WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Orbicular Cardinalfish

Sphaeramia orbicularis

Also known as: Chubby Cardinal, Chubby Cardinalfish, Nurseryfish, Orbic Cardinalfish, Orbiculate Cardinalfish, Orbiculated Cardinalfish, Polka-dot Cardinalfish

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2022
Adult
@markn · Tongan Beach resort, Tonga · October 20161 / 1
01

Overview

Found in small schools, during the day, around debris, mangroves, piers, and rocks, dispersing at night, foraging for food, over very shallow, sheltered shorelines.
They feed nocturnally on planktonic crustaceans.

Males incubate their eggs inside their mouths, as the egg masses increase in size they can be found with wide open mouths where they shift the eggs around to aerate the egg masses.

02

How to identify

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03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Indo-Pacific
  • Country only · 1
LIVES IN

Found in small schools, during the day, around debris, mangroves, piers, and rocks, dispersing at night, foraging for food, over very shallow, sheltered shorelines.

04

Adult photos 1

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Discussion

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    ALL STAGES
    FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

    Deep dive

    Taxonomy

    1. kingdomAnimalia
    2. phylumChordata
    3. classTeleostei
    4. orderApogoniformes
    5. familyApogonidae
    6. genusSphaeramia
    7. speciesSphaeramia orbicularis (Cuvier, 1828)

    SourcesWoRMSFishBase

    06

    More in the family

    Cardinalfishes (Apogonidae)