Centropyge Flavicauda

Centropyge Flavicauda

Centropyge Flavicauda (Fraser-Brunner, 1933) has a wide variety of common names in the marine aquarium trade including pygmy yellowtail angelfish and whitetail angelfish.  It is an excellent angelfish for aquariums 50 gallons and larger due to its small size.  Reaching around two inches, it is one of the smallest pygmy angelfish in the aquarium trade but is still considered reef safe with caution because of its taste for stony coral polyps and soft corals.  Mature whitetail angelfish usually exhibit a dark brown to black body with a lighter head, a white or yellowish tail, and a bright blue edge on the anal fin.  As juveniles, they can be mistaken for damselfish due to their small size and often solid blue to black body and yellow to white tail.  At the Sustainable Islands Project, they are quarantined to ensure proper health and transitioned to prepared foods before being offered for sale. 

Physical Description- Smaller angelfish with a dark brown to black body and lighter sometimes golden head.  It has a bright yellow to white tail and a blue edging along the anal fin.  Juveniles are typically blue to brown with a yellow tail.

Temperament- A semi-aggressive fish that will be more territorial in smaller tanks, but a larger aquarium can easily house a male and several females.  It is best housed in a fish only aquarium with synthetic corals because they will likely pick at living coral polyps in a reef system. 

Size- At a maximum size of around 2 inches makes it one of the smaller pygmy dwarf angelfish varieties.

Diet– They are fed 2-3 times daily a mixed diet of our Hatchery Diet, marine algae, live nauplii brine, frozen Mysis shrimp, and spirulina brine shrimp. 

Distribution- From East Africa to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia, and north to the southern region of Japan and South to New South Wales Australia.