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Yellowstriped cardinalfish

Ostorhinchus cyanosoma

Also known as Goldstriped Cardinalfish, Orange-lined Cardinalfish

SaltwaterFish

Yellowstriped cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus cyanosoma)
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Care at a glance

Temperature
72–79°F
22–26°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
3.1 in
8 cm
Minimum tank
30 gal
114 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Shoaling
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Mouthbrooder · Medium
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Apogonidae
Origin
Indo-Pacific reefs, from the Red Sea to Fiji

Overview

The yellowstriped cardinalfish is a genuinely peaceful schooling fish for a reef community. It is easy to keep.

Did you know

The yellowstriped cardinalfish stays out in the open with its school through the day. Most of its cardinalfish relatives are secretive and hug the shadows until dark.

Caring for the yellowstriped cardinalfish

Keep yellowstriped cardinalfish in at least 30 gal (114 L), with open swimming space plus caves, coral branches or urchins to retreat into when startled. They swim in the middle of the tank.

Hold the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Offer a varied diet of mysis, brine shrimp and other meaty frozen foods a few times a day. These slow, deliberate feeders can lose out to faster tank mates at mealtime.

Keep a group of five or more, introduced at the same time. A proper school settles in faster, swims in the open more and squabbles less than a single fish holding its own territory. They are peaceful and safe with corals and most reef invertebrates, but they may pick off very small shrimp or amphipods.

Males collect the fertilized eggs and incubate them in their mouths until the fry are ready to disperse. Breeding them is moderately hard.

Good to know

The yellowstriped cardinalfish, Ostorhinchus cyanosoma, belongs to the family Apogonidae. It is also sold as the goldstriped or orange-lined cardinalfish. Its silvery, striped body helps it blend into a crowd of its own kind and confuse predators.

In the wild

The yellowstriped cardinalfish ranges across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Fiji. Its range runs north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to New Caledonia. It shoals over lagoon and seaward reefs, often hovering among branching coral or the spines of long-spined urchins. These shoals form dense, mixed-age aggregations that can number in the hundreds.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The yellowstriped cardinalfish is a peaceful, shoaling species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a yellowstriped cardinalfish need?

A yellowstriped cardinalfish needs at least 30 gal (114 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a yellowstriped cardinalfish need?

A yellowstriped cardinalfish is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a yellowstriped cardinalfish eat?

A yellowstriped cardinalfish eats mysis, brine shrimp and other meaty frozen foods, fed a few times a day. It may also pick off very small shrimp or amphipods.

How big does a yellowstriped cardinalfish get?

An adult yellowstriped cardinalfish reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).

Does a yellowstriped cardinalfish need a group?

Yes. A yellowstriped cardinalfish is a shoaling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

How does a yellowstriped cardinalfish breed?

Yellowstriped cardinalfish are mouthbrooders. Males incubate the fertilized eggs in their mouths until the fry are ready to disperse, and breeding them is moderately hard.

Related species