Scientific Name: Centropyge loricula

Alt Scientific Name: Holacanthus loriculus

Common Name: Flame Angel Fish

Alt Common Name: Flame Angelfish, Dwarf Flame Angelfish, Dwarf Angel, Flame Angel

Group: Angel Fish (Angel Fishes)

Family: Pomacanthidae

Distribution: Pacific Western; Scattered reef areas in the tropical central to western Pacific; Hawaii, Society Islands, Australia, New Guinea, Philippines and Guam.

Adult Size: 4 inches (10.2cm)

Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons

Temperament: May become territorial and aggressive towards other dwarf angelfish and may even bully other, smaller tank mates. You may have better luck introducing them last into the tank.

Care Difficulty: 5/10

Reef Safety Score : 2/3

Temperature Range: 75°F - 82°F

pH Range: 8.1 - 8.4

Salinity Range (specific gravity): 1.021 - 1.027

Diet Information: Dwarf angels, unlike their larger brethren are notably not as dependent on sponge materials for nutrition. Algae is very important, and accounts for nearly 70% of their total intake in natural habitats. Some keepers will culture rocks within a refugium system, allowing them to overgrow with algae and then placing them within the main tank for feeding. However dried flakes, frozen fares and fresh greens will be readily accepted. A varied diet will ensure healthy colouration and metabolic development.

Additional Information : One of the most colorful and attractive of the commonly available marine angelfishes is the Dwarf Flame Angel fish. It has a striking red or orange body with vertical black bars in the mid section. The good news is that the Flame Angel fish only gets to be about 4 inches (10 cm) or so and can be the prize specimen in any tank. The bad news is that they can be fairly expensive, they don't ship very well, and may bully other dwarf angelfishes or smaller tank mates. Flame Angel fish need a tank with moderate to high water circulation, better than average water quality (very low or zero nitrates) and plenty of live rock. They will graze on the live rock in between meals and use any hiding places provided by the live rock when they feel threatened. When it comes to eating, they are not as picky as some other saltwater fish. They seem to really like the frozen marine foods, live and flake foods. Definitely plan on using some dried algae supplements if not enough is present on the live rock in your tank to avoid any nutritional disorders. Unfortunately, Flame Angels are often shipped with some type of saltwater fish disease and the use a quarantine tank before introducing them into your main tank is a must. Because Flame Angel fish can be quite expensive (though not as expensive as some of the larger saltwater angelfish) it is a good idea to ask the fish store to hold them for a couple of weeks before you bring them home. As far as reef tank compatibility goes, some reefers have kept them with no problems at all and some had to remove them because they were picking at the corals or clams.

Tank Mate Compatibility : Timid; Dwarf angels are known prey items for many larger reef fishes. Which explains their inquisitive and alert behaviour. Placing these fish with larger predatory species should be avoided (ie: Groupers/Bass, Lionfish, Triggers). Correspondingly, smaller docile tankmates should be avoided. As they will tend to get chased around the tank regularly. Although many keepers have successfully housed Flame angels with smaller species, caution should still be considered. Dwarf angels are best introduced into communities last or close to it.

Breeding Information: It is very difficult to breed Flame Angels and there are very few reported sucesses of breeding in an aquarium.

Determining Sex: It can be very difficult to determine any external differences between male and female. Males might be larger and slightly more colorful.

Primary Area in Tank: All over