Redspot Cardinalfish - Apogon parvulus
- Thread starter espocrespo
- Start date
NatureNerd
New member
Good luck and please keep us updated. This is one of the fish I really want but, I don't have the heart to watch a small group die off one by one.
sonoranaut
New member
Love these guys...
NatureNerd
New member
How about an update from the others who had these last fall?
I didn't get them last fall, but got a couple 5-fish orders this winter. I've been losing them one by one, but cannot know if it's because I have a tube anemone, or because I've got an open top tank, or something else. Or maybe it's because I only feed 3 times a day. Hard to say.
I do know I've never seen one on the floor.
My first lot of 5 had a DOA, so I really started with 4. They all ate heartily. But after a couple of weeks, one began hanging out away from the shoal - alone in a corner. And a few days later there were only 3.
I got another set of 5, who all arrived alive and ate well. The shoal of 8 looked awesome. But after a couple of weeks, it was 7. And that has kept up... every few weeks one less. Now I'm down to 3.
A couple of additional times I've noticed the "hanging by myself" behavior before losing one. And I've also observed clamping their caudal "tail" fin. One of the 3 I have now is clamping that fin. Whenever I lose one, I always expect to see them all with normal tail fins - assuming that the clamped fin fish died. But there always seems to be one like that. Not sure what that is about.
Until a week ago, the only other fish in the tank were a neon goby, a yellow striped cardinal fish, and a clown goby. So I don't think it's a problem with other fish. As for the tube anemone, I hasn't eaten my other fish. And they've been there longer. So I'm finding it a little tough to believe that only the redspot's get nabbed by it.
And I don't think it's the open top either. It's possible to lose a fish - maybe even two - to the carpet and not find a dead fish on the floor. But not 6. No way.
It could be that three feedings is insufficient. I know more is better. But more is not practical for me. So if anyone KNOWS that more is ESSENTIAL, please speak up.
So I'm at a loss. I've never been so unsuccessful with a given type of fish. And will not be getting any more until - and unless - I can with complete certainty figure out what is wrong.
That could be it. However I've never once seen it go after a redspot. But it IS a cardinalfish... Maybe that's the problem.
Wow! I'll feel awful if I've subjected these fish to a conspecific preditor.
I purchased 5 from Liveaquaria....I thought they would make a nice addition in my 215gal tank (schooling fish). They have been in my QT for about a month now. I have 3 rocks in my 30 gal QT and these fish do NOT openly school. So.......they hide ALL DAY and it seems they hide independently. They do come out to feed....I only found 4 last week. A bit disappointed because I thought they would school together. I think that when I finally add them to the DT I'll never see them again.
Only update I can provide is that the one that I was left with is still in the tank. So IMO the problem was not predation, jumping, nutrition, or bad water conditions. If so, that fish should be dead now too. But it's fat and happy. I think there's something with these fish in certain environments - like Chromis - where you lose them one at a time until only one remains.
Would be great to know why that happens to some people and not other though. The only person I know of that has had them successfully has them in a tank that's several hundred gallons. Mine's only 33g. So maybe tank size is a factor. But I'm just guessing now...
Would be great to know why that happens to some people and not other though. The only person I know of that has had them successfully has them in a tank that's several hundred gallons. Mine's only 33g. So maybe tank size is a factor. But I'm just guessing now...
Yeah, I'd read some stuff from 2011 that sounded like people were getting excited about "breakthroughs" and such, but I haven't heard much positive news lately. Anyways, somebody snapped up all 3 lots from LADD today haha. Next time, maybe I won't post on RC about upcoming buys!
jsjonesrdh
New member
I have had mine for about a month now. I ordered a group of 5 from DD. I lost one in the overflow (a 1/8 inch gap in the protective screen) They have been eating my custom food like pigs as well as NLS 1mm pellets. So far so good.
jsjonesrdh
New member
I am down to two. One went carpet surfing while doing a waterchange, I didn't see him jump, and the other is MIA. I know one of the ones I have left is a male as he was carrying eggs in his mouth. After a week of not eating I lightly netted him to try and get him to expel the eggs. He did, and began to eat regularly again. I didn't want to risk him starving. The eggs were fishfood immediately. I use a mix of cod, octopus, squid, muscles, nori and and halibut. These cardinal fish are pigs. If these last two don't make it, I won't be replacing them. Just be wary of overflows as they have a keen ability for exploiting the smallest of openings. I have rescued several from my sump on more than one occasion.
