Purple Masked Angelfish

Centropyge venusta - The Venustus or purple masked angelfish is a rare dwarf angelfish perfect for aquarists looking for that showy angel in a tiny package. This superhero look alike has a bright purple mask over their eyes with a yellow and purple body. They are notoriously finicky eaters when wild-caught, so captive-bred versions are much hardier and ready for mature, stable aquariums. These fish are likely to be more coral safe than other similar angelfish, but shouldn't be expected to be clam safe as they tend to pick at the mantles.

Feeding

They are already trained and raised on prepared foods readily available to hobbyists like marine pellets and frozen foods. Their ideal diet should include high quality pellets like Easy Reefs DKI pellets and Masstick, Tdo pellets, frozen mysis, frozen Spirulina brine shrimp, and frozen angelfish diets containing sponge.

Care

Though the captive bred individuals are easier to keep, this species is still sensitive to changing/swinging water parameters, immature aquariums, and poor water conditions. This species does best when kept in a very mature, stable aquarium with lots of rock work for hiding and grazing. If you plan to quarantine your new angelfish, take a look at our article about how to keep the parameters stable and the tank free of detritus and organic matter at all times in a quarantine tank. You can also use an acrylic acclimation box to introduce these small fish to your display aquarium. Please also be sure to follow our important acclimation procedure.