Cheilodipterus artus

Smith, 1961

Wolf Cardinalfish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: East Africa to the Tuamoto Islands, north to Southern Japan, and south to the Great Barrier Reef.

Size: 7 inches (18 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits coastal areas, including estuaries and lagoons, and found in crevices or under branching corals during the day. Usually found at depths between 10 – 500 feet (3 – 150 m) where it feeds on small fishes and crustaceans/zooplankton during evening hours.

General Husbandry: Has elongated pale reddish to silvery body with several horizontal rows of dark dots and a small dark spot or blotch on the caudal peduncle. As of 2016, not yet purposely collected for the trade.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Apogonidae

Subfamily: Apogoninae

Genus: Cheilodipterus

FYI: Shown here for identification only.

Would not be safe in aquariums with anything smaller that can be eaten!