Boardroom Aquatics

Banggai Cardinalfish
Pterapogon kauderni

The Benggai Cardinalfish sports a silver body with black stripes with small white spots. This fish will normally inhabit the lower third of your tank, swimming freely with slower, peaceful tank mates. The Benggai Cardinalfish was discovered in the early 1990s in Indonesia. This fish quickly became a favorite of many aquariums as it adapts extremely well to captivity. The Benggai Cardinalfish could be the easiest saltwater fish to breed in captivity. After spawning the male takes the eggs into his mouth and stores them ther upwards of 10 to 20 days until hatching.

Size	1 - 3 Inches
Temp	74F - 79F
pH	8.1 - 8.3
Specific Gravity	1.02o -1.025
Hardness	8 - 12 dkH
Compatibility	Somewhat aggressive. It's recommended that you keep Benggai Cardinalfish in groups of two or more; although same sex individuals may be aggressive towards each other.
Min. Tank Size	30 gal. reef with coral, rocks and a couple of nooks or caves to hide in.
Diet	Carnivore, meaty foods, mysis shrimp and marine flakes
Reef Suitability	Excellent.
Sexing	Difficult; although shortly before spawng the female will look rounder and the males lower jaw tends to darken.
Breeding	One of the easiest marine fish to breed. After spawning the male carries the eggs in his mouth for protection. The male will not eat until the eggs hatch
Difficulty Level	2 on a 1 to 10 (10 being the most difficult) scale. Keep this fish with other small, peacful, slower fish.