Banggai Cardinal Fish - Pterapogon kauderni - Cardinalfish

The Banggai Cardinalfish, sometimes referred to as Kaudern's Cardinalfish is a remarkable looking specimen having a silver body with vertical black stripes. It's body is covered in small white spots that are more easily seen on the dorsal, pelvic, anal and caudal fins. It is interesting to note that Banggai Cardinalfish are only found in a rather small area around Banggai Island off Sulawesi. This fish is very close to being placed on the endangered species list because of over collection. It is often found associated with the seagrass Enhalus acoroides and the long spined sea urchin Diadema setosum.

The Banggai cardinalfish can be kept multiples in the same tank if it is sufficiently large enough. If you cramp multiples into a smaller tank you will probably see aggression among them, especially once a pair has formed.

Feeding the banggai cardinalfish can be challenging when first introduced to the tank. They can be quite finicky and will probably not go after flakes or pellet foods. You may need to start with frozen or live fish food and then try to get them onto vitamin enriched flake foods.

The Banggai cardinalfish seem to be fairly disease resistant but they still need proper pre-cautions. You should use a quarantine tank before introducing them into your main tank. Keeping them in quarantine can also give you a chance to get them eating without any competition from others.

Habitat: The Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) is a small tropical marine fish found around the Banggai Islands in Indonesia.

General Size Specifications: The Banggai cardinalfish, popular in the aquarium trade, grows up to 8 cm (3 in) total length and has an elongated second dorsal fin and anal fin, as well as a tasseled first dorsal fin. Its caudal fin is deeply forked. Its contrasting pattern of black and light bars with white spots makes it very recognizable.

Breeding: The Banggai cardinalfish have been successfully bred in captivity. The male broods the eggs and later the fry in his mouth cavity. Juveniles use sea urchins and sea anemones for protection.

The Banggai cardinalfish are one of the easier saltwater species to breed. The males are mouth brooders which should increase the chances of successfully raising the young. The difficult part is figuring out if you have a pair. You may only be able to accurately tell once they've paired off. If you're really interested in breeding this fish and you have the appropriate equipment and tank setups you can buy a group of 3 Banggai cardinalfish and see if 2 of the 3 start to pair off. If they do, you may also notice them going after the third cardinal fish. If this happens and they are in a smaller tank, you will need to remove the third before it is hassled to death.

If they end up breeding, you may notice that the mouth on the male will be bulging at the jawline and they aren't eating anything. These Banggai cardinalfish won't even go after their favorite foods! The male will mouth brood the fish and then release them after 20 days or slightly longer.

Take your time when acclimating Banggai cardinalfish to your tank water. Once introduced they may hide out for a day or two but should come out once food hits the water. Give them lots of security by providing hiding places (think live rock) and they may be out in the open more.

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