We wrote about this first of its kind accidental cross in March of 2024. That fish, currently 18 months of age, continues to thrive as seen in the above image. Recently, another hybrid was observed in a larval grow out system.
Crossing angelfish species is one thing, and several species hybridize naturally in the wild. But crossing angelfish from different genera is exceptional, and the Regal x Tiger angelfish hybrid is truly unique.
Matthew Wittenrich, co-founder of Poma Labs, stated “We are pretty excited to see our second A. kingi x P. diacanthus hybrid show up recently in a larval tank. A near impossible hybrid in the wild and the first intergeneric hybrid we know of in angelfish.”
“The regal x tiger hybrid showed up in our first batch of tiger angels. We didn’t notice anything unusual until the fish was about 60 days and we moved them out of the larval tank to a new, growout tank. We noticed one juvenile that was not quite like the rest. At first, I thought it was a regal angel since we have a pair in the tank that seemed to be maturing, but the pattern seemed a bit off, almost inverted from a regal angel juvenile.”
Poma Labs has a prolific track record in captive bred marine angels. Notably their groundbreaking work in bringing captive bred Conspicuous Angels (Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus) to market. They certainly haven’t rested on their laurels as demonstrated by subsequent success with a number of species:
- King (Tiger) Angelfish (Apolemichthys kingi)
- Yellow Ear Angelfish (Apolemichthys xanthotis)
- Singapore Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus)
- Black Velvet Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus melanosoma
- Blue Spotted Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus caeruleopunctatus)
- False Personifer (Chaetodontoplus meredithi)
- Blueline Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus septentrionalis)
- Blue Phantom – Black Phantom ( Chaetodontoplus sp.) x Blueline (C. septentrionalis)
We can attest to the health and quality of captive bred angels as our own Blue Phantom has been with us for six years. One wonders what might come next from Poma Labs? We certainly have a few suggestions!
