🐠 Spotbreast Angelfish (Genicanthus melanospilos)
Bluish-White Striped Males and Bright Yellow Females • Dramatic Sexual Dichromatism • One of the Few Truly Reef-Safe, Beginner-Friendly Angelfish
 
📋 The Spotbreast Angelfish, also known as the Blackspot or Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish, is one of the few angelfish to exhibit dramatic sexual dichromatism: males show a bluish-white body with numerous reddish-black vertical stripes and a yellow, blue-edged forked tail, while females display a bright yellow upper body fading into pale blue-white below, with a blue tail edged in bold black.
It comes from the Western Pacific, from Indonesia to Fiji, north to the Ryukyu Islands, and south to New Caledonia, collected from meaningfully deep water, typically 20 to 45 metres, where pairs patrol steep outer reef slopes and drop-offs. Every Spotbreast Angelfish we ship is feeding well.
This is one of the true reef-safe angelfish; unlike most angelfish, Genicanthus species are planktivores rather than coral or sponge nippers, feeding on zooplankton in open water with small mouths adapted for the purpose, making coral nipping rare rather than a real risk. It's also more sociable than most angelfish, tolerating its own kind well and doing best kept as a mated pair or a male with a harem of females, introduced to the tank together. It reaches up to 18cm, so plan on at least 470L.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Dramatic Sexual Dichromatism: Males and females look strikingly different
🌿 Reef Safe: A true planktivore, one of the few safe angelfish genera
🌊 A Deep-Water Origin: Benefits from subdued lighting and open swimming space
👫 Sociable: Does well as a pair or harem, unlike most angelfish
🧠 Beginner Friendly: Hardy and easy to keep for an angelfish species