Flame Hawkfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Solid, saturated fire-red to orange-red body with no barring or blotching
• Dark, almost black marking across the top of the head and upper back, like a cap
• Tufted cirri (hair-like filaments) at the tip of each dorsal spine
• Compact, rounded body shape reaching about 4 inches
• Thickened lower pectoral fin rays used to prop itself on coral branches

Common look-alikes

• Longnose hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) has a red crosshatch pattern over a white body and an obviously elongated snout, quite different from the solid red Flame Hawkfish.
• Ruby (Pixy) hawkfish shows a mottled reddish-brown body with irregular blotching rather than one uniform red tone.
• The unbroken flame-red color combined with the dark head cap is unique to this species among hawkfishes.

Where you'll see one

Flame Hawkfish perch motionless on branching Pocillopora and Stylophora corals on reef flats and lagoons throughout the Indo-Pacific, ambushing small crustaceans from their coral vantage point rather than swimming freely. They tend to hold the same coral head for extended periods, making repeat sightings at a favored perch likely once one is found.