Regarding the site/ improvements/ inputs etc.    2/16/08 Well Bob and the rest of the crew, I have to say the site is good as is though some ideas as to what might make it better I can only suggest maybe going over the FAQ's and picking some info out of them to flesh out the initial discussion of the species, <A worthy suggestion... I'd go further and suggest that someone with a discerning mind could likely re-organize the FAQs contents themselves (as I do almost daily in "splitting up" FAQs files into sub-FAQs categories...) taking them out of the present "order" (mostly chronological in series of pages), and placing them as being more pertinent and thorough, to less so...> there is a great difference in the discussions in some of them versus others. <This is so!> Much great info is in the FAQ sections though I am apt to agree with other users they are difficult to navigate. <And I'll brook no disagreement with this... What I am up against is practical limitations on my time... it takes about all I have to finish answering, fixing spelling/grammar, other formatting issues, and placing, building content... the hand-ful of hours per day is all there is... I must need "earn my daily bread"... and four other categorical daily patterns... All told, am limited...> Now even still this being the case, one can't really complain about these things, and please know I am not complaining in any way, heck if you have to dig for it so be it the site is FREE!!!! <Mmm, but I do know there are ways of presenting the information better... and have only thanks for the MANY hours friends have aided my efforts here... IF I had or could make the site/s more profitable, I would likely hire/pay for professional help in making the content easier to search and more attractive...> You all are very helpful and while yes everyone has their own personal writing style when you reach out for free help, not a paid consultant, its hard to complain of the answer you get. Now regarding the obvious question that my own question poses, which is " All right Forrest if you think some one should go through the FAQ's then who is gonna do it?" well while I in no way consider myself knowledgeable enough to create new content I would give it a shot to distil some reoccurring info from the FAQs of course I too have a Full time job so I can't say I could donate a great deal of time to this endeavor, only would like to help the people that help me as best I know how. <Ahhh! I thank you for coming forward> If you want me to take a stab at it I will, If I have been presumptuous I am sorry, If I have offended, again I am sorry. <Nay, no offense at all. I am grateful for your input and help> I would like to close by saying thanks to all of you who give of your time and efforts to pass on your hard earned knowledge FOR FREE, This is admirable and should be appreciated by the people that are writing you. I am sorry that some do not appreciate it, and am also sorry if I ever seemed I did not. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Thanks Crew, Forrest <Please do "pick" a category/FAQs series if you will... consolidate, modify as you think best, and send to me for posting. I do want to encourage you to consider becoming a content provider in our interest... A sure-fire way to learn for sure, and I will gladly help you, provide image work if I can, and help you in what other ways I may... including introducing you to the 'zine (pulp and e-) editors. Very easy to make outlines and fill-them-in while scanning through the FAQs files... Bob Fenner>

Re: regarding the site/ improvements/ inputs etc., Apogonid pc. first...  2/18/08 wow really?!! I will give it hell Bob I'll give it hell. I have some other sources I can use to flesh it out more, at first just trying to pull only from te FAQs but if you say so I will give it a shot, thanks for the vote of confidence. Forrest <My friend... your synthesis, syncretization is that good. I wish to encourage you further.... for all's edification, gain. BobF>

Re: regarding the site/ improvements/ inputs etc. 2/21/08 I would like to say how much that really means to me. You suggest boosting it a few hundred words, would you suggest a deeper discussion of the already mentioned species? <Or aspects of the family's biology, captive husbandry> feeding etc. ? or add in more species? Thanks for the help. <I'd stick with the most popular species... Do you want me to send along my hard drive pix of the Apogonids? Do you mind loading Pando.com? BobF>

Re: regarding the site/ improvements/ inputs etc.  2/23/08 ok now that I am on my personal computer, I have downloaded Pando. I can get to work on the bio and husbandry sections soon, should be able to finish by tomorrow night. Thanks again, Forrest <Will send you my Apogonid pix... after am done with the gig of crustaceans going out to LynnZ. B>

Cardinal Fish, The family Apogonidae.    2/16/08 By Forrest Phillips

These beautiful slow moving and generally peaceful mouth brooders make excellent aquarium pets when kept with other peaceful tank mates.

Some interesting facts about these fish:

1. They are Gonochorist Paternal Mouth brooders, meaning they do not change sex, they are hatched a sex and stay it, and that the father holds the eggs and sometimes the babies in his mouth.
2. They are carnivorous and will attempt to eat most things that will fit in their mouth, including crustacean and fish.
3. In the wild Cardinals, Banggais come to mind, will associate with Long Spine Urchins, But in the confines of aquaria have been observed to hide in the tentacles of corals and anemones such as elegance coral and Long Tentacled Anemones.

Banggai Cardinals (Pterapogon kaudneri ) are interesting in that the young exit the males mouth fully formed, and are ready to eat newly hatched Artemia, Baby Brine Shrimp as they are commonly known.

Banggai Cardinals share much in common with the above mentioned PJs. One very important behavioral difference is that a single Banggai is quite happy by itself. The aggression between Banggais, called conspecific aggression, is often fatal to the subdominant fish. A subdominant BC will usually demonstrate a color of dark gray to black and shy and subdued behavior.

There is good news however for those wishing to keep more than one. If you have a large enough system, BC's can be kept in large shoals, say 10 or so individuals, this does require a large system though. Another option is to keep a breeding pair. If you can, watch them at the fish store and look for a pair. They will be seen together and trying to push away the others in the tank. If however this is not possible obtain a small group. A group of 5 is a good number, this will give you a good chance of getting at least one male and female in this Gonochorist fish. Once a pair has formed they will begin to harass the remaining three fish. At this point you will want to isolate the pair from the remaining fish.

The male will hold the eggs for approximately 21-25 days, though this is temperature dependant. It is a good idea to keep on eye on the male once he stops eating and observe him for behavior of holding. If you want to raise the babies there are a great many articles on this topic, a google search is in order, and a trip to the breeders registry.

As is mentioned above they will eat eagerly newly hatched Artemia and it has been suggested to slip some Cyclop-Eeze into the feeding frenzy to increase the nutritional value of their diet. Pleas report any success using such a feeding regimen.

If you succeed in keeping a group of these fish and one dies off, your safest bet is to leave the remaining fish alone and not try to introduce new fish. If however you still wish to introduce some new fish, Dip them Quarantine them then once they are eating what you are feeding the main tank introduce the new cardinals at the same time as a group, of at least 2 to disperse aggression from the invaders.

Some good tank mates for these cardinals include those suggested for the PJ's and a Flame angel may also work well if the system is appropriate for the angel. In larger systems they may be ok with Tangs but exercise due caution. These fish are easily scared especially upon introduction.

If you can include a Pod Fuge, a refugium for growing Amphipods and Copepods, your fish will have access to food all day. They also enjoy such fare as Mysis shrimp, Sweetwater plankton, and shredded seafood. They have been observed to be pretty indiscriminate about the size of their prey items, though be sure it will fit in their mouths.

If they are being finicky then live brine shrimp and baby livebearers can elicit a feeding response. Once eating move in the more nutrient rich foods, they might not notice in their eagerness to feed on their known food.

Banggais can be obtained from captive bred sources and it is best to get them as such. They will be better acclimated to aquarium life and prepared foods. Wild Banggais are often host to internal parasites such as worms and protozoans. White stringy Feces is indicative of an internal parasite. Yellow cysts have also been observed and likely linked to a bacterial infection. The typical Saltwater diseases will strike at cardinal fish, such as Crypt and Velvet. Velvet has been observed to appear as a "cloudy eye" in the Cardinals. Banggais may also be listed as Hi-fin, High fin, and Banner cardinal fish.

There are other species of Cardinal available and for the most part their captive care falls in with the above mentioned species. Do research individual species before purchase.