This is certainly exciting news! As first reported by Matt Pedersen/CORAL Magazine, Wen-Ping Su’s marine ornamental fish farm, Bali Aquarich, has just announced a big leap in commercial-scale aquaculture with increased success in the breeding of this beautiful but very challenging fish. The Regal Angelfish, Pygoplites diacanthus, is notoriously hard to feed in captivity, and this breakthrough could fundamentally change the care and keeping of this iconic species!

photo credit: Bali Aquarich

Matt paraphrased the company’s (heavily translated) announcement:  “Regal Angelfish “F2”! This is a very difficult fish. They often refuse to eat in captivity because their natural diet is quite particular, and the survival rate of wild-caught fish in the aquarium is quite low.

Now, all the problems have been solved [by using our first generation of captive-bred Regal Angelfish as broodstock]! I hope this fish, which is very beautiful from small to large, can soon appear in aquariums everywhere. Now, the fish that live in the sea, we can let them stay in the sea.”

Congratulations to Bali Aquarich and all their scientists!