Dwarf Pygmy Anglefish?

[Annelise]

I have a dwarf pygmy anglefish, and I love him to death! he's only ever nipped at the very hardy corals I have, and it wasn't aggressive at all! The only thing about him is, there is close to no information out there for this little guy! He's a great addition to a larger nano tank, and not a lot of people know about him. Do any of you have one or have had experience with one? Would love to hear stories/ advise!

 

[4FordFamily]

They can nip coral as mentioned, but they’re generally pretty hardy. They’re known for being pretty aggressive, no one told them they’re a “pygmy angel”. Commonly bullied fish include firefish, small wrasse, gobies, other small centropyge angels, etc. I even had one beat on a 3 inch yellow tang a bit. Any smaller or “peaceful” fish will likely be bullied.

They typically don’t exceed 2.5 inches in length in captivity although they can be found a bit over 3 inches in the wild. Most I’ve seen in home aquaria were probably 2 - 2.25 inches.

They have a shorter lifespan than most centrpyge, often expiring around 3-6 years of age. I’ve not heard of one living for more than 6. Of course, we don’t have any idea how old they were at collection. I typically assume they’re 1-2 years of age when we receive them.

Cool fish though!

 

[nereefpat]

What fish? C. flavicauda, argi, acanthops, aurantonotus, and a few others are small Centropyge spp.

 

[Jesterrace]

I have a dwarf pygmy anglefish, and I love him to death! he's only ever nipped at the very hardy corals I have, and it wasn't aggressive at all! The only thing about him is, there is close to no information out there for this little guy! He's a great addition to a larger nano tank, and not a lot of people know about him. Do any of you have one or have had experience with one? Would love to hear stories/ advise!

One of the things that is confusing is that there is a difference between Pygmy and Dwarf Angels (even though technically they are members of the same line). Pygmy Angels generally max out at 3 inches, Dwarfs can range from 4-6 inches max size and the former can go in smaller tanks. For this reason I always separate the two. @the OP, which one do you have? That would help us narrow down some experiences to share. I don't have a Pygmy Angel but I do have a Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel and it is basically non-aggressive (other than some challenge to new additions and telling my PJ Cardinal to get out of it's way). It does occasionally take an exploratory nip at a couple of my corals but it clearly doesn't like the taste (spits it out) and they continue to grow in spite of this, so it doesn't appear to be affecting it much. All in all though a beautiful and great addition to my tank. It's the one fish the whole family agreed on that they wanted in the tank, here is my overview of him:

 

[Annelise]

They can nip coral as mentioned, but they’re generally pretty hardy. They’re known for being pretty aggressive, no one told them they’re a “pygmy angel”. Commonly bullied fish include firefish, small wrasse, gobies, other small centropyge angels, etc. I even had one beat on a 3 inch yellow tang a bit. Any smaller or “peaceful” fish will likely be bullied.

They typically don’t exceed 2.5 inches in length in captivity although they can be found a bit over 3 inches in the wild. Most I’ve seen in home aquaria were probably 2 - 2.25 inches.

They have a shorter lifespan than most centrpyge, often expiring around 3-6 years of age. I’ve not heard of one living for more than 6. Of course, we don’t have any idea how old they were at collection. I typically assume they’re 1-2 years of age when we receive them.

Cool fish though!

Thats funny that they're known for bullying filefish and small wrasse! Mine cuddled with the filefish before my brittle star ate the filefish, and then I got a 6 line wrasse, and they cuddle as well!!! Mines about 1.5 inches at the moment, still growing, haha.

One of the things that is confusing is that there is a difference between Pygmy and Dwarf Angels (even though technically they are members of the same line). Pygmy Angels generally max out at 3 inches, Dwarfs can range from 4-6 inches max size and the former can go in smaller tanks. For this reason I always separate the two. @the OP, which one do you have? That would help us narrow down some experiences to share. I don't have a Pygmy Angel but I do have a Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel and it is basically non-aggressive (other than some challenge to new additions and telling my PJ Cardinal to get out of it's way). It does occasionally take an exploratory nip at a couple of my corals but it clearly doesn't like the taste (spits it out) and they continue to grow in spite of this, so it doesn't appear to be affecting it much. All in all though a beautiful and great addition to my tank. It's the one fish the whole family agreed on that they wanted in the tank, here is my overview of him:

He isn't either, at least I don't think. He is the dwarf version of a pygmy cherub angelfish. I'll insert a pic of what he looks like, but it isn't my specific fish, I don't have any pictures of him on my new phone, lol.

 

[Annelise]

Thats funny that they're known for bullying filefish and small wrasse! Mine cuddled with the filefish before my brittle star ate the filefish, and then I got a 6 line wrasse, and they cuddle as well!!! Mines about 1.5 inches at the moment, still growing, haha.



He isn't either, at least I don't think. He is the dwarf version of a pygmy cherub angelfish. I'll insert a pic of what he looks like, but it isn't my specific fish, I don't have any pictures of him on my new phone, lol.

Also, beautiful tank!!

 

[Jesterrace]

Thats funny that they're known for bullying filefish and small wrasse! Mine cuddled with the filefish before my brittle star ate the filefish, and then I got a 6 line wrasse, and they cuddle as well!!! Mines about 1.5 inches at the moment, still growing, haha.



He isn't either, at least I don't think. He is the dwarf version of a pygmy cherub angelfish. I'll insert a pic of what he looks like, but it isn't my specific fish, I don't have any pictures of him on my new phone, lol.

Looks like a Cherubfish (C.Argi) to me and it is a type of Pygmy Angel. I prefer calling them by that since the Pygmy Angel moniker can be extended to Flamebacks, Fisher's and Pygmy Yellowtails.

 

[Jesterrace]

Also, beautiful tank!!

Thanks, it actually looks better now that I have added some more Coral Frags.

 

[nereefpat]

Thats funny that they're known for bullying filefish and small wrasse! Mine cuddled with the filefish before my brittle star ate the filefish, and then I got a 6 line wrasse, and they cuddle as well!!! Mines about 1.5 inches at the moment, still growing, haha.



He isn't either, at least I don't think. He is the dwarf version of a pygmy cherub angelfish. I'll insert a pic of what he looks like, but it isn't my specific fish, I don't have any pictures of him on my new phone, lol.

That's C. argi. What makes you think yours is different than a normal specimen?

 

[Annelise]

That's C. argi. What makes you think yours is different than a normal specimen?

I'm not quite sure of all of the proper names and such, but the one I have is a dwarf of the pygmy, lol. he's only going to get about 2 inches. This is what I'm trying to say, lol very few people that I've talked to know about it, and it might just be a local thing? All three of my lfs know about him and agree he's a dwarf of the pygmy cherub. It's hard to explain I guess, lol.

 

[Jesterrace]

That sounds about right for C.Argi. If you don't mind me asking what did they charge you for it?

 

[A sea K]

FWIW, according to one of the vendors I use from the FL Keys they mention 2 different "strains" of the same fish. The larger getting to the 3" range and the smaller to 2". IMO its still the same fish though, i would guess just regional differences.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Beautiful tank!

I ended up getting rid of for pygmies over the years because they are the devil. lol

Far more aggressive than the 3" flame angelfish.
I never kept blue devil damsels because I was warned early on.

I'm gonna guess that these are not much better.

Our Springeri damsel is a pussycat.

The pygmies are beautiful fish and don't take up much room so I kept trying again.
After re homing 4 fish over the years I think I am finally cured.
[emoji846]

 

[Annelise]

He cost about $40 but he was given to me from a friend whose tank crashed, literally to the ground. A sea K you're probably right. Also, jesterrace thanks! now I know what he is scientifically, lol. I wonder if he's just a nice fish? lol.