All fish / Apogonidae

Blackstripe Cardinalfish

Ostorhinchus nigrofasciatus

Also known as black-striped cardinalfish, blackstripe cardinal, apogon nigrofasciatus, black stripe cardinal, striped cardinalfish, yes, ヒカリイシモチ, 黑带天竺鲷, 黑带鹦天竺鲷

A small, slim cardinalfish with bold black and white or pale yellow horizontal stripes and large eyes. It is hardy, calm and reef safe, so it suits community reef tanks where it hovers near rockwork and becomes more active in dim light.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

8 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

110 litres

Keep as

Pair or small group with plenty of cover

Diet

Carnivore: mysis, brine shrimp, chopped seafood and quality frozen foods, some accept pellets

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 5 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-West Pacific, Red Sea to Samoa, north to southern Japan and south to Australia

Breeding

Males brood the eggs in their mouths until they hatch. Spawning happens fairly often in established tanks, but rearing the tiny planktonic larvae is difficult.

Good to know

Shy and nocturnal at first, so avoid housing with aggressive or large predatory fish. It may eat very small shrimps.