Just an update: All 5 are gone......it was a waste of money. Not only didn't they school but they also hid all day long. Same situation as other small schooling fish...they kill each other off until the dominant ONE remains. In my case they all perished....unfortunately.
Redspot Cardinalfish - Apogon parvulus
- Thread starter espocrespo
- Start date
Just an update: All 5 are gone......it was a waste of money. Not only didn't they school but they also hid all day long. Same situation as other small schooling fish...they kill each other off until the dominant ONE remains. In my case they all perished....unfortunately.
Sorry to hear about your fish. I wonder if there is some critical mass (size of the school) at which point that behavior ceases? For there are some people that have them. Copps says he has a school. And Dr. Fosters and Smith is breeding them. So, clearly they are not all killing each other.
There's some missing piece of information here - a reason why in some tanks they kill each other, where in other tanks they do not.
BTW - I STILL have my single fish that was left from my purchase of 10. Strong like bull.
Ambition
New member
I'd use the term breeding very loosely here, the species hasn't been successfully bred in captivity yet from my understanding. They do however have the species spawning in captivity.
Thanks for the clarification Kyle. However, I thought I read an article in a publication somewhere that they were indeed breeding them. However, the operative word here is "thought", so maybe it was indeed only spawning.
Either way though, clearly they are not all killing each other.
Thanks.
Either way though, clearly they are not all killing each other.
Thanks.
jazzybio13
New member
I'll pipe in here, I have a school of 9 (of the original 11) happy, fat, healthy in a biocube doing fine. going on 2 months. open water swimmers, eating ANYTHING I offer them, including live rotifers, any of my live pods, 2 different DIY mashes, plenty of pellets, plenty of flakes.
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Anim8me2
Member
I got a group of five from DD. 2 didn't eat very well and over the course of two weeks they disappeared. The remaining three stay in a tight group right at the front of the tank and range from the top of the tank to the middle. At night they all go to the top of the tank and hide in the corner.
I ordered another group of five to supplement the three I have so we can see how many survive.
I do feed the tank cyclopeeze and they seem to go after that the most.
I ordered another group of five to supplement the three I have so we can see how many survive.
I do feed the tank cyclopeeze and they seem to go after that the most.
Ken at Sea-U-Marine has a school in his 3FT cube display, so if you are looking for them in Canada, I would try there.
Dennis
Bela N
New member
bluecoyote79
New member
This is my experience with them, but first background. I had a nanocube over 4 years with all the same fish and a lot of the same snails. I still have 3 out of my 5 original nassarius snails, plus a pistol shrimp with YWG. I say this just to point out that while I'm no expert, I am able to keep livestock and corals alive. I bought 10 red spot cardinals from DD about 5 weeks ago and put them in an 8g QT system.
While most were fat, there were a few skinny ones and I quickly realized that, try as I might 1 would just not eat after a few days and was dead soon after. 1 jumped as the QT was rimless and after 2 weeks I saw two more were getting skinnier. I was feeding Rod's food and new spectrum pellets. Thinking the QT tank was stressing them I transferred them to the DT taking that risk. I soon lost the skinniest of them who just wouldn't eat. All seemed well as the remainder ate both the frozen and pellet foods, however there were still two fish skinnier than the rest. I came back from a day trip today to find the skinniest one looking really bad and I doubt he'll survive the night.
At this point all the rest of my fish are eating and acting normally. I watch them throughout the day and night and have never seen signs of aggression between the cardinals. My other fish don't bother them either. In fact the cardinals hang out with my Perc pair and firefish, plus they have run of the rest of my 65g with nothing other than the YWG to steer clear of. DFS was not able to explain the deaths other than to try garlic and that it might be stress.
I seen no signs of disease and my water quality is spot on. I'm starting to think these are just one of those species that doesn't do well in captivity. This is my experience with them and I'd love to hear suggestions to improve their chances or ideas of what may have happened from more experienced reefers. I buy fish to enjoy and have them live out their full lives. It bothers my to lose an animal, even if it is just a fish, shrimp, or "fill in the blank."
I haven't been able to find any long term success stories with these fish, so I won't be buying more as it looks like I'm going to be down to 6 out of 10 in less than 6 weeks.
While most were fat, there were a few skinny ones and I quickly realized that, try as I might 1 would just not eat after a few days and was dead soon after. 1 jumped as the QT was rimless and after 2 weeks I saw two more were getting skinnier. I was feeding Rod's food and new spectrum pellets. Thinking the QT tank was stressing them I transferred them to the DT taking that risk. I soon lost the skinniest of them who just wouldn't eat. All seemed well as the remainder ate both the frozen and pellet foods, however there were still two fish skinnier than the rest. I came back from a day trip today to find the skinniest one looking really bad and I doubt he'll survive the night.
At this point all the rest of my fish are eating and acting normally. I watch them throughout the day and night and have never seen signs of aggression between the cardinals. My other fish don't bother them either. In fact the cardinals hang out with my Perc pair and firefish, plus they have run of the rest of my 65g with nothing other than the YWG to steer clear of. DFS was not able to explain the deaths other than to try garlic and that it might be stress.
I seen no signs of disease and my water quality is spot on. I'm starting to think these are just one of those species that doesn't do well in captivity. This is my experience with them and I'd love to hear suggestions to improve their chances or ideas of what may have happened from more experienced reefers. I buy fish to enjoy and have them live out their full lives. It bothers my to lose an animal, even if it is just a fish, shrimp, or "fill in the blank."
I haven't been able to find any long term success stories with these fish, so I won't be buying more as it looks like I'm going to be down to 6 out of 10 in less than 6 weeks.
mwladdicted
Post Count D-M-S
Been seeing many of these go from LA, myself included! Anybody else having success? Loving these fish!
infpalex
Member
Looking to buy...
Looking to buy...
I am thinking about buying some of these from Diver's Den. They will be the first inhabitants in my newly cycled 55g tank. It's going to end up being a seahorse tank, so they won't be in a competitive environment. My question is if they do well in the lower temps the seahorse tanks require?
Thanks for anyone who might have some experience!
Looking to buy...
I am thinking about buying some of these from Diver's Den. They will be the first inhabitants in my newly cycled 55g tank. It's going to end up being a seahorse tank, so they won't be in a competitive environment. My question is if they do well in the lower temps the seahorse tanks require?
Thanks for anyone who might have some experience!
iced98lx
New member
I'm going to revive this thread. Seems there are 1-2 groups of 5 of these on every DD update these days. I jumped in and bought 5 and they are here in QT:
(Sorry for the bad picture)
They are done acclimating (Shipped in 1.024 water) and appear to be in great spirits, hanging as a group and exploring the tank. I will try some Reef Frenzy later today as a feeding and try to keep this thread up to date with my success/failures as I get them ready to go into a 180 gallon mixed reef.
(Sorry for the bad picture)
They are done acclimating (Shipped in 1.024 water) and appear to be in great spirits, hanging as a group and exploring the tank. I will try some Reef Frenzy later today as a feeding and try to keep this thread up to date with my success/failures as I get them ready to go into a 180 gallon mixed reef.
iced98lx
New member
Decided it was time for the nightly feeding, much to my surprise they have all decided that LRS Reef Frenzy is something they will eat.
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uxy9IZaQV3c?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Even the smallest go tin there and ate well. Will probably feed 3-5 times a day for a while to ensure they are sturdy for the DT, where they will have more competition (clowns, hogfish).
Not often I pick the right food on first attempt, but reef frenzy has impressed me overall anyway.
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uxy9IZaQV3c?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Even the smallest go tin there and ate well. Will probably feed 3-5 times a day for a while to ensure they are sturdy for the DT, where they will have more competition (clowns, hogfish).
Not often I pick the right food on first attempt, but reef frenzy has impressed me overall anyway.
