Resplendent Angelfish Video
- Thread starter coralite
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copps
Premium Member
Great stuff Jake! That fish is lonely though! It should be paired up with another Atlantic Centropyge!
For those who haven't seen, you could see video of my resplendens courting on this page .
There's a reason they look similar. This species is directly descended from two waves of Brazilian flameback larvae that hit Ascension in the last 250,000 to 500,000 years. Brazilian flamebacks were long rumored to be found even on the West African Coast all the way across the Atlantic... and just recently this was scientifically documented and confirmed (I have the paper and photo of a collected specimen). This is pretty exciting stuff for angelfish nerds... Holacanthus africanus IS NOT the only East Atlantic angel...
People who appreciate this fish appreciate it for much more than color. It's got an amazing story to tell... No one will ever argue that price buys beauty... you could fill your tank with a rainbow of beautiful cheap fish.
Anyway, resplendens are still collected, but all go to Japan. I was in the Osaka area in January and I saw three different houses with wild resplendens in them... here's a shot of one of them... the largest resplendens I've ever seen! The amazing thing is that this guy had at least three angels in his house I'd take before this fish...
Here's a shot from another house with a pair front and center. This tank also had hybrid babies from my pair shown in the above linked thread (you could see one bottom left)...
Also, civilians can visit Ascension... there are even hotels now...
http://www.obsidian.co.ac/index.html
This is one of the locations I'm planning for some "rare angel" dive trips I'd like to schedule in the future...
... including Easter Island, Lord Howe and Ball's Pyramid, Clipperton, Revillagigedos, Durban, Ogasawara... and more locations pending rebreather certification! 
Copps
For those who haven't seen, you could see video of my resplendens courting on this page .
There's a reason they look similar. This species is directly descended from two waves of Brazilian flameback larvae that hit Ascension in the last 250,000 to 500,000 years. Brazilian flamebacks were long rumored to be found even on the West African Coast all the way across the Atlantic... and just recently this was scientifically documented and confirmed (I have the paper and photo of a collected specimen). This is pretty exciting stuff for angelfish nerds... Holacanthus africanus IS NOT the only East Atlantic angel...
People who appreciate this fish appreciate it for much more than color. It's got an amazing story to tell... No one will ever argue that price buys beauty... you could fill your tank with a rainbow of beautiful cheap fish.
Anyway, resplendens are still collected, but all go to Japan. I was in the Osaka area in January and I saw three different houses with wild resplendens in them... here's a shot of one of them... the largest resplendens I've ever seen! The amazing thing is that this guy had at least three angels in his house I'd take before this fish...
Here's a shot from another house with a pair front and center. This tank also had hybrid babies from my pair shown in the above linked thread (you could see one bottom left)...
Also, civilians can visit Ascension... there are even hotels now...
http://www.obsidian.co.ac/index.html
This is one of the locations I'm planning for some "rare angel" dive trips I'd like to schedule in the future...
... including Easter Island, Lord Howe and Ball's Pyramid, Clipperton, Revillagigedos, Durban, Ogasawara... and more locations pending rebreather certification! Copps
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John I know you have shown that pic before, but this time I had to check it out because that fish has a tone of spines! And I know it is said that angelfish have a gill spine, and some like the blue angel (Holacanthus bermudensis) have a bunch and was wondering if this was like those.
But I was able to find pics of argi's, fishers, flamebacks (both species), all with multiple gill spines. I also found a coral beauty too. Does anybody know does this come with age in the fish?
P.S. John in my search your picture comes up twice if you search for the Resplendent angel and also when you search the fishers. You really are THE angel nut.
But I was able to find pics of argi's, fishers, flamebacks (both species), all with multiple gill spines. I also found a coral beauty too. Does anybody know does this come with age in the fish?
P.S. John in my search your picture comes up twice if you search for the Resplendent angel and also when you search the fishers. You really are THE angel nut.
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