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Species Guide

Flame Angelfish vs Bicolor Angelfish

⇄ Swap sides

How related are they?

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

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

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

RankFlame AngelfishBicolor 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 loriculus Flame Angelfish Centropyge bicolor Bicolor Angelfish

Care, side by side

FactFlame AngelfishBicolor 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 Film and filamentous algae grazed from live rock, Frozen angelfish formulas (with sponge), Mysis shrimp Spirulina and marine algae foods, Angelfish preparations, Mysis or frozen shrimp
Max size 5 in (12.7 cm) 5.9 in (15 cm)
Minimum tank 75 gal 70 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 About 5-7 years in aquariums, sometimes longer (hobby sources; no formal longevity study found). 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.
Breeding Hard Very hard
Conservation (IUCN) Least Concern Least Concern