Banggai cardinalfish death

Question
I had a Banggai cardinalfish and fed him every day in the morning with 2 pellets of food, I never saw him eating.  About 6 months later he died, why could it be?  We also have a clownfish but he eats and he is ok?

Answer
Hi Bryan,

Good question.

When purchasing Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) also known as Kaudern's Cardinal or Longfin Cardinalfish look for fish raised and bred in captivity, also known as Captive Bred or Aqua-Cultured Fish. These fish are typically hardier, and are already accustomed to life in captivity versus their wild-caught counterparts.

Unfortunately some wild-caught Bannggai Cardinalfish, along with many other species of saltwater fish sold in the hobby are collected using unethical and destructive collection practices. Some of these collection methods use powerful charges of underwater explosives to blow-out a section of coral reef fish, which stuns the fish for collection...

Evidence has shown that many fish collected with this method will show the appearance of a healthy fish for several months, however eventually some of these fish affected by the explosive blast will starve to death, due to their internal feeding mechanisms being damaged. Therefore it's wise to purchase captive bred fish. Again these fish are typically hardier, and by purchasing captive bred fish, helps to deter the demand for wild-caught fish, thus preserving our world's beautiful coral reefs.

I wish you the best of luck in all your saltwater aquarium endeavors.

Regards,
David

All Experts - Editor