Red Striped Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus margaritophorus)?

[SoloChromis]

Anybody keep a group of these guys before? Originally I wanted to go with longspine/ghost cardinals, but they are much more expensive, whereas Diver's Den sells trios of red stripes for $36. I did keep a single specimen before, and he was fairly hardy, but I'm wondering about their schooling behavior (or lack there of). I know most cardinal species tend to whittle themselves down to a pair. Thanks guys :fish2:

 

[joshky]

I had a group of three before, two eventually paired up and the third hid all the time. I eventually got rid of them to make room for a different fish in my nano.
So IME they never killed the third wheel, but there was aggression and it barely came out of the rocks. If I were to try again it would be a bigger group.

 

[SoloChromis]

I had a group of three before, two eventually paired up and the third hid all the time. I eventually got rid of them to make room for a different fish in my nano.
So IME they never killed the third wheel, but there was aggression and it barely came out of the rocks. If I were to try again it would be a bigger group.

Ah, that's what I figured :headwally: They seemed too similar to the yellow striped cardinals to be true "schooling" fish. Thanks for the heads up

 

[snorvich]

Check out Apogon parvulus

 

[SoloChromis]

Check out Apogon parvulus

Oh I'd love to get a group of red spots, but they're more expensive, have a spottier record in aquaria and have to be fed more frequently from what I've read. I appreciate the feedback though

 

[joshky]

Oh I'd love to get a group of red spots, but they're more expensive, have a spottier record in aquaria and have to be fed more frequently from what I've read. I appreciate the feedback though

Yeah.... It's too bad that they aren't as hardy and cheap as tetras. A group of 30 or so would be super fascinating in a medium-large reef.

 

[snorvich]

They are fabulous but do require frequent feeding.