Banggai Cardinalfish
Pterapogon kauderni
Flamefish
Apogon maculatus
About
The flamefish is a small, fiery-coloured cardinalfish that spends the day tucked out of sight and comes out to feed after dark.
Also known as: flame cardinalfish, spotted cardinalfish
How to tell it apart
It can be mistaken for other small reddish cardinalfish on the same reefs, but the snout stripe settles it - it stays visible even in low light.
Appearance
Its body is a bright reddish-orange, scattered with small black spots, with a larger dark patch near the base of the tail. A long black stripe runs along the snout. The overall colour pattern is what gives the fish its name, since it looks like a small flame.
Habitat
It lives on coral reefs in the Western Atlantic, mainly around the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the Caribbean. It hides in shadowy crevices and under ledges by day, since reefs offer both shelter from predators and plenty of food nearby.
Did you know?
Kept in a tank, this fish's fiery colour fades unless it is fed special colour-boosting food - a sign of just how much of its look comes from diet.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
