Black Angelfish

Centropyge tibicen

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–23 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsJune
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Centropyge tibicen, the keyhole angelfish, black angelfish, whitespot angelfish or puller angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Centropyge tibicen”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 77 records
February: 54 records
March: 76 records
April: 105 records
May: 80 records
June: 248 records
July: 82 records
August: 76 records
September: 88 records
October: 102 records
November: 81 records
December: 75 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–23 m · Deepest record: 44 m

0–10 m: 77 records
10–20 m: 166 records
20–30 m: 29 records
30–40 m: 10 records
40–50 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

20–22 °C: 12 records
22–24 °C: 27 records
24–26 °C: 49 records
26–28 °C: 5 records
28–30 °C: 193 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Black Angelfish, Keyhole angelfish, Key-hole Angelfish, White Spot Angel

Names in 4 more languages

German: Schlüsselloch-Zwergkaiserfisch
French: Centropyge joueur de flûte, Poisson-ange nain trou de serrure
Japanese: Aburayakko, アブラヤッコ
Simplified Chinese: 白斑刺尻魚, 白斑刺尻魚(白點新娘), 白點新娘

Other scientific names: Centriopyge tibicen, Centropyge tibicens, Holacanthus tibicen, Xiphipops tibicen

Similar species

Coral Beauty
Centropyge bispinosa
Lemon Peel
Centropyge flavissima
Bicolor angelfish
Centropyge bicolor
Damsel Angelfish
Centropyge fisheri
Golden Angelfish
Centropyge heraldi
Angel abu polos
Centropyge vrolikii

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,221 open-data records from 1909 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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