Flame angelfish

The flame angelfish (Centropyge loricula) is a Pacific Ocean marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It also goes by flame angel, flaming angelfish, or Japanese pygmy angelfish. Its body is bright orange-red, marked with a vertical black spot and four or five bars along the sides; the rear of the dorsal and anal fins display alternating short purple-blue and black bands. Fish from the Marquesas Islands lack the vertical black bars.

Distribution

Males tend to be larger and slightly more colorful than females. Lifespan ranges from five to seven years or more. This species inhabits reefs across Oceania, most commonly around the Marshall, Line, and Cook Islands, and less frequently in the Hawaiian Islands. It typically lives on the foreslopes of coral reefs and in clear lagoons.

Diet

In the wild, it eats a mix of algae and crustaceans. While some individuals survive long in reef aquariums, many die unexpectedly as they age—possibly because juveniles in the Centropyge family feed mainly on plankton and later switch to an adult diet. Underfed fish may need to test new foods, so they are often introduced to well-established tanks and fed frozen mysis shrimp or meaty items like shrimp and clam. In captivity, the flame angelfish accepts brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, other meats, spirulina, seaweed sheets, and pellets; it also favors tuna and table shrimp.

Breeding

Initially shy, especially when small, it usually becomes confident within a week and spends daylight hours grazing on live rock. Individuals that do pick at coral or clam mantles are often underfed. Breeding has occurred in captivity, with successful captive-bred specimens from Atoll Farm Aquaculture in Thailand. In the wild, the flame angelfish is haremic and can be kept in pairs or trios in a very large aquarium, with only one male (males have more blue on the outer edges of the dorsal and anal fins and are larger).

Spawning happens near dusk, releasing pelagic gametes into the water column. The main challenge is collecting eggs and raising the larvae; the fish are broadcast spawners that release eggs and sperm simultaneously at dusk, rising to the top of the water column to do so.