Aquacultured Clarion Angel Becomes Available in West Hemisphere

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Quality Marine announced the first Aquacultured Clarion Angel (Holacanthus clarionensis) is now available for sale in North America.

This fish was produced from a captive breeding at Bali Aquarich, where it was reared to a salable size.

It was then shipped to the United Kingdom for a brief period and now it is beginning its North American tour in Southern California, starting at Quality Marine.

The Clarion Angel is a gorgeous fish that adapts very well to aquarium environments.

They are hardy and are “personable” tank inhabitants.

Though they can be pugnacious with tank mates, they generally learn to recognize people as feeders and will interact with them.

This is a fish with a very limited distribution, coming only from shallow water tropical reef locations from the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico down to Clipperton Island. The majority of the species can be found in the Revillagigedo Islands.

The population size, distribution and habitat that this fish prefers is so limited that it could easily be over exploited. It is currently listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List.

Quality Marine does not import or stock wild Clarion Angels.

Juveniles of this species are generally solitary and territorial and occasionally have been seen acting as cleaner fish.

Adults are generally also observed singly, and have also been observed acting as cleaners for very large rays.

They also occasionally form large groups which some literature suggests is for breeding.

H. Clarionensis has a fairly small adult size at 7.8 inches.

Like most fish in their genus, a large portion of their wild diet consists of sponge matter, with some aquarists reporting that coloration fades if food containing sponges is not offered.

The blue barring of this juvenile fish will fade and it will end up being a brilliant gold coloration.

Quality Marine works to support responsible operators that collect in a sustainable manner.