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.
