The lemonpeel angelfish, also known as the yellow angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Lemonpeel Angelfish is a cheery yellow with sky-blue highlights on the lips, encircling the eyes, on the pectoral fins, and the tips of the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins. To avoid confusion with the False Lemonpeel Angelfish (C. heraldi) that lacks the blue highlights, this angelfish is also referred to as the True Lemonpeel Angelfish.
The Lemonpeel Angelfish requires a 70 gallon or larger aquarium with hiding places and large amounts of live rock to graze on the microalgae growth. It is very prone to nip at large-polyped stony corals and clam mantles. It is best not to keep Lemonpeel Angelfish with fish of the same genera.
The diet of the Lemonpeel Angelfish should include Spirulina, marine algae, high-quality angelfish preparations, mysis or frozen shrimp, and other meaty items. This angelfish requires more algae and seaweed in its diet than most angels.
Lemonpeel fish
The lemonpeel angelfish is one of the most gorgeous dwarf angelfish that you may find in a saltwater aquarium. With its beautifully composed color combination, it draws attention to any aquarium. A small-sized angelfish, it is often referred to as a dwarf or pygmy angelfish.
This angelfish is often misidentified as the herald's angelfish (C. heraldi). However, Centropyge flavissimus has a uniform chrome yellow body, a blue ring around the eye, and dark-blue edges on the vertical fins, while C. heraldi has a uniform chrome yellow body, often having a slightly orange tinge to it. Juvenile lemonpeel specimens have a large, black eyespot on the side of the body, which is often edged with blue.
angelfish tankmates etc.
The lemonpeel angelfish prefer to live solitary and stay close to shelter. It can be aggressive toward other angelfish. Two males will fight to the death. It is possible to keep a male and female pair or even a trio (one male and two females) of lemonpeel angelfish in the same tank together, provided that it is a large aquarium with plenty of hiding places, and they are introduced into the aquarium at the same time.
This species is well known for nipping and picking at large polyped stony corals and tridacnid clam mantles. The lemonpeel angelfish may also eat some soft coral polyps as well as pick at zoanthids. Therefore this fish, as true with most all angelfish, cannot be completely trusted if these invertebrates are present. Dwarf angels are territorial and they will pick on less aggressive and smaller tank mates.
Water quality and tank size are important for lemonpeel angelfish. A suitable tank size for a single specimen is a 30-gallon tank. A 55-gallon tank is a more appropriate size for a mated pair or a trio. They can do well in a typical reef setting, but may eat away at some of the reef structure. Be mindful of their tank level preferences and make rock shelters in the tank that are suitable for hiding.
The lemonpeel angelfish is moderately difficult to keep. Keep in mind these angelfish are constant grazers. Giving a lot of food equals a larger bioload in the tank, so water quality must be monitored.2 They need a pH of at least 8.1, and water changes that do not include scrubbing algae off of the rocks. If the tank is 55 gallons or larger, a bi-weekly change of 10 percent to 15 percent would be good. If your tank is over 100 gallons, maybe every three weeks to a month do a 20 percent change, and so on.
