Care
The small but feisty Cherub Angelfish is usually found over rubbly areas of reef, where there are plenty of hiding places and grazing opportunities. Typically they can be found at depths between 5 and 30 metres (16-98 feet). In the home aquarium, this diminutive angel can be surprisingly territorial, and so it is best kept in a large tank with plenty of live rockwork that has a multitude of visual barriers and bolt holes. Unfortunately this fish will nip at quite a range of invertebrate life, so it is not suitable for every set up. Keep only one specimen per tank, and not with any other angelfish from the Centropyge genus. We recommend that the Cherub Angelfish is the last addition to an aquarium, as otherwise it can be extremely territorial when introducing new tankmates into what it perceives as its established domain. Tankmates should not be too docile, being able to "look after themselves", but at the same time, not so large and predatory that they see the angelfish as prey. There are a couple of very similar looking species available in the trade, namely the Fireball Angelfish (Centropyge acanthops) which has an orange/yellow back as well as an orange/yellow head area, and the Flameback Angelfish (C. aurantonotus) which is very similar in appearance to C. acanthops but has a solid blue caudal fin rather than a transparent one. Another similar species, the Resplendent Angelfish (C. resplendens) endemic to the isolated Ascension Island, is rarely exported. To make things even more perplexing, some specimens of Cherub Angelfish have only tiny areas of orange/yellow, having predominantly deep blue-purple colouration covering almost the entire fish. The depth of colour on the areas of the fish that are orange/yellow tend to vary depending on collection location.
Feeding
Should be offered a varied diet including Spirulina & marine algae as well as meaty fare such as vitamin/Spirulina-enriched brineshrimp, Mysis shrimp, special sponge-based Angelfish preparations, and finely chopped krill/squid/cockle/mussel. Feed small amounts 3 times per day.
Breeding
This species has spawned in the home aquarium. As with other dwarf angels, Cherub Angelfish are protogynous hermaphrodites, a form of sequential hermaphroditism where an individual changes from female to male. In the wild, Cherub Angelfish are known to spawn at sunset, the male stimulating the female to release her eggs with biting motions along her abdomen. The fertilised eggs are abandoned in open water with no parental care taking place. Aquarium spawnings tend to occur soon after lights out. Once the floating eggs hatch, the larvae are extremely challenging to feed.
