Bangaii Cardinalfish (Pterapogon Kauderni)

Origin: Small reef fish which is endemic to the Banggai Archipelago, which lies in the Banggai-Sula platform in eastern Indonesia.

Reef safe. Excellent schooling fish for large aquariums. In smaller tanks, keeps singly or in mated pairs, as aggression between species members is likely to become a problem. Carnivorous; accepts many susbtitute foods. A possible candidate for overexploitation, as it is in high demand and collected only in a very small geographical area. Currently, they can be easily bred in captivity and in home aquariums.

All male Cardinalfish species incubate their eggs in their mouths while the females guard their males aggressively. They release their youngs into the planktonic layer when they hatch. But the Bangaii Cardinalfish is the only species of its kind to continue housing their fry in the male parents' mouth for another 10 days or so after they hatch. This dedicated parental care means their productivity level is much lower than their species of Cardinalfish. They are usually found in groups of 2 to 20 individuals, sheltering among structures such as branching corals, sea urchin spines, and seagrass stems.

_________________________________________________________________________________ Interesting Fact: Bangaii Cardinalfish have been known to associate with sea anemones. They hover just above the tentacles, but are able to make contact without harm, similar to the commensal relationship between the Clown Anemonefish and their Anemone hosts