Concern with Bangaii Cardinal-

[Beefy_Reefy]

Just wanted some input/experiences with the Bangaii Cardinal. I bought a pair 3 months ago and 1 came DOA. The survivor was eating frozen mysis in QT regularly. I added him to the 150g DT he will not eat during feeding time. I check on him during lights out with a red light and see him eating something in the dark. It's been at least 2 months and he/she is still alive alive even though I have not seen him/her eat when I feed the tank.
Should I be concerned or just let it be since he/she is still alive?

I try spot feeding him/her frozen mysis/brine/bloodworms/pellets/flakes but will not eat any during lights on/feeding time.

 

[Guygettnby]

when i had my 2nd pair, the male was active all the time and never any issue's eating at all. actually he was pretty agressive and still is to this day. the female though was most active at night and stayed in the caves i built for them most the time. they both ate though.

before that, my first pair the male ended up dying and the female slowley began to go down hill. wouldnt eat as much, not as active, tended to stay hidden or stay on one side of the tank towards the back. took a few months but she died as well.

does the fish look healthy? fat tummy? what else is in the tank with him?

 

[Beefy_Reefy]

Definitely not a fat stomach but not deathly skinny. I have 2 peaceful clowns, 5 zebra dartfish, ywg, pygmy wrasse.

The cardinal stays in same spot all day but moves at night.

 

[aandfsoccr04]

My tank bred pair cardinal had one die shortly after receiving them. I just put the small one that is about the size of a quarter into the display tank. Do you just buy a larger one for them to pair back up or how do you form a new pair? Mine stays in the back one side of the tank so far (only been a day or two in DT).

 

[Beefy_Reefy]

Hard to just pair them up. No way to tell male/female so the big one might kill the little guy. Wish mine had a friend to eat with.... Meanwhile my Yellow Watchman got kicked out of the pistol shrimps home... sigh

 

[Triggerfish]

sounds strange at best.. must be eating something after so long.
i added one to dt recently and he ate right away..originally it took him over 2 weeks to eat in quarantine..try throw some live brine in there and see what he does.

 

[Beefy_Reefy]

Yeah pretty strange. In QT he ate mysis and some sinking pellets. Ever since I put him in DT he will not eat anything I personally feed. Until yesterday! I guess he will only eat live things because he went ape **** over "reef stew" Which is a mix of live pods/brine and not sure what else. I'm assuming he is eating the live critters at night. I can't get reef stew for him every day... I just don't get why he changed his appetite after I moved him to the DT. He's tank bred/raised. Little bastard...

 

[MikeandNicole]

Try live black worms. Mine go nuts

 

[Wolverine]

My tank bred pair cardinal had one die shortly after receiving them. I just put the small one that is about the size of a quarter into the display tank. Do you just buy a larger one for them to pair back up or how do you form a new pair? Mine stays in the back one side of the tank so far (only been a day or two in DT).

Since doesn't matter here (can help with clownfish).
As mentioned above, they're aren't any truly reliable ways to do it when they're young until you see one carrying eggs.

 

[Wolverine]

Remember, when they are carrying eggs, they go for weeks at a time without eating. I've seen them do it for extended periods after being moved or having rockwork rearranged.

 

[anbosu]

I added one to my 90 reef and didn't even see the fish for over a month. They are pretty small fish, but if you have an established tank there should be enough pods and stuff for them to survive on in the meantime. As they get more confident they will come out and be more visible and eat when you feed the tank.