Fish Focus - Banggai Cardinalfish

[Cougra]

This weeks Fish Focus is on the Banggai Cardinalfish - Pterapogon kauderni . This is a member of the family Apogonidae. Many of the Banggai Cardinalfish for sale have been captive bred. They are one of the very few types of marine fish that show a lot of parental care.

Origin/Habitat
Indian Ocean: Found only around the Banggai Islands.

Size
3 inches

Recommended Minimum Tank Size
24" x 12" x 18"

Sexing/Breeding
Adult males are slightly larger and boxier looking then females. Their dorsal fin is slightly longer. They are one of the easier marine fish to breed in captivity. They are mouth brooders with the male tending to the eggs. He will hold the fry in his mouth for about 40 days before releasing the fry to fend for themselves.

Notes
Due to the high demand of these fish in captivity, they are quickly becoming rare in their native habitat. Every effort should be made to attempt to purchase captive bred specimens and encourage local fish retailers to avoid purchasing wild caught specimens.
In the wild young fry are commonly found hiding in among the spines of sea urchins for protection from predation.

Have you had any experience with the Banggai Cardinalfish?
Do you have any photo's of your Banggai Cardinalfish that you would like to share?
Would you like to have one or do you find them boring?

Please share your experiences of the Banggai Cardinalfish!

 

[Scouter Steve]

i have considered these before. Tell me more about them. Do they need to be in 3's or 5's, I assume they are reef safe. Would they bother/be bothered by my Foxface or gudgeon gobies? I see the cleaner shrimp in one of those pics so I assume they are invert safe.

 

[powdertang05]

ya i have had lots of these they are extremly friendly to all fish except its on kind when its a male with male lost some that way. other then that when they are small ive had about 25 in aq tank at a time with no problems when they are small no adults. they love mysis shrimp or even cyclops great fish love mine have had them forever.

 

[BoomerD]

There is a couple in my local area who has had great luck breeding the bangaii's. I got 4 of their babies a couple of years ago, (less than 1/2" long) and put them in my 90 gallon reef. They immediately swarmed into the tentacles of my LTA. OH NO! I thought...till I did some research and found out that it's a normal thing in the wild...they hide in there for protection, and rarely get eaten by the anemones. For some reason, one by one, they'd disappear...I finally caught my sally lightfoot stalking one and watched it kill & eat one...POOF! that sucker went into my sump until I could take it to the LFS...the last remaining one lived for a couple more months, (still hiding in the LTA, till one day, when I was cleaning the tank, I startled the LTA, and it withdrew into the sandbed, taking the cardinal with it...never to be seen again.

 

[bullet_buddy]

I have one .It hangs out in a cave till dark then it comes out.

 

[boozeman]

There is a couple in my local area who has had great luck breeding the bangaii's. I got 4 of their babies a couple of years ago, (less than 1/2" long) and put them in my 90 gallon reef. They immediately swarmed into the tentacles of my LTA. OH NO! I thought...till I did some research and found out that it's a normal thing in the wild...they hide in there for protection, and rarely get eaten by the anemones. For some reason, one by one, they'd disappear...I finally caught my sally lightfoot stalking one and watched it kill & eat one...POOF! that sucker went into my sump until I could take it to the LFS...the last remaining one lived for a couple more months, (still hiding in the LTA, till one day, when I was cleaning the tank, I startled the LTA, and it withdrew into the sandbed, taking the cardinal with it...never to be seen again.

:cry1: oh noooo...that story was sooooo sad!

 

[Cougra]

From what I understand they do better in a small group of three or more. However I haven't kept any as of yet so I'm not certain how accurate that information is. I know that they are peaceful fish and would really like to try to keep them someday.

 

[boozeman]

at the baltimore aquarium they have a large reef tank with dozens of them from adults to juveniles.

 

[Snelly40]

my father has a group of 5, many people do also call them anemone fish similar to the clown because they also are unaffected by the anemones and will hide in them. They are very very peacefull fish and will not bother any gobies or inverts. Keep them in groups so they eat and do not get too stressed. overall a great fish

 

[LisaB]

Some people don't like these fish because they don't swim around a lot; they just hover in the current. I like that because it makes them very easy to observe and appreciate their detailed coloring. They are agressive feeders, so be sure to target feed any shyer fish.

If one stops eating you can bet it's a male brooding eggs.

 

[Charlie97L]

i have one, he's "the creepy fish" according to my roommates... they are nocturnal, and just kind of drift around during the day...

until you feed the tank. then they strike. mine regularly challenges my tang for mysis, and wins. nothing violent.

they have huge mouths.

i've *heard/read* that they can predate smaller fish. they have huge mouths.... but it would have to be a huge cardinal and a juvie goby, probably. i have only heard it mentioned a few times.

really cool fish. mine has been single his whole life, and he's fine. small groups aren't necessary. very neat.

i like these fish focus threads.

 

[Snelly40]

i agree, these fish focus threads are a great way to talk about fish we have or are tinking about getting and getting some great input on them

 

[billyr98]

My dad has had three in his reef since he started his in 1993... They are not a real colorful fish, so i stayed away from them.. But I do like a schooling fish

 

[Gina]

... They are not a real colorful fish, so i stayed away from them..

Kinda the reason why I haven't really given them any thought.
I'll admit, I like colorful fish.
Of course that doesn't explain my Dusky Jawfish! LOL

 

[Witfull]

one nice thing about them is they are out in the open, i call them a christmas tree ornament, they just hang there~

 

[Woodstock]

These are a very cool fish! Thanks for this thread Cougra! I've never kept one but would consider it if/when I get a bigger tank

 

[aquaman3680]

I have 2 they are both males and try to run off eachother when they see another one. Mine dont eat a whole lot, very cool if you have moon lights!! They eat the babies my shrimp have, i think they have them every like 4 days or something. Awsome fish cant go wrong with a bangaii cardinal

 

[Elmo18]

Hi there.

I have an adult spawning pair of Pteragon kauderni. They are great fish to watch. The male holds the eggs in his mouth after the female releases them and male fertilizes. She actually coaxes him to gobble them up and hold them.

I have had a successful rearing of 24 babies, however, as they age and as they were in the same tank they turned and killed eachother.

They are cannibalistic amongst their own kind.

Best,
Ilham

 

[Woodstock]

Wow... very interesting Elmo! Cannibalistic babies... a bit creepy

So then to rear them, you would have to separate each baby.... yikes!