Aquarium 5: Yellow Faced Angelfish

One of the most vividly coloured fish in the aquarium is a Yellow Faced (also called a Blue-Faced) Angelfish, Pomacanthus xanthometopon. Originating from waters around Australia north to Malaysia, they grow to be quite large, with a maximum length of 38cm. It is currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN as a result of its large range, but threats to coral reefs from pollution, ocean acidification and other ecological changes may change this designation in the near future.

Aquarium 4: Flame Angelfish

C.loricula

  There are two species of marine angelfish currently on show in the aquarium. The smallest, and the most vividly coloured fish in the tank, is a Flame Angelfish, Centropyge loricula.

C.bispinosa

Currently there are over 30 species of Centropyge, commonly referred to as Dwarf Angelfish, found in warmer waters and reefs all over the world. Most live in fairly shallow water, but some deep water species are known.  They are all fairly small species, with C. loricula at over 10 cm being one of the larger species. It has a wide range in the Pacific, from the Australian Great Barrier Reef to Hawai’i. It tends to live in the deeper parts of the outer reef, where it shelters in crevices in the rubble.

Aquarium 3: The Tomentose Filefish

Drifting around in the large marine tank at Bristol Zoo Aquarium are some small fish that get easily overlooked. This is of course part of their plan – the Tomentose Filefish Acreicthys tomentosus is a master of disguise.Belonging to the same order Tetraodontiformes as last weeks’ Porcupine Fish, it is in a separate family Monacanthidae, which is most closely related to the Trigger fishes Balistidae, and like other members of the order its strategy for survival involves appearing unlike anything a predator would want to eat. Some species of filefish get over 1m, but the Tomentose only grows to a maximum of 12cm, usually less. The larger species may be important food fish – the annual catch of Cantherines spp has been around 200,000 tonnes, but whether this is sustainable or not I am not sure. Overfishing is a worldwide problem, as I am sure readers of this blog are well aware.