Tropical Fish Forums

CREXK2 · Members Joined: 18 Feb 2011

Sounds cool, I like banggais, would it be hard to get a pair?

Mike612 · Exemplars Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Location: Quebec, Canada

If you can start off with juveniles, it shouldn't be hard.

Otherwise, they're usually already paired off at the store. Just watch their interactions and make sure they're not beating each other up and you should be fine.

CREXK2 · Members Joined: 18 Feb 2011

will these fish school together with a group?

Mike612 · Exemplars Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Location: Quebec, Canada

Banggai Cardinals don't school as well as other species of Cardinalfish. As this species matures, they pair off for breeding purposes and then start to kill off other members of their group. Even if you find a group of them together at a store and they seem to be behaving, know that they will turn on each other until only two of them are left.

If you want a species that schools well, go for the Spotted Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera). They're easy to care for, easy to find, and they don't use aggression to maintain the hierarchy of their group.