Scientific Name : Centropyge Aurantonotus

Origin : Caribbean,Brazil

Difficulty : Medium

Minimum Tank Size : 30 gallons

Temperament :Quite Aggressive

Temperature : 72 - 82°F

Reef Safe : With caution

Maximum Size : 3 inches

Centropyge Aurantonotus is one of two closely similar dwarf marine angelfish, the other being Centropyge Acanthops. They have almost exact color patterns, a brilliant yellow/orange streaking from the face all the way to the top half of the body with the a deep blue filling up the rest of the body.

Fortunately, telling them apart is very easy.

The Brazilian flameback angelfish sports a deep blue tail while the African version has a yellow one.

They retail for about $60+ USD on the market so they they're a bit on the high side as far as marine angelfish go.

The brazilian flameback has a reputation for being a rather aggressive dwarf angelfish. Having owned two of them in the past i have to say that their reputation is well deserved.

Mine were in a small 30 gallon tank so the lack of space had a lot to do with it. But even when housed in larger marine aquariums they can still get a bit testy.

Despite the fact that they are a small fish, they should be housed in larger aquariums if possible. This is to give this feisty little angel enough breathing space. Forcing this fish to share space with smaller fish is not a good idea. A 50 gallon marine aquarium should be fine.

Many caves, holes, nooks and crannies should be provided as all dwarf angelfish require such an environment.

In the wild, dwarf angelfish are all grazers. They constantly scan the rock for food items throughout the day, much like surgeonfish. They consume algae, tiny crustaceans and sometimes even detritus.

In a saltwater aquarium they should be given a balanced diet. They should be fed a wide range of foods for variety. They should never be fed a single type of food for too long. Although there have been hobbyists that have fed them new life spectrum for long periods of time with no ill effects. It seemed like they were doing great in fact.

They should be offered nori/algae sheets in addition to a balanced frozen food (Formula One, Formula Two) and a good pellet like those produced by New Life Spectrum.

A very good food for dwarf angels is the Pygmy Angel Formula, produced by Ocean Nutrition. In an effort to provide a balanced and nutritious diet, a wide variety of ingredients are used such as kelp, shrimp, vitamins and trace minerals, krill, squid, algae and many others. The cubes are frozen after these ingredients have been mixed into it. Unfortunately there is only one form of Pygmy Angel Formula, frozen cubes.

I don't like feeding brine shrimp as they don't offer much nutritionally. Adult frozen artemia do not offer much more to the fish than roughage, which is fibre. Foods that are far superior like krill or mysis shrimp also have fibre.

Should you insist on feeding your dwarf angelfish brine shrimp, choose a type that has been enriched beforehand. Artemia that were feed something nutritious like spirulina prior to freezing are known as enriched brine shrimp. So they're more of a vessel that holds something nutritious.

As long as their yolk sacs are still intact, newly hatched brine shrimp are a nutritious food to offer. Once their yolk sacs are depleted they turn into garbage again.

Cherub Pygmy Angelfish - Centropyge Argi

Coral Beauty Angelfish - Centropyge Bispinosus

Eibli Angelfish - Centropyge Eibli

Fishers Angelfish - Centropyge Fisheri
Flameback Angelfish(African) - Centropyge Acanthops
Flameback Angelfish(Brazilian) - Centropyge Aurantonotus
Golden Angelfish - Centropyge Aurantia
Heralds Angelfish - Centropyge Heraldi
Lemonpeel Angelfish - Centropyge Flavissima
Multibarred Angelfish - Centropyge Multifasciata
Multicolor Angelfish - Centropyge Multicolor
Potters Angelfish - Centropyge Potteri