Will banggai cardinals eat small reef fish
- Thread starter Jyetman
- Start date
Jyetman
Active member
Does this include shrimps?
ThRoewer
New member
I don't know about that. All of mine behave like sharks in a blood rush when it's feeding time, They snap everything tossed into the tank without much discrimination.
I'm sure they will go after free-swimming shrimp like Mysis (they surely go after dead ones) and small fish larvae. Also, in the tank with my largest banggai female all sexy shrimp have slowly disappeared.
The anemone shrimp with my other pair of banggais is doing fine but those shrimp are quite big and always hiding within the green star polyps.
Though I agree that they likely don't go after small fish unless they are starving. Still, I would be cautious with tiny fish.
I had small mollies in my tank . One morning came to find one Molly with a line of scales missing all around its body. Clearly had been in the mouth head first. Left him in there and eventually he was devoured. The mollies were given to me as unwanted and I converted them to saltwater. Had a female give birth in saltwater and raised the babies in a separate tank. Put some in there to test. I definitely consider mollies as food for bangaiis . They swim differently than other saltwater fish.
triksrevival
Member
They will in fact eat shrimp. I had a huge cleaner shrimp that was eaten. I posted a thread and picture of it some months back, search my posts. FYI I just found out the other day flame hawkfish like to eat expensive cleaner shrimp too.
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
I guess if it's a issue or question then one shouldn't get a cardinal. This is nature and most things that can eat something else, often do. The cardinals just hang out and hover in a corner so I'm not really sure what they even bring to a tank
Dkuhlmann
New member
I often wonder that myself. :beer:
SoloChromis
New member
I've known plenty to eat shrimp, one would even eat the largest of cleaner shrimp. I've definitely heard of them going after tiny fish, such as neon gobies. There are plenty of cardinals that are notoriously predatory (flames, five lined, yellow striped etc.) so it comes as no surprise to me that the occasional banggai would act out. I would be hesitant to put any but the smallest of cardinals in a tank loaded with very small fish and mobile inverts.
Shawn O
Active member
I dumped a dozen or so small Brown shrimp in my tank and my Dottyback went after them like a Great White. My larger Pajama tried to eat one but couldn't get it in it's mouth.
The only entertainment mine have provided was when the larger chased the heck out of the smaller for a week. Other than that they just hover. They're kind if creepy in that they just hover around 24/7 whereas my other fish display some sort of sleeping behavior. It just seems unnatural that an animal doesn't sleep.
