Chaetodontoplus melanosoma
Chaetodontoplus melanosoma, the black-velvet angelfish, brown angelfish, or phantom angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean. Description. "Chaetodontoplus melanosoma" has a body which has an overall black or brown colouration with an ochre face and yellowish-orange spots across the forehead. The dorsal, anal and caudal fins have yellow margins. The dorsal fin contains 13 spines and 17-19 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 17-18 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total  length of . Distribution. "Chaetodontoplus melanosoma" is found in the western Pacific Ocean. It lives in central Indonesia around western Java, Bali, Komodo, Flores, Sulawesi, and northeastern Kalimantan. It is also found in Sabah in Malaysia and in the Sulu Archipelago, Cebu, and southern Luzon in the Philippines. Habitat and biology. "Chaetodontoplus melanosoma" occurs at depths of approximately 5 to 30 metres in outer rocky or coastal reefs, and is often found in areas with strong currents or upwellings of cooler water. Its eats tunicates and sponges, and may be observed in pairs or alone."C. melanosoma" is hermaphroditic. Systematics. "Chaetodontoplus  melanosoma" was first formally described in 1855 as "Holocanthus melanosoma" by the Dutch ichthyologist, herpetologist and physician Pieter Bleeker (1819-1878) with the type locality given as Lawajong on Solor in Indonesia. The specific name is a compound of the Greek "melanos meanig “black” and "soma" meaning “body” a reference to the plain black body in adults. In the aquarium. "Chaetodontoplus melanosoma" is commonly exported for the aquarium trade. It is best kept at a temperature of , a pH of 8.1-8.4, a hardness of 8-12 dKH and a salinity of 1.020-1.025 sg. These fishes grow to inches . They are omnivorous, and will consume aquarium invertebrates such as coral. These fish rarely breed in aquaria.