Banggai Cardinalfish

ANIMAL:
Banggai Cardinalfish Pterapogon kauderni

Type of Animal:
Cardinalfish

Habitat:
Shallow coral reefs, shallow seagrass beds, shallow calm open sand/rubble areas, areas around branching corals/urchins/sea anemones/sea stars/hydrozoans/mangrove prop roots, jetties, sandy seagrass bottoms, prefers water temps of 82.4-87.8 F

Location(s):
Native to Banggai Archipelago & surrounding areas off E C Sulawesi. Introduced to Lembeh Strait in N Sulawesi as well as off NW Bali.

Appearance:
Tasseled 1st dorsal fin, elongated anal/2nd dorsal fin rays, deeply forked tail fin, 3 black bars across head/body/prominent black anterior edges on anal/2nd dorsal fin, disc-shaped fish, silvery-gray body

Food/Diet:
Copepods, zoobenthos, benthic crustaceans, planktonic crustaceans, shrimp, krill, small fish (including fry/small juveniles of own species), bloodworms, clams

Status in Wild:
Threatened

Conservation:
Breeding in aquariums, zoos, & aquaculture. Captive breeding reducing demand for taking wild fish. Banggai Conservation Project launched in 2004 between Indonesian NGO Yayasan Pemerhati Linkungan & New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences to create marine protected areas in 2 zones of Banggai Archipelago.

Lifestyle:
Schools of 2-100 fish. Colonial breeders w/ pairs nesting in close proximity to each other.

Additional Info:

Called:
Male
Female
Young: Fry
Group: School
 
Weight:
0.4 oz

Gestation:
3 weeks 

Life Span:
3-5 years

Body Length:
Adult: 1.5-3 in
Young: 0.79 in

Main predators are honeycomb groupers, lionfish, crocodilefish, snowflake morays, sea kraits, & stonefish.
 
Threatened due to overcollection for aquarium trade, habitat destruction/degradation, small range, pollution, agricultural runoff, algal blooms, & iridovirus diseases.
 
These fish lack planktonic larval stage.
 
Males more attracted to larger females due to higher fecundity & females attracted to larger males.
 
Each female releases around 40-90 eggs into water, which male then fertilizes.
 
When eggs hatch, male broods them in mouth for up to a month & goes w/o eating.
 
Also called Kaudern’s Cardinalfish & Longfin Cardinalfish.
 
They’re very good at hiding.
 
Often hide among urchins & anemones for protection from predators.
 
Female usually initiates courtship by creating spherical spawning site.
 
Breed throughout the year.

Fun Fact(s):
Popular in aquariums due to appearance & ease of care.
 
1st became popular in aquarium/pet trade in 1990s, w/ hundreds of thousands being exported annually. Aquacultured specimens more prevalent than wild-caught specimens but wild-caught specimens still common on market.
 
One of most valuable marine aquarium fishes in US.