Yellow Cardinalfish

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Tropical Indo-Pacific, distributed from the Java Sea and Philippines to northern Australia. Found on shallow coral reefs and lagoons down to 20 meters.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Member of the family Apogonidae. Features a deep, compressed body shape, large eyes, and a tall, thread-like first dorsal fin.

Social Behavior: Highly gregarious and peaceful. Forms small schools that hover closely around branching Acropora corals.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: The body is a vivid golden-yellow color. Decorated with thin vertical orange-yellow bars on the head, and blue rings around the eyes.

Aquarium Setup: Requires a mature marine aquarium of at least 100 liters with plenty of live rock to provide hiding spots and natural grazing surfaces.

Diet and Feeding: Carnivorous. Feeds on zooplankton, copepods, and small crustaceans. Accepts frozen cyclops, daphnia, brine shrimp, and small pellets.

Water Quality: Standard marine parameters: temperature 22-27 °C, pH 8.1-8.4, and salinity 1.020-1.025 with efficient filtration and moderate water movement.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: Highly peaceful and reef safe. Must be kept in schools of 3 or more specimens. Do not keep with aggressive or boisterous fish.

Aquarium Breeding: Paternal mouthbrooder; the male holds the fertilized egg mass in its mouth until hatching. Successful spawning is possible in mature tanks.

Risks and Diseases: Very low risk. Shy at first, but acclimates well. Vulnerable to predation by large tankmates due to its small size.