Pajama cardinalfish

The pajama cardinalfish is a small marine species of the family Apogonidae, native to the western Pacific around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and nearby reefs. It has a distinctive appearance: a greenish-yellow face, a bold black vertical band across the midbody, and a rear half scattered with orange-red spots against a pale silvery ground, plus large eyes suited to its nocturnal habits. It is a peaceful, slow-moving fish that naturally forms loose groups, often sheltering among branching corals or urchin spines by day. It does best kept as a small shoal rather than singly. In the aquarium it suits a peaceful reef or community tank with calm tankmates and plenty of structure for hiding. It feeds readily on meaty foods such as mysis, brine shrimp and quality frozen preparations. Like other cardinalfish it is a paternal mouthbrooder, the male incubating eggs in his mouth, and captive breeding is achievable.