Centropyge Bicolor

Centropyge bicolor is quite a common offering in the marine aquarium trade. They are a very striking fish that are colored a bright yellow on the front half of the fish while its back half is a deep blue. They come from throughout the Indo-Pacific where they are usually collected in large numbers to satisfy demand from the marine aquarium industry. As such, they are a relatively inexpensive fish.

One of the bigger members of the genus centropyge, they can attain lengths of up to a whopping seven inches, which is gigantic considering most centropyge top out at four to five inches. Unfortunately they do not fare all that well in captivity. They simply don't accept prepared foods well enough. And even if they do, there have been reports of mysterious sudden deaths. Perhaps this has something to do with the way they were collected from the wild.

When choosing centropyge bicolor specimens, you should always purchase smaller ones as they are easier to feed since most mature specimens are very set in their ways and rarely go for any new prepared foods. Due to their size, they require a larger tank such as a 75 gallon to do well. As usual, if you can afford it, go bigger with a 100 gallon or larger aquarium.

The key to keeping this species alive is in having an established aquarium with a lot of live rock. That way, even if they are not feeding, they can graze on detritus, algae and tiny crustaceans throughout the aquarium live rock. Try a variety of foods and see which ones it takes. Generally speaking, they do not take to well to pellets which is a shame because they are some of the most balanced diets as well as being very convenient to use.

Offer a mixed variety of frozen meaty foods such as formula one, formula two, mysis shrimp, krill and prime reef. Try to target feed it around its territory. Vegetable matter should also be offered such as Julian Sprungs sea veggies or your regular market nori sheets. Buy the unflavoured types.

While this fish may be striking and cheap even, if you do not have a large established aquarium for it you may be better off passing on centropyge bicolor.