Flame Cardinalfish (Apogon maculatus)
The Flame Cardinalfish (Apogon maculatus) known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Flamefish, Spotted Cardinalfish, Ruby Cardinalfish, and Two Spot Cardinalfish is native to the Western Atlantic Ocean.
Its range extends from as far north as New England, to Bermuda and Southeast Florida, the entire Gulf of America, the Bahamas and across the Caribbean Sea; and southward along the coast of South America to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Flame Cardinalfish is a cryptic reef dwelling species that during daylight hours are found alone or in pairs hovering motionless in the deep rock pockets and coral recesses of their range along steep vertical drops, hard rocky ledges, and undersides of large coral outcroppings at depths from 3 to over 420 feet.,
During the day in the shallower inshore environments where they are most commonly encountered in depths from 2 to 45 feet, Flame Cardinalfish are often found nestling between dense, branching hard corals and large barrel sponges, or sheltering under spaces in sea walls, around pilings, and under docks.
Although Flame Cardinalfish will occasionally hover over soft sandy or muddy bottoms near the base of a reef structure, they will rarely venture out over open sand flats devoid of overhead cover.
Flame Cardinalfish are strictly nocturnal predators that are fiercely territorial of their individual caves by day and merge into loose, temporaty aggregations to forage in the open water on benthic and pelagic shrimp, crabs, mysids, zooplankton, planktonic larvae, smaller fish and ostracods at night.
When a Flame Cardinalfish eats an ostracod in the dark, the tiny crustacean releases a chemical cocktail that ignites a chemical explosion of bright blue bioluminescent light inside the fish’s semi-translucent mouth that alerts other predatory species of its location. Usually they will immediately spit out the ostracod which creates an illusion of the fish spitting fire.
Flame Cardinalfish (Apogon maculatus)
The Flame Cardinalfish has a bright red, crimson or vibrant orange colored body with a round black spot on the upper flank just beneath the base of the second dorsal fin; a large, oblique, extendable mouth, and oversize eyes with a dark pupil a bright, reflective iris and two horizontil iridescent white, blue, or green white lines across the center.
They have two separate dorsal fins that are generally transparent or reddish in color, and a black saddle like bar wrapped over the caudal peduncle.
Males have larger, more pronounced dorsal fins with darker outlines, a larger, broader squared off jawline, and retain a leaner, more compressed pody profile than females which are noticeably plumper.
The Flamefish (Apogon maculatus) is often confused with the Flame Cardinal or Red Cardinal (Apogon binotatus), which is a closely related but distinctly different Western Atlantic species that lacks the single bold body spot and instead has two dark bands wrapped completely around its body.
The Flame Cardinalfish can be housed in a mature FOWLR or reef aquarium of at least 30 gallon capacity with an aragonite sand or bare bottom substrate, and plenty of live rock stacked into dark shaded caverns and overhangs for them to shelter among. Because they startle easily, a tight fitting mesh or glass lid is mandatory, and a programmable LED with Moonlight setting is recommended to provide subdued lighting and keep them from staying hidden. An oversized protein skimmer, strong filtration system and a small power head is recommended to maintain water quality and provide low to moderate movement.
The Flame Cardinalfish are reef safe with caution. They will not touch corals or ornamental clams but large specimens will
Flame Cardinalfish (Apogon maculatus)
opportunistically eat tiny ornamental shrimp and small worms.
Only purchase a single Flame Cardinalfish per tank unless you are buying a guaranteed, pre-bonded mated pair. Putting two random Flame Cardinals in a 30 gallon tank will result in severe territorial fighting.
In larger FOWLR or reef tanks Flame Cardinals can be housed with peaceful, non aggressive species that occupy different levels in the tank such as Royal Grammas, Firefish Gobies, Clownfish or Tailspot Blennies. Avoid aggressive predators like Groupers, Lionfish, Eels, Frogfish, large Hawkfish and Wrasses and hyperactive fish like Maroon Clownfish, Dottybacks, large Tangs, Damselfish and large aggressive Angelfish.
The Flame Cardinalfish is commonly bred in an aquarium environment however successfully raising the fry to adulthood is exceptionally difficult.
Unlike Banggai Cardinalfish which release fully formed, large miniature juveniles that can immediately eat baby brine shrimp, Flame Cardinals release tiny, microscopic pelagic larvae that require a dedicated, separate rearing tank equipped only with a very gentle air stone and constant access to specialized, live microscopic copepod cultures.
Flame Cardinalfish are paternal mouthbrooders that after a brief courtship where the pair swims in quick zigzag patterns and fan their fins near the substrate carry out spawning. A pair will produce a sticky, cohesive, ball like mass consisting of thousands of extremely small, less than 1 mm eggs. The male catches the fertilized egg mass in his mouth where he aerates them by churning them and rolling them around. After fasting for 5 to 8 days, the tiny fry are released at night into the plankton rich ocean currents to feed on microscopic copepod nauplii until they become juveniles and eventually adults.
A mature female Flame Cardinalfish (Apogon maculatus) typically produces a clutch of 1,000 to over 3,000 eggs per spawning cycle.
In the wild, Flame Cardinalfish are nocturnal ambush predators that feed on zooplankton, mysid shrimp, copepods, amphipods, and small fish fry. In an aquarium environment they should be initially fed live or frozen mysis shrimp, enriched brine shrimp, calanus, and finely chopped seafoods at dusk or dawn. Feed adults 1 or 2 times a day, juveniles 2 to 3 times a day, and post brooding males at least 2 to 3 times a day. Feeding once in the morning and once in the evening replicates their nocturnal schedule.
The Flame Cardinalfish (Apogon maculatus) is widely available to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts from a variety of online retailers, wholesalers, and local fish shops at prices that range from $15.00 to $69.00 depending on size, supplier, and area of collection.
Because they are rarely captive bred on a commercial scale, the marine aquarium trade relies almost entirely on wild-caught imports from the Caribbean and the Western Atlantic. They are usually available or easily ordered upon request.
Flame Cardinalfish (Apogon maculatus)
Minimum Tank Size: Single specimen 30 gallons
Aquarium Type: FOWLR or Reef
Care Level: Easy
Temperament: Semi Aggressive
Aquarium Hardiness: Very Hardy
Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8 – 12°, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.020-1.025
Max size: 4.3”
Color Form: Red, Crimson, Orange, Black
Diet: Carnivore
Compatibility: Reef Safe with Caution
Origin: Western Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Southeast Florida, down to Brazil
Family: Apogonidae
Lifespan: 5 years
Aquarist Experience Level: Beginner/Advanced
