Siphamia mossambica

Smith, 1955

Sea Urchin Cardinalfish

Range: Western Indian Ocean: Kenya to Sodwana Bay, South Africa.

Size: 2 inches (4 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits urchin spines in tidepools and usually found at depths between 15 – 85 feet (5 – 25 m) where it feeds on crustaceans/zooplankton during evening hours.

General Husbandry: Has a silvery overall color, and is quite rare in the wild where it lives among the spines of urchins. As of 2016, not collected for the trade.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Apogonidae

Subfamily: Apogoninae

Genus: Siphamia

FYI: Shown here for identification only.