Rock Beauty
Scientific Name : Holacanthus Tricolor
Origin : Carribean, Atlantic
Temperament : Passive
Temperature : 72F - 82F
Maximum Size : 9 Inches
Diet : Omnivore
Difficulty : Hard
Reef Safe : With Caution
Tank Size : 100 Gallons
The Rock Beauty is a common offering in the marine aquarium fish trade. Considered a slightly difficult angelfish to rear in captivity, they are nonetheless collected in large numbers.
It belongs to the genus Holacanthus which also includes the Queen Angelfish. Its scientific name is Holacanthus Tricolor. It is a predominantly yellow fish with a patch of black on its body with varying sizes depending on the age of the specimen. Its eyes are encircled with a blue line.
While the juvenile forms of most large angelfish vary tremendously from their adult forms, the rock beauty juvenile looks very similar to a fully mature specimen. The younger the specimen is, the smaller the black patch present on its main body.
Rock beauty angelfish are the smallest members of the genus Holacanthus. They rarely reach eight inches in captivity and will usually attain a length of between six and seven inches.
Because of their common nature, they are also among the least expensive members within the genus Holacanthus. Expect to pay about $35 for small specimens. Large adults usually fetch as much as $80 per fish.
In tThey are somewhat difficult feeders in the aquarium. However, they are nowhere near as difficult to train than the Regal Angelfish. Larger angelfish species are known coralivores and can consume sponges, tunicates along with algae. As this is their natural diet in the wild, we should try to emulate it within reason. Feeding them corals or tunicates on a consisten basis is unreasonable. Thankfully, most of them accept prepared foods willingly.
A good mix of meaty and vegetable matter is essential to the overall health of dwarf angels. Some other good foods to feed daily are * Sea Veggies Seaweed, which are nutritious seaweed for grazers. Prime Reef * Flake Food which is a blend of numerous seafood and algae such as seaweed, lobster meat, salmon, shrimp, squid and zooplankton.
The best dry pellet foods on the market come from the highly reputable makers, * New Life Spectrum. Use a * Seaweed Clip when feeding them seaweed sheets. Simply take a sheet, fold it and clip it. Secure the clip to the aquarium glass in a location of your choice and they should graze on it throughout the day. Centropyge species can nip on corals so be warned.
. Rock Beauty angelfish demand an aquarium no less than a hundred gallons to start with. Bigger aquariums are always better with larger angelfish..
Always quarantine your specimens to ensure they are disease and parasite free. From time to time you may come across 2 inch juveniles for sale at the marine store. Resist the temptation to buy them if you do not have a large enough aquarium. The rock beauty angelfish is a pretty addition to most aquariums. Unfortunately, their high mortality rate in captivity does put off many enthusiasts.
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