Pygmy angelfish variants are cool but few can compare to aberrant flame angelfish when the colors of Centropyge loricula get put on overdrive. The deep dark black tiger stripes have been replaced with deep red ones on a yellow-orange body and even the dorsal and anal fins are pure red save for a thin strip of blue edging. The enthusiastic fish keepers at SA ReefKeeping in South Africa received this Hawaiian flame angelfish by way of Tropical Marine Centre in the UK, and we don’t know how much of a premium they paid for it but looking at the naturally oversaturated colors of this hyper-red individual it probably wasn’t enough.
Hyper red or “ultra flame” angelfish are not unheard of but considering that Centropyge loricula is a highly sought after reef fish with amazing color, anytime an exceptional specimen comes along it turns heads and opens wallets. Best of all, the hyper-red flame angelfish more or less maintain their colors in captivity unlike some of the super-male pygmy angelfish that are sometimes caught in Cebu or the Coral Sea which gradually turn down their brights. If you have any apprehension about the accuracy of the color in the image above then the video down below ought to convince you how bright these aberrant flame angelfish can be in real life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_2AxkhD_sY
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