Orbiculate Cardinalfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep a small group in a 115 litre or larger tank with rock and shade at 24 to 28 C, adding all of them at once so they settle a pecking order peacefully. It is reef safe with corals, though it may eat very small fish and worms at night. Feed meaty foods such as mysis and enriched brine, ideally toward evening when it is most active. It is quiet by day and livelier at dusk.

In the wild

The orbiculate cardinalfish is a round, silvery fish speckled with dark dots, the plainer cousin of the pajama cardinalfish. It shelters by day in mangroves, harbours and sheltered reefs and comes out to feed at dusk. It hovers quietly in loose groups. It is a hardy, calm beginner fish.

Good to know

Sphaeramia orbicularis reaches about 10 cm and is a mouthbrooder, with the male carrying the eggs in his mouth until they hatch. It naturally lives in low-energy habitats including brackish mangroves. It is closely related to the popular pajama cardinalfish.

Did you know

The male broods the eggs inside his mouth, going without eating until the young hatch.

Related species

• 

  Pajama Cardinalfish

  Sphaeramia nematoptera

  3.1 in (8 cm)29 gal (110 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Yellowstriped Cardinalfish

  Ostorhinchus cyanosoma

  3.1 in (8 cm)30 gal (114 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Threadfin Cardinalfish

  Zoramia leptacantha

  2.4 in (6 cm)30 gal (114 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Flame Cardinalfish

  Apogon maculatus

  4.3 in (11 cm)30 gal (114 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Banggai Cardinalfish

  Pterapogon kauderni

  3.1 in (8 cm)29 gal (110 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Flame Fairy Wrasse

  Cirrhilabrus jordani

  3.9 in (10 cm)90 gal (340 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)