Flame Angelfish

The flame angelfish (Centropyge Loriculus) is possibly the most familiar member of the genus centropyge in the saltwater aquarium hobby now. It owes this fact to the beauty this saltwater aquarium fish possesses. The entire angelfish is a very intense red to orange while its dorals fin ends and accentuated by an electric blue patch.

Also present are the tiger like black stripes that run down its main body. Flame angelfish generally differ greatly with regards with their general color mix and the number of stripes found on each specimen. Some have more orange than others.

Marine aquarium fish that have an abnormally uniform red can be found in Hawaii. Unlike other variants, their black stripes are not thick but almost always narrow. Hawaiian variants are very rare in the marine aquarium trade as most angelfish are usually collected from Marshall and Christmas Islands.

With proper acclimation and feeding, they can become a robust fish to have. They are a grazing fish their natural habitats that consume algae, detritus and have been known to nip on corals . Coral nipping is generally hit or miss and there is never a way to tell if such a behavior is about to take place.

Many enthusiasts have kept them in full reef aquariums without any troubles but there is always a chance this may change. In large systems with plenty of live rock, removing the offending flame angel is a tricky task that typically requires the use of a trap or physical removal of the rock structure to capture it.

They are not tricky feeders and will try out a wide range of foods in captivity. These fish are semi aggressive and can become the dominant fish in an aquarium with smaller fishes. Never put more than one flame angelfish in the same tank except if you have a exceptionally big aquarium as there will be heightened aggression between the two.