Nine More Peppermint Angelfish Show Up at Blue Harbor

Koji Wada, Rufus Kimura, hallowed by your names. If the aquarium hobby were a religion, and believe us when we say that some people treat it as such, then these two gentlemen would be considered saints and their beautiful fish would be considered angels (pun absolutely intended). The collection efforts of deep diver Rufus Kimura has exposed a whole new world to the aquarium hobby, and just recently, he sent not one, but nine of the super rare peppermint angelfish (Paracentropyge boylei) to famed rare fish retailer, Koji Wada of Blue Harbor in Japan.

Recently shared on the Blue Harbor Facebook page, this teaser image features nine beautiful peppermint angelfish and possibly a Cirrhilabrus claire fairy wrasse (pictured far left), though we can’t quite tell from this picture. Prior to Blue Harbor’s acquisition of five peppermint angelfish back in Februrary, only two were known to be in captivity. One of those was housed at the Waikiki Aquarium, a donation by Richard Pyle, while the other resided in the private aquarium of an extreme hobbyists in Asia. This latest group brings the total number of peppermint angelfish collected this year up to 14, all of which have gone through  Blue Harbor.

Little is known about the source of the fish (or little has been revealed), other than Rufus Kimura’s name has been mentioned a time or two. He has a track record for collecting high end rarities, and we believe he got each and every one of these beauties. Koji revealed that all of the fish are spoken for, which comes as no surprise considering just how rare they are. We just hope that at least one of them makes it stateside. If one does, it will likely be through LiveAquaria or Aquatouch, as those two establishments are no strangers to the rarest fish in this country.

We’ll update if any new developments come to light.