Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: East of Sulawesi in Indonesia around the Islands adjacent to Banggai (Banggai Island is off the eastern coast of Sulawesi).
Size: 3 inches (8 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow coastal areas and seagrass beds and usually found at depths between 3 – 50 feet (1 – 15 m) where it feeds on small fishes, crustaceans/zooplankton during evening hours.
General Husbandry: Captive bred specimens are common in the trade. A hardy aquarium fish having a silvery white body with several black vertical bans, white spots between the vertical bans, and long black edged fins with white spots. Probably the most popular Cardinalfish with hobbyists in the entire family!
Adults form pairs within their groups and are mainly nocturnal. It was originally described by Koumans in 1933 and rediscovered by Dr. Gerald Allen in 1995 and introduced to the public at the MACNA 95 conference. As the story goes, Dr. Gerald Allen and Roger Steele went to Banggai to checkout what was called an unusual cardinalfish by diver/adventurer Kal Müller. They took a flight to Luwuk, in central Sulawesi and then traveled another 10 hours by ferry to Banggai. They actually found these cardinalfishes under a dock near the towns waste outlet pipe. They noted these fishes live among the spines of the Diadema setosum urchin in shallow seagrass beds, probably less than 6 feet (2 m).
It has also been reported that these fishes enter anemones, e.g., the sebae and long-tentacle anemones without incurring any damage. They are mouthbrooders, with the male tending for the eggs and even holding the newly hatched young in the mouth for the first few weeks. At this time the female will chase away other fishes that get too close to the male. The fry are large enough to take newly hatched brine shrimp and rotifers.
If introduced in numbers, it is a peaceful species at first. Shortly thereafter they pair-up and start chasing others away from “their” territory. If more than a mated pair is to be maintained, it should be in an aquarium over 100 gallons. Difficult to sex, but the male may have a slightly longer second dorsal fin and a wider lower jaw. The female is larger than the male.
Very hardy and a good fish-only or reef aquarium fish, however, should not be kept with belligerent tankmates, e.g., dottybacks, hawkfishes, and some damselfishes.
As to diet, products such as marine fish and crustacean flesh, clams, and other marine meaty foods should be enriched and finely chopped and fed several times daily. Depending upon the environment in which its maintained, the best time of the day to feed are early morning and evening hours.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Apogonidae
Subfamily: Apogoninae
Genus: Pterapogon
FYI: An easy species to breed in the home aquarium.
Experience Level: Beginner
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Carnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: With caution
Invertebrate Safe: With caution
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Peaceful
Minimum Tank Size: 30+ gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (22 – 28°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
