Flameback angelfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Flameback angelfish |
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The flameback angelfish (Centropyge aurantonotus) is a beautiful marine fish. It's also known by other names like the flameback pygmy angelfish or fireball angelfish. This fish is a type of marine angelfish and belongs to the family called Pomacanthidae. You can find it swimming in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean.
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About the Flameback Angelfish
What Does It Look Like?
The flameback angelfish has an oval-shaped body that is quite tall and flat from side to side. It has a short, blunt snout and a small mouth. Around its eyes, there's a blue ring.
Its body is mostly blue, but its head and back are a bright, golden yellow. This yellow part looks a bit like a flame, which is how it got its name! Its tail fin and the fin on its belly are dark blue with many small black spots. This fish can grow up to about 7.5 centimetres (3.0 in) long.
Where Does It Live?
You can find the flameback angelfish in the warm waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean. It lives near places like the Lesser Antilles and Curaçao. It also swims along the northern coast of South America, from Venezuela all the way down to southern Brazil. Sometimes, it has even been seen in the eastern Atlantic, near São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea.
What Is Its Home Like?
The flameback angelfish likes to live in areas with reefs and rocky rubble. It can be found at depths between 15 and 300 metres (49 and 984 ft). Sometimes, you might spot it around patches of staghorn coral, which are a type of coral that looks like deer antlers.
What Does It Eat?
This angelfish enjoys munching on algae and sponges. Like other angelfish, the flameback angelfish lays its eggs in the open water. These eggs float freely, and the baby fish (larvae) also float in the water for a while before settling down.
How Did It Get Its Name?
The flameback angelfish was first officially described in 1974 by a scientist named Warren E. Burgess. The name aurantonotus comes from two words: aurantia, which means "orange," and notus, which means "back." This perfectly describes the golden-orange back of this colorful fish!
Popularity in Aquariums
The flameback angelfish is very popular among people who keep marine aquariums. In the past, thousands of these fish were sent from Brazil to be kept as pets in home aquariums around the world.
