Not furry, but we like them anyway.

Coral Beauty

Centropyge bispinosa

Also called Twospined angelfish, Two-spined angelfish, Dusky angelfish, Coral beauty angelfish

SpeciesShort profile

From Indo-Pacific: from East Africa to the Tuamotu Islands, north to the Izu Islands of Japan and south to Lord Howe Island1 2

At a glance the quick version

Length10 to 11.5 cm1 2

Sizesmall

One of the easier dwarf angels to keep

Rich blue and orange colouring

Hardy and widely available

3 1 2

Looks how to spot one

Small, oval dwarf angelfish

A small angelfish with a deep purple-blue body crossed by fine, irregular orange to yellow bars. The dorsal, tail and anal fins carry a bright blue edge, and the amount of orange varies from fish to fish.2 3

Colourspurple-blueroyal blueorangeyellow2 3

Personality what they are like

Semi-aggressive but generally manageable. It likes to keep near cover and explores the rockwork for food.3 1

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Busy and curious, grazing on the rockwork for much of the day.3 1

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Give it plenty of hiding places and rock to graze on. It may nip at stony and soft corals, so take care in a reef tank.3

Home where they are happiest

A tank of at least 70 US gallons (about 265 L) with lots of rock. Saltwater at about 22 to 26 °C, pH 8.1 to 8.4, dKH 8 to 12, specific gravity 1.020 to 1.025. Wild fish live in coral-rich lagoons, rubble areas and drop-offs, mostly at about 5 to 50 m.3 1 2

Food basics what goes in the bowl

An omnivore. Offer a varied menu of spirulina and marine algae, a good angelfish food, and meaty items such as frozen mysis shrimp. In the wild it feeds on algae and detritus.3 2 1

Company who they like around

Lives in small groups of one male with several females. If the male disappears, the dominant female changes sex and takes his place. Usually best kept as a single dwarf angel per tank.2 1

The story where it all began

Albert Günther described the species from Ambon Island in Indonesia; FishBase gives the year as 1860 while Wikipedia gives 1869. The name bispinosa refers to its two spines, and in the aquarium hobby it is best known by the trade name Coral Beauty.1 2

Fun facts for the dinner table

1
If the only male in a group is lost, the top female turns into a male.2
2
Its scientific name means 'two-spined', which is also behind its other common name, the twospined angelfish.2
3
It ranges across a huge area, from the coast of East Africa to French Polynesia.1
4
It is one of the dwarf angels most often recommended to beginners because of its easy care level.3

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 2009)1

The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you

A typical home-care rhythm for a Coral Beauty. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.

FeedingSmall amounts once or twice a dayevery day
Temperature checkevery day
Salinity checkevery week
Top-upTop up evaporation with fresh RO water, not salt waterevery day
Water testevery week
Water changeAbout 10 to 20% of the waterevery 2 weeks
Glass cleanevery week

Tell me when it launches

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Where this comes from

Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at support@furrydiary.app and we will fix it.

FishBase: Centropyge bispinosa, Twospined angelfish fishbase.seused for length, distribution, depth, habitat, diet, harem size, IUCN status, describer
Wikipedia: Centropyge bispinosa en.wikipedia.orgused for other names, colour description, size, habitat depth, sex change, history
LiveAquaria: Coral Beauty Angelfish liveaquaria.comused for aquarium care, tank size, water parameters, temperament, diet, care level

Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.