Banggai Cardinal killing spree

Black Pearl · Apr 12, 2017

I had Gang of four Banggai Cardinals, I now have three, of which two is giving chase and the third is now running for his life. I've had these since they were darn near microscopic. All got along fine till two decided to pair up and form an alliance, they became a breeding pair and killers which has earned them the name Bonnie and Clyde. About a week ago I was missing a orange back fairy wrasse, prior to his missing , I had noticed that he hid a lot but I never witnessed him being harassed, then one day no orange back, I kept looking for a few days thinking he would show up..... Nada. Today I find a dead Banggai all beat to hell. I know Bonnie and Clyde did it and I think that they may have deep six the orange back. If I can't catch the fleeing third member of the original Gang of Four he will prolly be done for also. Here I am worried about my tangs and my trigger causing distraction and death. It always the ones you least expect. I would post pics but they are just too graphic

jeff williams · Apr 12, 2017

Is your tank large enough for the fish you have. Also what about catching and inprisoning Bonnie and Clyde

eatbreakfast · Apr 13, 2017

Black Pearl said:
I had Gang of four Banggai Cardinals, I now have three, of which two is giving chase and the third is now running for his life. I've had these since they were darn near microscopic. All got along fine till two decided to pair up and form an alliance, they became a breeding pair and killers which has earned them the name Bonnie and Clyde. About a week ago I was missing a orange back fairy wrasse, prior to his missing , I had noticed that he hid a lot but I never witnessed him being harassed, then one day no orange back, I kept looking for a few days thinking he would show up..... Nada. Today I find a dead Banggai all beat to hell. I know Bonnie and Clyde did it and I think that they may have deep six the orange back. If I can't catch the fleeing third member of the original Gang of Four he will prolly be done for also. Here I am worried about my tangs and my trigger causing distraction and death. It always the ones you least expect. I would post pics but they are just too graphic

Bangaii cardinals are notorious for being intolerant of conspecifics. They will cair any other bangaii they encounter.

However, I find it very unlikely that they are the culprits behind the orangeback fairy wrasses disappearance. Even if the cardinals are going after him, he is much faster and more maneuverable, so would easily avoid them.

Black Pearl · Apr 13, 2017

From what I have observed @eatbreakfast, you are probably correct. I have not seen the aggression toward any of the other fish even the much smaller fairy wrasse that I have. this is the first time I've kept Banggai and I was surprised at the intolerance.

wkscott · Apr 13, 2017

Almost all species of fish that guard their eggs or fry can become aggressive at breeding time.

evolved · Apr 13, 2017

Drakonis · Apr 13, 2017

Cardinals will pair for mating and once they do all other cardinals will be victems. get the lone one out or it will be killed

4FordFamily · Apr 13, 2017

This is relatively normal behavior (amongst each other, anyway). I agree with what's been said.

Black Pearl · Apr 13, 2017

Drakonis said:
Cardinals will pair for mating and once they do all other cardinals will be victems. get the lone one out or it will be killed

Any suggestions on how to do that, I have never seen them enter a trap I have set for other fish. I tried netting him but they are fast and erratic swimmers. he is pretty much staying around the top of the tank so I may get lucky. Bonnie and Clyde actually look like they are hunting him

Drakonis · Apr 13, 2017

What worked for me was a large net set up on a tank side the lone one hides near and walk away. soon the loner will use it for shelter and you can sneak up on tank and snatch him. i used a second small net to intimidate him from fleeing big net area

eatbreakfast · Apr 14, 2017

Take some epoxy and black zip ties and make a fake longspine urchin and put the fake urchin in the fish trap. Bangaii cardinals seek refuge among urchin spines.

Black Pearl · Apr 17, 2017

Worked this past weekend and didn't have a chance to try and catch the Banggai. He was looking pretty rough and worn out and I netted him easily at the top of the tank. I put him in my frag tank with my mystery wrasse so far so good. Hope he recovers from the beating took

Breva1100 · Oct 6, 2017

Black Pearl said:
I had Gang of four Banggai Cardinals, I now have three, of which two is giving chase and the third is now running for his life. I've had these since they were darn near microscopic. All got along fine till two decided to pair up and form an alliance, they became a breeding pair and killers which has earned them the name Bonnie and Clyde. About a week ago I was missing a orange back fairy wrasse, prior to his missing , I had noticed that he hid a lot but I never witnessed him being harassed, then one day no orange back, I kept looking for a few days thinking he would show up..... Nada. Today I find a dead Banggai all beat to hell. I know Bonnie and Clyde did it and I think that they may have deep six the orange back. If I can't catch the fleeing third member of the original Gang of Four he will prolly be done for also. Here I am worried about my tangs and my trigger causing distraction and death. It always the ones you least expect. I would post pics but they are just too graphic

This is an older post but maybe someone will respond, I have a solo Banggai Cardinal Killer. He intimidates other Cardinals and any new fish in the tank. The other tank mates in this 30 gallon tank include two firefish gobies, a clown fish and a blue streaked wrasse. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I originally purchased a pair of Banggai Cardinals and everything was going well for about 8 months, then one day one of them just disappeared. After a few weeks I purchased a replacement, it disappeared with a day or two. After a month or so I purchased another replacement, it too disappeared in about a day. So I figured okay he will be a solo, two days ago I purchased a Royal Gramma. The Benggai kept it in a corner of the tank and chased it into the overflow box twice, the last time it was sucked up into the pump. Maybe the five fish is the stocking rate for the 30 Gallon tank and I have been trying to overstock?

Drakonis · Oct 6, 2017

Could be all cardinals added were same sex, could be just aggression. if the cardinal wont leave other fish alone i would remove it, if you want to try and reintroduce a mate and such id put both into a separate tank alone (try to id the sex and make it a male female pair) once they show signs of stability you could attempt reintroduction but be aware cardinals arent very tollerent of a crowded home so may not go as you want.

linus.chan · Oct 6, 2017

Black Pearl said:
Any suggestions on how to do that, I have never seen them enter a trap I have set for other fish. I tried netting him but they are fast and erratic swimmers. he is pretty much staying around the top of the tank so I may get lucky. Bonnie and Clyde actually look like they are hunting him

i also had 4 and trapped the 2 unpaired using a fish trap- pretty easy actually in terms of feeding

Breva1100 · Oct 6, 2017

Drakonis said:
Could be all cardinals added were same sex, could be just aggression. if the cardinal wont leave other fish alone i would remove it, if you want to try and reintroduce a mate and such id put both into a separate tank alone (try to id the sex and make it a male female pair) once they show signs of stability you could attempt reintroduction but be aware cardinals arent very tollerent of a crowded home so may not go as you want.

Thanks for the advice, I was thinking the same thing about all males or the same sex. The weird part is that he intimidated the Royal Gramma into the overflow box after holding it in the corner. I am thinking that he is just feeling crowded and likes the tank space. So the only solution might be to find him a new home. So far he has gone through two Cardinals and a Gramma or in dollars and cents about $60. I may try isolation and introduce another fish and see if it survives.

Drakonis · Oct 6, 2017

One other note is if you get a male female and the mate they become teritorial and the female is the watchdog as male has mouth full of eggs

Breva1100 · Oct 6, 2017

Drakonis said:
One other note is if you get a male female and the mate they become teritorial and the female is the watchdog as male has mouth full of eggs

Yea that most likely would not work in a 30 gallon tank with other tank mates, it may cause aggression towards the other tank mates. I hope to decrease the overall tank stress. I had no idea that they breed so easily.