Synopsis
- Cocos pygmy angelfish larvae (Centropyge joculator) were raised from captive-spawned eggs at 77-79F on wild copepods and artemia.
- The larval duration was 100 days.
- First record of Cocos pygmy angelfish culture.
The Cocos Pygmy Angelfish is only known from Cocos-Keeling and Christmas Island in the southeastern Indian Ocean. The species most frequently inhabits steep rubble slopes and reef drops between 50 and 230 feet, where it forms harems of up to six individuals. The Cocos Pygmy Angelfish is rarely sin the trade; however, its is considered a relatively hardy species. Adults reach to 4.5 inches. While no distinct color differences exist, dorsal and anal fins are more elongate in males than in females.
My C. joculator pair was easily conditioned to produce large fertile spawns during the production periods. Unfortunately, the larvae proved exceptionally difficult to rear through the later post-larval stages. Good survival was obtained up to settlement, at which time the larvae went through an extended period of delayed metamorphosis that – similar to C. debelius – lasted over 50 days. Settlement is a critical period for most marine fish species and mortality increases the longer this process is delayed. As a result, only a few individuals became juveniles.