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Bicolor Angelfish
Centropyge bicolor (Bloch, 1787)

A Bicolor Angelfish at a depth of 13m, Wheeler Reef, Great Barrier Reef off Townsville, Queensland, November 2001. View larger image.

A Bicolor Angelfish at a depth of 23m, North Solitary Island, New South Wales, May 2003. View larger image.

Bicolor Angelfish are yellow anteriorly and blue posteriorly. There is a blue bar above the eyes and the caudal fin is yellow.

This species grows to 15cm in length.

Bicolor Angelfish inhabit rubbly areas in lagoons and on reef slopes. They use crevices in the reef for shelter. This fish is commonly seen singly, in pairs or in small aggregations.

It is found in depths from 3m to 25m.

The Bicolor Angelfish feeds on algae, small crustaceans and worms close to the bottom.

It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Western Pacific, from Malaysia, north to Japan, south to Australia and east to Fiji.

In Australia it is known from the north-western coast of Western Australia around the tropical north of the country, and south to northern New South Wales.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

Angelfishes are related to the butterflyfishes (Family Chaetodontidae). The Angelfishes have a distinctive preopercular (glossary) spine that is lacking in the butterflyfishes.

Further reading

1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 220.
2. Allen, G.R., Steene, R. & M. Allen. 1998. A Guide to Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes. Odyssey Publishing/Tropical Reef Research. Pp. 250.
3. Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
4. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 251.