Genicanthus "semi" semifasciatus... my new hybrid Geni

[copps]

Of the ten known Genicanthus species, six are now regularly attainable (fairly at least) in our hobby... thanks now to the readdition of Genicanthus caudovittatus coming now out of Sumatra... Of these "obtainable six", by far my favorite is Genicanthus semifasciatus... the Japanese masked angel... I've owned a pair now for a while in my sps display... these are not necessarily expensive, but are rare to find in good condition... only coming from the Phillipines and never in large numbers... much more common and widely distributed, yet still beautiful, is Genicanthus melanospilos... known as the swallowtail angel... or the Zebra angel as a male... These species have been known to hybridize, yet never have I seen a small, or female, image of one... but now not only do I have my own images... I have my own little girl... Check her out... a small Genicanthus semifasciatus/melanospilos hybrid... my "semi" semifasciatus...

Of course... I need a key shot...

Below is a shot of my full G. semifasciatus female...

Below is a small shot of Peter's (SDguy) female melanospilos female...

Notice all fo the intermediates in the hybrid... the facial coloration... the yellow dorsal region... and what is very cool is the intermediate caudal peduncle... complete on one side and broken up on the other!

Copps

 

[copps]

Below is a shot of my male G. semifasciatus...

And a couple of shots of them feeding in the display...

 

[tcmfish]

The caudal peduncle is very interesting!! And that male is sweet! Never noticed that greenish tint on their face before.

 

[SDguy]

Wow wow wow! The yellow around the eyes and mouth is really fascinating! Almost a bit of male coloration...

 

[mandynm]

Gorgeous. I'm not sure how you get anything done. I would have to be drug away from looking at all of your tanks.

 

[cas]

Copps you are turning me ito a big fan of angels. Keep the pics coming.

 

[Mathfreak71]

Copps you have another wonderful fish!!

On a side note, I was flipping through available movies on my Roku and there was an IMAX movie "Coral Reef Adventure". My 4 year old loves nature shows so we watched it. As I am sure you know Rich Pyle is featured in the film. It was great to feel a connection as minor as it might be to the movie. It is the ability of normal joes like me to have access to "fish nerds" like you that make this site a truly valuable experience.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge with the rest of us!

 

[pookstreet]

Beautiful, John. Another amazing specimen. I am still hunting for that perfect pair of G. semifaciatus, my holy grail of Genicanthus angels It seems the male is almost impossible to track down.

How well do your Genicanthus angels play with the other pygmy and large angels? Much aggression one way or the other? Eventually, I'll be adding some to the 300 that already has 3 pairs of Genicanthus.

 

[Outerbank]

Man, that is a beautiful pair!

 

[HomeSlizzice]

Nice!

 

[Jacob D]

Nice fish John. Did this one come from BZ by any chance? I saw a similar fish there and the thought crossed my mind.

I've been scrounging around for some semifasciatus, had a shot at a harem but my tank wasn't ready and had to pass. Since then no luck. Definitely agree they're not easy to come by. If you have a source for them that isn't necessarily expensive I would love to know it

 

[coralite]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15640420#post15640420 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by copps
Below is a shot of my male G. semifasciatus...

And a couple of shots of them feeding in the display...

John, your reef tank is amazing, how do you keep so many fish in there? I love that male semifasciatus as well, what a cool fish.

 

[tcmfish]

Are you going to put it in a different tank than your pair in hopes that it will turn male?

 

[Korrine]

wow very impressive.

 

[mdrc]

that would be really cool to see what it would look like if it turned male.......its still an amazing fish as a female...i am continually floored by the fish you have copps

 

[Bonta]

I love your fish selection.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Absolutely beautiful John!

 

[lombard0]

Love the male genicanthus. I was wondering if you can keep a harem of these guys just like the dwarf angels.

 

[copps]

Thank you all! Sharing my passion with you guys is always a joy... and thanks for the compliments on my system and the semifasciatus pair, but this hybrid is a very unique fish!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15641182#post15641182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pookstreet
Beautiful, John. Another amazing specimen. I am still hunting for that perfect pair of G. semifaciatus, my holy grail of Genicanthus angels It seems the male is almost impossible to track down.

How well do your Genicanthus angels play with the other pygmy and large angels? Much aggression one way or the other? Eventually, I'll be adding some to the 300 that already has 3 pairs of Genicanthus.

My holy grail would be G. semicinctus... Frank of RCT has taken some beautiful shots of them at Lord Howe... here is the male and here is the female. Of course, all Genicanthus fans have to read this thread too. The aggression of the Genicanthus angels with the other genera of angels is next to nothing... adding a new Genicanthus is a different story... be careful with this...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15644859#post15644859 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tcmfish
Are you going to put it in a different tank than your pair in hopes that it will turn male?

Yes, this fish will probably go into a 292 fish only, where it will be the only Genicanthus...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15647925#post15647925 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lombard0
Love the male genicanthus. I was wondering if you can keep a harem of these guys just like the dwarf angels.

Yes... Genicanthus form harems and can be kept that way in aquariums if done right with space...

 

[pookstreet]

Now those are serious holy grail fish, for people with deep pockets For me, I have to be realistic. Like you, it's hard taking food out of my two kids' mouths and tell them "Daddy has to buy this fish, so........." :lol: We get our fixes however we can.

If and when I do get my dirty paws on some nice G. semifaciatus, I may get rid of the a couple pairs currently in the tank. But I would have to keep the G. watanabei b/c of sentimental reason.