We love the weird and unusual when it comes to fish coloration, and this flame angelfish (Centropyge loricula) from Sea Dwelling Creatures certainly fits the bill. While the typical flame angel has vertical black bars and blue tips on the posterior ends of the anal and dorsal fins, this unique angel is completely devoid of all of that. Instead, it sports nothing but the vivid orange from where it gets its name. You might also notice some slightly darker orange pigmentation where the black bars and fins patterns would normally be seen.
A tiny patch of black does appear to be showing through all of the orange on the fish’s left side, indicating that perhaps the fish will revert back to a more normal color over time. This is obviously a bit speculative on our part, but it’s actuall quite common for this sort of aberrant coloration to only be temporary. Whether a function of diet or environment, the hobbyist usually can’t recreate the source of the discoloration and the unusually colored fish often reverts to a more normal look. Despite this, the all-orange flame angel will probably hold a beefy price tag and it will probably be scooped up rather quickly.
