offering foods as they may appear in the wild.

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Blue Harbor, a popular fish store and rare fish Mecca in Japan, has just finalized their 2011 Calendar. On a recent visit to the U.S., Koji Wada was kind enough to give me a copy. [I must give a big thank you to LiveAquaria's Kevin Kohen for shipping it.]

Including in the calendar is the 1″ Juvenile Genicanthus personatus, Roa excelsa, a pair of Plectranthias pelicieri and a myriad of other rare fish. The value of all these animals could easily buy a very nice Audi or BMW–we’re just ‘sayin.

If this is any indication of the New Year, it’s looking very bright.

We wish our readers all the best in 2011. Happy New Year!

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