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Species Guide

Bicolor Angelfish vs Flame Angelfish

⇄ Swap sides

How related are they?

Same genus, Centropyge (Pygmy angelfishes): very close cousins

They split at the species level: the Bicolor Angelfish belongs to Centropyge bicolor (Bicolor Angelfish), the Flame Angelfish to Centropyge loriculus (Flame Angelfish).

Find the Bicolor Angelfish on the tree · Find the Flame Angelfish on the tree

Family lines, side by side

Highlighted rows are groups both animals belong to. The marked row is where their lines go separate ways.

RankBicolor AngelfishFlame Angelfish
Kingdom Animalia Animals
Phylum Chordata Chordates
Subphylum Vertebrata Vertebrates
Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
Parvphylum Osteichthyes bony fishes
Gigaclass Actinopterygii ray-finned fishes
Superclass Actinopteri
Class Teleostei Teleost fishes
Order Acanthuriformes Surgeonfishes, angelfishes and kin
Family Pomacanthidae Marine angelfishes
Genus Centropyge Pygmy angelfishes
Species split Centropyge bicolor Bicolor Angelfish Centropyge loriculus Flame Angelfish

Care, side by side

FactBicolor AngelfishFlame Angelfish
Type Fish · Angelfish Fish · Angelfish
Care level Moderate Moderate
Reef safe With caution With caution
Temperament Semi-aggressive Semi-aggressive
Diet Omnivore Omnivore
Favorite foods Spirulina and marine algae foods, Angelfish preparations, Mysis or frozen shrimp Film and filamentous algae grazed from live rock, Frozen angelfish formulas (with sponge), Mysis shrimp
Max size 5.9 in (15 cm) 5 in (12.7 cm)
Minimum tank 70 gal 75 gal
Temperature 72–78 °F 72–78 °F
Salinity (SG) 1.020–1.025 1.020–1.025
pH 8.1–8.4 8.1–8.4
Lifespan 5-13 years in the wild depending on location (Wikipedia); FishBase gives a maximum reported age of 13 years. No captive lifespan study was found. About 5-7 years in aquariums, sometimes longer (hobby sources; no formal longevity study found).
Breeding Very hard Hard
Conservation (IUCN) Least Concern Least Concern