Flame Cardinal (Atlantic)

The Flame Cardinal fish is a deep rosy red all over. It has a large eye and fins that stand upright. There are many very similar species which are all grouped as Flame cardinals; most have a few dark blotches over their eyes or bodies. Males and females are visually identical. It grows up to 4 inches.

The Flame Cardinal is a peaceful, reef safe fish. It prefers to live alone or with a mate; it does not school well, however it is peaceful towards other types of fish. They are typically safe with invertebrates; however, it has a large mouth and may attack small shrimp or tiny fish. They are easy to feed on a variety of frozen foods, but may need time to adapt to dry food.

It prefers an aquarium with some overhangs and caves which it may spend time in during the day. Cardinals are hardy and do not require much swimming space compared to other fish. We recommend an aquarium of at least 30 gallons for a single fish and 50 gallons or larger for more than one individual.