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Fish · Angelfish

Coral Beauty Angelfish

Centropyge bispinosa (Günther, 1860)

Also called Coral Beauty, Twospined Angelfish, Two-spined Angelfish, Dusky Angelfish

  • CareEasy
  • Reef safeWith caution
  • TemperamentSemi-aggressiveChases other dwarf angels and look-alikes; may nip corals
  • Favorite foods
    1. Marine algae / spirulina
    2. Mysis shrimp
    3. Angelfish prep (sponge-based)
  • Max size4 in (10.2 cm)
  • Min tank75 gal
  • LifespanNot well documented
  • IUCN statusLeast Concern

Shop this species (1 in stock)

Coral Beauty Angelfish (Centropyge bispinosa)
Species photo: Rickard Zerpe, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist

Quick answers

How big does the Coral Beauty Angelfish get?
Up to 4 in (10.2 cm).
What size tank does it need?
At least 75 gallons.
How hard is it to keep?
Care level: Easy.
Is it reef safe?
With caution. It grazes, picks and nibbles all day, and that habit can damage coral polyps and other sessile invertebrates or stop them from opening fully.
What does it eat?
  • Marine algae / spirulina
  • Mysis shrimp
  • Angelfish prep (sponge-based)
How long does it live?
Not well documented.
What are good tankmates?
  • Tangs and rabbitfish of contrasting color
  • Clownfish
  • Wrasses
  • Anthias and chromis
  • Peaceful to moderately aggressive community fish added before it

The 30-second version

The coral beauty is a small angelfish. It is dark blue and purple, with bright orange or yellow stripes on its sides. Its fins have shiny blue edges. Some are mostly blue and some are mostly orange, so no two look the same. It lives on coral reefs from Africa to the islands of the South Pacific. It hides in cracks in the reef. All day long it picks at tiny plants called algae on the rocks, like a busy little lawn mower. Coral beauties live in small groups with one boy and a few girls. If the boy goes away, the biggest girl can turn into a boy. They are tough fish, so many people pick one as their first angelfish. In a tank they need lots of rocks, many small meals, and no other angelfish that look like them.

Water & care

Often called the hardiest dwarf angel and a good first angelfish, but it still needs a well-established tank with lots of live rock and algae to graze. A new, sterile tank is not suitable. Feed several small meals a day. Buy a fish you have seen eating, keep one per tank, and add it last to a community of peaceful to moderately aggressive fish. Like other dwarf angels it can be sensitive to copper and formalin during treatment.

ParameterKeep it at
Temperature 72–78 °F
Salinity (SG) 1.020–1.025
pH 8.1–8.4
Alkalinity 8–12 dKH

Ranges from LiveAquaria and Quality Marine, which agree on 72-78°F, SG 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4 and 8-12 dKH. In a reef tank keep normal reef targets for the corals; the fish has no special calcium, magnesium or phosphate needs. Keep nitrate low with regular water changes (one retailer guide suggests under 10 ppm, but no published species-specific limit exists). Keep copper and formalin out of the display; treat in a hospital tank only.

Feeding

DietOmnivore

Favorite foods

  • Film and filamentous algae grazed from live rock
  • Frozen herbivore and angelfish formulas
  • Mysis shrimp
  • Spirulina and algae flakes and pellets
  • Dried seaweed (nori)
  • Finely chopped seafood

Feed several small meals a day rather than one large meal. The diet should be mostly algae-based (herbivore formulas, spirulina foods, nori) with smaller amounts of meaty foods such as mysis and chopped seafood. Live rock with algae to graze between meals is important. Ask the store to feed the fish before you buy it.

Tank & maintenance

Minimum tank
75 gallons
Aquascape
Mature live-rock aquascape with many caves, gaps and crevices for shelter, and rock surfaces with film and filamentous algae for grazing. It does not need much open swimming space.
Lighting
No special requirement; Quality Marine lists low to medium light. Light that grows some algae on the rock helps with grazing.
Water flow
Moderate, varied flow; it stays close to the rockwork.

Routine upkeep

Regular partial water changes to keep nitrate low and conditions stable. Let some algae grow on the rockwork for grazing. Feed several times a day, or use an auto-feeder for one of the meals. Check corals and clams for signs of nipping, and quarantine every new fish before it goes into the tank.

Temperament & tankmates

TemperamentSemi-aggressive

Peaceful with most fish that look different from it, but it may squabble with tankmates of similar size, color or body shape, and it can be territorial toward other angelfish. Keeping two coral beauties, or another dwarf angel, is risky except in very large tanks where the fish are added at the same time. Some individuals become bolder and more aggressive as they settle in (one hobbyist reported it turning on a pair of clownfish). Add it last.

Reef safeWith caution

It grazes, picks and nibbles all day, and that habit can damage coral polyps and other sessile invertebrates or stop them from opening fully. LiveAquaria says it is prone to nipping stony and soft corals and clam mantles, and Quality Marine notes it may pick at both sessile and mobile invertebrates. Many individuals leave corals alone, but behavior changes over time and cannot be predicted at purchase; one hobbyist's coral beauty ignored mushrooms but destroyed pulsing Xenia. The risk is higher in small reefs and with underfed fish.

Good tankmates

  • Tangs and rabbitfish of contrasting color
  • Clownfish
  • Wrasses
  • Anthias and chromis
  • Peaceful to moderately aggressive community fish added before it

Avoid

  • Other coral beauties or dwarf angels in tanks under 5 ft
  • Fish of similar size, shape and color
  • Predators large enough to swallow it
  • Tridacnid clams, Xenia, zoanthids and prized LPS if you cannot accept nipping

Help it thrive

  • Add it to an established tank with plenty of algae-covered live rock, never a newly set-up system.
  • Feed small, mostly algae-based meals several times a day; a well-fed coral beauty is less likely to pick at corals.
  • Keep only one dwarf angel unless the tank is very large, and add the coral beauty last.
  • Choose aquacultured coral beauties when available; they are already used to aquarium foods.
  • Quarantine and treat for flukes before adding it to a reef.
  • Use a cup or container instead of a net to move it, because the gill-cover spines catch in mesh.

Common ailments

Marine ich (Cryptocaryon irritans)
Signs
White, salt-like spots on the body, fins or gills, scratching (flashing), rapid breathing, cloudy eyes, hiding and loss of appetite.
Prevention
Quarantine every new fish for several weeks in a separate tank, keep water stable and feed well.
Treatment
Treat in a hospital tank, never in a reef. Options include copper, chloroquine phosphate and the tank-transfer method. Dwarf angels can react badly to full-strength copper or formalin, so follow the product's directions, stay at the low end of its range and test copper daily. Leave the display without fish for about 11 weeks, because the cyst stage can last up to 72 days.

Marine velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum)
Signs
A fine dusty sheen on the skin, very fast breathing, gasping at the surface, scratching and lethargy. It can kill within 12 to 48 hours.
Prevention
Strict quarantine, and disinfect nets, buckets and equipment between tanks.
Treatment
Act immediately: a temperature- and pH-matched freshwater dip for quick relief, then chloroquine phosphate or carefully monitored copper in a hospital tank. Leave the display fallow with no fish.

Gill and skin flukes (monogeneans)
Signs
Rapid breathing, scratching, cloudy eyes, clamped fins, hiding and poor appetite.
Prevention
Reef Builders recommends treating all dwarf angels for flukes before they go into a reef tank.
Treatment
Praziquantel in quarantine, repeated as the product directs to kill newly hatched flukes.

This is general hobby guidance, not veterinary advice. Quarantine new arrivals and treat in a separate tank whenever you can.

Risks of owning one

  • May nip corals, Xenia, zoanthids and clam mantles, sometimes only after a long period of good behavior.
  • Can become territorial and harass similar-looking fish or other angels.
  • Sensitive to some medications (copper, formalin), which makes disease treatment harder.
  • Wild-caught fish may arrive stressed from collection and shipping, and some fail to adapt in new tanks without algae to graze.
  • Gill-cover spines snag in nets and can injure the fish during capture.

Breeding

DifficultyHard Captive-bredWidely available

Protogynous harem spawner with floating (pelagic) eggs. Rearing the tiny larvae needs hatchery-level live-food culture. Biota Palau reported the first sizable batch of captive-bred coral beauties in 2016 (about 50 newly settled juveniles), and ORA in Florida has also raised them. Aquacultured fish now reach the trade regularly.

  1. Start with two or three young fish added together to a large, mature tank so the dominant fish becomes the male, or buy a known pair.
  2. Condition them with several varied feedings a day of algae-based and meaty foods.
  3. Keep a steady light schedule with a dusk period; like other Centropyge, pairs spawn around dusk in the water column.
  4. Collect the floating eggs with an overflow egg collector and move them to a separate larval tank.
  5. Feed the larvae the smallest cultured live foods, such as copepod nauplii, until they settle and change color, then wean them to prepared foods. Expect very few survivors outside a hatchery.

Deep dive The science, history and family tree

The science

Centropyge bispinosa is one of the most widespread pygmy angelfishes (family Pomacanthidae). The body is oval and laterally compressed, dark purplish-blue with irregular bright orange to yellow vertical bars and streaks on the mid-flanks, and bright blue margins on the dorsal, anal and caudal fins. The proportion of orange to blue varies greatly between individuals. Like other angelfishes it has a strong spine at the corner of each gill cover. The dorsal fin has 14 spines and 16-18 soft rays, and the anal fin 3 spines and 17-19 soft rays. Adults reach about 10-11.5 cm total length. The species ranges across the Indo-West and Central Pacific from East Africa to the Tuamotu Islands, north to the Izu Islands of Japan and south to Lord Howe Island, but it is absent from the Red Sea and Hawaii. It is most common on outer reef slopes and drop-offs and in lagoons with rich coral growth, at about 5-50 m. It is secretive, sheltering in reef crevices, and occurs singly or in small groups. Social groups are harems of one male and several females; the species is a protogynous hermaphrodite, and the most dominant female changes sex if the male is lost. It feeds mainly on algae and detritus, along with small benthic invertebrates. Günther named it Holacanthus bispinosus in 1860 as a replacement name for Bleeker's Chaetodon diacanthus, with a type locality at Ambon, Indonesia. It is assessed as Least Concern and is frequently exported for the aquarium trade.

Appearance
Blue-purple head and fins with an orange-to-yellow center to the body, streaked with blue lines or spots, and bright blue edges on the dorsal, anal and tail fins. Color varies widely: some fish are almost all blue with a hint of orange, others are mostly orange with blue mainly on the head and fins, and dealers sometimes sell 'yellow body' fish separately (listed as Centropyge cf. bispinosa). Sharp, rear-facing spines on the gill covers. Males and females look alike. Look for the orange or yellow vertical barring on the mid-flank and the blue fin edges to tell it from other dark dwarf angels.
Native range
Indo-West and Central Pacific: East Africa (Tanzania to South Africa) east to the Tuamotu Islands, north to the Izu Islands (Japan) and south to Lord Howe Island; in Australia from the Rowley Shoals and Ashmore Reef, Raine Island to Bass Point (NSW), Christmas Island, Norfolk Island and the Coral Sea reefs. Absent from the Red Sea and Hawaii. Type locality: Ambon, Indonesia.
Habitat
Outer reef slopes, drop-offs and coral-rich lagoons, also rubble patches, at about 5-50 m (most common around drop-offs). Secretive; shelters in reef crevices and lives singly or in harems of one male with several females and juveniles.
Size
4 in (10.2 cm). FishBase gives 11.5 cm total length; Fishes of Australia, Wikipedia and the Australian Museum give about 10 cm. Quality Marine and Reef Builders give about 4 in, which is typical for aquarium fish.
Lifespan
Not well documented. One retailer care guide cites 10-15 years, while hobby sources give the closely related flame angel about 5-7 years or more; expect several years with good care.
Conservation
Least Concern. Assessed Least Concern by the IUCN (2009). Not listed by CITES. Widely collected for the aquarium trade across the Indo-Pacific. Aquacultured fish are now available: Biota Palau first raised them in 2016 and ORA has bred them in Florida. Choose captive-bred fish when you can

In the aquarium vs in the wild

In your aquarium

A hardy, colorful 'first angelfish' for medium-sized fish-only and reef tanks; it adds color and grazes film algae from the rock.

On the reef

A secretive grazer on Indo-Pacific reef slopes that feeds mostly on algae and detritus, living in small harems.

History

Albert Günther named the species Holacanthus bispinosus in 1860 in the British Museum fish catalogue, as a replacement for Bleeker's earlier name Chaetodon diacanthus; the type came from Ambon in Indonesia. It was later moved to Centropyge. The name bispinosa means 'two-spined', which is where the common name twospined angelfish comes from. In the aquarium hobby, 'coral beauty' became the usual name, and the fish has long been sold as the go-to first dwarf angel because it is hardy, colorful and widely available. In October 2016 Biota Palau revealed a batch of about 50 captive-bred coral beauties, the first sizable aquaculture success for the species. ORA has also produced them at its Fort Pierce, Florida, hatchery, and aquacultured coral beauties are now a regular option for aquarists.

Evolution & relatives

The coral beauty is a pygmy angelfish in the family Pomacanthidae. DNA studies (Bellwood et al. 2004) show the angelfishes are a distinct lineage whose closest relatives are the butterflyfishes and scats, and WoRMS now places these families, together with the surgeonfishes (tangs), in the order Acanthuriformes. That puts it on the same big branch as tangs and butterflyfish, but far from wrasses, gobies and clownfish. Gaither et al. (2014), using an estimated age of 38 million years for the family, found that Centropyge split from the regal angelfish genus Pygoplites about 33 million years ago, with three deep pygmy-angel lineages separating 18-28 million years ago and young species complexes only 3-12 million years ago. Their trees show that Centropyge as currently defined is paraphyletic, because Genicanthus and Apolemichthys nest inside it. In most of the species complexes, the members differ only in color. Bellwood and colleagues found that most of the family's species and ecological diversity arose in the pygmy-angel clade, starting near the Oligocene-Miocene boundary.

Family tree, from kingdom down

  1. Kingdom Animalia Animals Animals are living things made of many cells that must eat food to live. Fish, corals, crabs, snails and sea stars are all animals.
  2. Phylum Chordata Chordates Chordates have a stiff rod running down their back at some point in their lives. In fish and people, this rod is replaced by a backbone.
  3. Subphylum Vertebrata Vertebrates Vertebrates are animals with a backbone and a skull. Fish, frogs, birds and people are all vertebrates.
  4. Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
  5. Parvphylum Osteichthyes bony fishes
  6. Gigaclass Actinopterygii ray-finned fishes
  7. Superclass Actinopteri
  8. Class Teleostei Teleost fishes Teleosts are bony fishes with thin, bendy fin rays and jaws that can push forward. Almost all of the fish in the world are teleosts.
  9. Order Acanthuriformes Surgeonfishes, angelfishes and kin This order of fishes includes surgeonfishes, marine angelfishes and rabbitfishes. Many have deep, flat bodies and graze on reefs.
  10. Family Pomacanthidae Marine angelfishes Marine angelfishes are colorful reef fish with a strong spine on each cheek. Many change their colors as they grow up.
  11. Genus Centropyge Pygmy angelfishes Pygmy angelfishes are small, colorful angelfish that stay close to the reef. They graze on algae and tiny animals.
  12. Species Centropyge bispinosa

See it on the Tree of Life Compare with another species

Closest relatives

  • Centropyge loriculus Flame Angelfish Same genus; the other classic beginner dwarf angel Read guide · Compare
  • Centropyge flavissima Lemonpeel Angelfish Same genus
  • Centropyge bicolor Bicolor Angelfish Same genus Read guide · Compare
  • Centropyge eibli Eibl's Angelfish Same genus
  • Centropyge acanthops African Flameback Angelfish Same genus, subgenus Xiphypops; also aquacultured by ORA Read guide · Compare
  • Pygoplites diacanthus Regal Angelfish Closest living genus outside the pygmy-angel clade; split about 33 million years ago

Older scientific names: Holacanthus bispinosus, Centropyge bispinosus.

Fun facts

  1. Its scientific name, bispinosa, means 'two-spined'.
  2. No two coral beauties look exactly alike: some are almost all blue, others mostly orange.
  3. Coral beauties live in harems, and if the male disappears, the dominant female turns into a male.
  4. The first big batch of captive-bred coral beauties, about 50 tiny juveniles, was raised by Biota in the island nation of Palau in 2016.
  5. In the WoRMS classification, angelfish share an order (Acanthuriformes) with tangs and butterflyfish.

Learn more

Sources

  1. FishBase species summary: Centropyge bispinosa fishbase.se
  2. WoRMS taxon record 278830 marinespecies.org
  3. Fishes of Australia: Centropyge bispinosa fishesofaustralia.net.au
  4. Australian Museum: Coral Beauty australian.museum
  5. Wikipedia: Twospined angelfish en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia: Centropyge en.wikipedia.org
  7. LiveAquaria: Coral Beauty Angelfish liveaquaria.com
  8. Quality Marine: Coral Beauty Angelfish qualitymarine.com
  9. Quality Marine: Coral Beauty Angelfish, Yellow Body qualitymarine.com
  10. Reef Builders: Coral Beauty Angelfish (2013) reefbuilders.com
  11. Reef Builders: Biota raises captive-bred coral beauties (2016) reefbuilders.com
  12. Reef Builders: FAQs on dwarf angelfish (2023) reefbuilders.com
  13. CORAL Magazine: ORA captive-bred dwarf angels (2020) coralmagazine.com
  14. Gensou: Coral Beauty care guide gensou.sg
  15. Gaither et al. 2014, Evolution of pygmy angelfishes (PubMed) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  16. Bellwood et al. 2004, Evolution and biogeography of marine angelfishes researchonline.jcu.edu.au
  17. Wikipedia: Cryptocaryon irritans en.wikipedia.org
  18. Wikipedia: Amyloodinium ocellatum en.wikipedia.org

Care facts

The care facts on this guide and its product pages (care level, reef safety, temperament, size, tank, diet, flow, purpose, foods, acclimation and origin) combine 14 independent sources, checked October 25, 2026.

  1. Centropyge bispinosa summary FishBase
  2. Coral Beauty, Centropyge bispinosa Fishes of Australia
  3. Coral Beauty Angelfish Biota
  4. Coral Beauty Pygmy Angel - Centropyge bispinosa That Pet Place
  5. coral beauty angelfish Reef Exclusive
  6. Coral Beauty Angelfish LiveAquaria
  7. Keeping the Aptly Named Coral Beauty Angelfish Reef Builders
  8. Coral Beauty Angelfish (Centropyge bispinosa) Tidal Arc
  9. Coral Beauty Angelfish Sustainable Aquatics
  10. Such a Beauty Quality Marine
  11. Coral Beauty Angel Care (A Complete Guide) Aquarium Store Depot
  12. Coral beauty angelfish - Centropyge bispinosa - Fish sheet Fishi-pedia
  13. Saltwater fish: Coral Beauty Angelfish Hydro Habitats
  14. Coral Beauty Angelfish Reef Archive

Scientific names and classification follow the World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID 278830). Last updated October 25, 2026.