Personatus Angelfish
(Genicanthus personatus)
A Hawaiian endemic. The Personatus Angelfish, also known as the Masked Angelfish, is in that class of fish that Peppermint and Narcosis Angels usually dominate. Like their other high dollar cousins, the Personatus is a Mesophotic fish that can only be collected by a rebreather diver. The Mesophotic zone(also known as the twilight zone) that these fish are usually found is below 200ft and can be found as deep as 600ft.
From juvenile to mature adult, these fish sport incredibly bold color. The pure, almost iridescent white is unbeatable by any other species. As juveniles they sport an all black head. as they mature the black head recedes into the iconic masked look that that they get their name from. Like with all angelfish, Personatus all start as female, then as they mature, the dominant fish will transition to a male and take on a completely new color. The body of the male can be from white to grey to almost baby blue, dorsal and ventral fins become orange, and the face and pelvic fins become yellow. While incredibly rare to see, these fish also grow quite large with males getting up to 12" and living up to two decades!
For the average hobbyist, the likelihood of seeing one of these incredible deepwater rarities is very slim. The majority of collected specimens are exported to Asian countries and the number of captive raised individuals can be in the lower single digits per year. We strive to pull off the impossible for our clientele and usually can get a hold of a few specimens a year. Ask us about availability!
Price: $16,000-20,000- depending on year
