Amazing Angels - Aquacultured Goldflake Angel

Here at Quality Marine, we see more fish than most people, and it would be easy get a bit “hard to impress” if we weren't all raging aquarium nerds. Almost everything that comes in the door here gorgeous, but there's a few fish that just seem to be more, and no matter how many times you see them, you're just struck with how completely stunning they are. Throughout all the stages of their lives, Goldflake Angels (Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus) are this fish. When the aquacultured ones from Bali Aquarich come in, everyone has a look. These are dream fish material, the absolute showpiece that a killer tank deserves. They're predominantly a deep yellow, with golden flecks, which doesn't sound possible, but it is. Then you give them black fins and rim them in neon blue and you can see why we all love them so much.

Wild caught Goldflakes are often reclusive when they're new to the aquarium, and this ties into their scientific name Apolemos are the root of Apolemichthys and means quiet or peaceful. Though they do get more territorial and somewhat more aggressive as they get bigger. They also called Golden Spotted Angels, or Goldspotted Angels, both of which are boring.

The biggest Apolemichthys xanthopunctatus on record was about 10 inches long, but they reach adulthood way before that. You can expect your Goldflake to get seven or eight inches long which will take a few years, but much bigger is unlikely. Still, that's definitely an attention-grabbing size, and it'll need a tank to match. 125 gallons in a six-foot-long configuration would be the smallest we'd suggest. This tank should have strong flow (at least 10x tank volume) and plenty of rockwork for your Angel to graze on, swim around and hide in. We'd suggest covering this display and any display that has a fish of this caliber in it. It's not like this fish is a known jumper, but there's no point in risking seeing it on the floor. Substrate will be immaterial. These are great fish for bare bottom tanks, so go forward with whatever your aesthetic demands.

As a genus Apolemichthys is almost entirely made up of gorgeous Angelfish that get big but not huge like Pomacanthus. So why aren't they in everyone's tank? Starting off, this was a very rare fish before we started getting aquacultured ones, and there's another reason that's really two. It's all about what they eat. Traditionally wild caught fish could be taught to take frozen and pellet foods, but they were really shy when introduced and so they missed mealtimes. The other thing is that wild Goldflake Angels will definitely eat some of the invertebrates in your tank, especially sponges.

Aquacultured Goldflakes don't suffer from the shyness, having been around people since they hatched, and have been raised on pellets since they were big enough to get one in their mouth. As a result, they're easier to feed than you are. In house we give them the Nutramar Complete formula both as Pellets and as Shots, which they love to graze on. We also mix in a good dose of Frozen foods from Gamma, including Mysis, Chopped Mussel, Chopped Prawn, Vegetarian Diet and the Brine Plus Omega / Brine Plus Spirulina. These Angels would be perfectly healthy and happy on just the pellet food, but we keep a mix of foods going so they stay accustomed to whatever the end aquarists like to feed. We do strongly suggest that the Nutramar Pellets remain a significant portion of their diet as it is very challenging to get that level of protein density and broad-spectrum nutrition when only utilizing frozen foods. Here we feed these Angels twice daily, and you should maintain this schedule in your home display.

This is one of those Angels that hobbyists will claim success with having in reef tanks, and we suppose this does sometimes work out. It's pretty likely that your Angel won't like all your corals, but it's fairly likely that they'll sample them and might like some of what they eat. “Reef Safe with Caution” is the phrase often bandied about, but we'll dub them “At Your Own Risk.” Having been hatched and raised in captivity, these Bali Aquarich Aquacultured Angels have never seen a coral, and haven't had to forage ever. If you want to attempt keeping a Goldflake in your reef tank, these are definitely the fish to go with. All that being said, these feeding behaviors are pretty well programmed, so there is still some risk. It's fairly likely that they will at least eat all the little sponges on your rock, and that's totally worth it. Clams are also another high-risk item, while corals are more a fish by fish or coral by coral choice. They are perfect choices for FOWLR tank (Fish Only with Live Rock).

In regard to other fish, Aquacultured Goldflake Angels aren't necessarily peaceful fish, but they usually aren't complete jerks either. Once acclimated, they can be boisterous, because they're on the bigger side, can swim fast, and eat with gusto, they will definitely scare timid fish into hiding, so avoid things like Dartfish and Sifter Gobies. If you get two juveniles that have been kept together, it's pretty likely you'll be able to keep them as a pair, but you'll want a much bigger tank. Just imagine an eight foot long 240 with a pair of Goldflakes as the centerpiece?!? Talk about dream tank! They aren't going to mix well if you try to pair them yourselves so don't try to add similar sized angels to the tank. Larger and smaller Angelfish have a better likelihood of working out. Other good tankmates would be Halichoeres and Thalassoma Wrasses, Trigger Fish, Anthias, Damsels, Clowns (especially bigger ones like our QM Labs Black Pearl Clarkii) and there's plenty more. Do a bit of research on anything you mix into your aquarium before you bring it home.

We've always loved Goldflake Angels around here, under good lighting they're like the sun shining on a dragon's horde. It's difficult to imagine something this beautiful in your aquarium. With the breakthroughs from Bali Aquarich almost ten years ago now, you can get them aquacultured, which means they are more regularly available, but still rare enough so not everyone is going to have one; it also means there's no potential feeding pitfalls and there's no shyness. For those of you with a big enough tank, this is about the perfect piscine prize for your display. Ask your Local Fish Store about getting you an Aquacultured Goldflake Angel from Quality Marine today!