Appearance and lifestyle:
This cardinal is a small fish, characterized by four dark horizontal stripes on each side and a dark stripe along its dorsal surface. It has proportionately large eyes and mouth. Although solitary, striped cardinalfish temporarily form pairs during courtship. They are mouth-brooders – once fertilized, the male cardinal will carry the eggs in his mouth until they hatch.
Habitat:
They inhabit coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, particularly the Red Sea and Sodwana Bay, with smaller populations on the Japanese and Australian coasts.
Diet:
Striped cardinalfish are nocturnal, hiding in potholes on portions of reefs that are exposed to surge during the day. At night they scavenge and hunt small invertebrates.
Threats:
Pollution, climate change, habitat loss etc.
Grows to 11cm
Also known as a pearly-line cardinalfish and a reef-flat cardinal