School Time for Cardinals

[CoralNerd]

Yellowstriped Cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus cyanosoma)

I recently stopped by a LFS and they had a nice group of 10+ Yellowstriped Cardinalfish (YSCF) swimming in a nice pack.

I know that some of the cardinalfish like pajamas don't really school. Let's not talk about them.

Regarding YSCF
1) I read somewhere that they school when they are juveniles but not really when they are adults.

2) Do they only school in large tanks?

3) Do they only school if there is aggressive fish?

Does anyone have experience with the YSCF?

I was thinking of getting 3 to 5 for my 85g. Any advice much appreciated.

 

[reefwiser]

Only school when young. You can keep a pair They don't do well with aggressive fish in the tank. Unless you like fish that hide a lot. [emoji1]

 

[CoralNerd]

Only school when young. You can keep a pair They don't do well with aggressive fish in the tank. Unless you like fish that hide a lot. [emoji1]

Thanks for the reply. Is this based on what you read or first hand experience?

 

[reefwiser]

I have had all the different cardinals over the last 30 years. Love the Threadfin Cardinal best for school behavoir.

 

[CoralNerd]

Thanks for getting me the information I needed. [emoji118] [emoji106] [emoji111] [emoji184] [emoji12] [emoji226] [emoji305] [emoji475] [emoji817] MUCH APPRECIATED

Keep reefing

 

[CoralNerd]

I got 5 Threadfin Cardinalfish and I love these fish!

 

[eatbreakfast]

They only school when young and pair up, but are more tolerant of other pairs than bangaii's, so multiple pairs can be kept in the same tank.

 

[CoralNerd]

They only school when young and pair up, but are more tolerant of other pairs than bangaii's, so multiple pairs can be kept in the same tank.

If 2 die off can I add two more to replace them without difficulties?

 

[CoralNerd]

They only school when young and pair up, but are more tolerant of other pairs than bangaii's, so multiple pairs can be kept in the same tank.

Also when you mentioned they are you referring to the Threadfin Cardinalfish?

 

[ca1ore]

Google 'schooling' versus 'schoaling'. Never, ever seen the former in any tank ..... Ever .....

 

[CoralNerd]

Google 'schooling' versus 'schoaling'. Never, ever seen the former in any tank ..... Ever .....

Elaborate I don't follow. It for sure is a schooling fish not a schooling fish.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Also when you mentioned they are you referring to the Threadfin Cardinalfish?

I was referring to the yellowstripe cardinal.

Google 'schooling' versus 'schoaling'. Never, ever seen the former in any tank ..... Ever .....

Parvulus cardinals school in aquaria.

Elaborate I don't follow. It for sure is a schooling fish not a schooling fish.

Schools are better organized with coordinated movements.

Shoals are loose aggregations.

 

[ca1ore]

Parvulus cardinals school in aquaria..

Well, my groups never did! Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence; so absent a documenting video I shall continue to maintain that, like BigFoot, schooling behavior in or tanks is just a myth.

 

[ca1ore]

Elaborate I don't follow. It for sure is a schooling fish not a schooling fish.

Say what? Now I'm the one who doesn't follow ....... How can something be a schooling fish but not be a schooling fish? Sure, parvulus cardinals do school in nature (as do many other fish), but I have never seen it in any of the groups I have kept - nor anywhere else, for that matter. They move in 'loose aggregations', thus 'schoaling'.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Well, my groups never did! Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence; so absent a documenting video I shall continue to maintain that, like BigFoot, schooling behavior in or tanks is just a myth.

Around the 1:04-1:30 mark you see the parvulus. Though they are swimming in place there is a unified direction change, thus a coordinated movement.

At the point of this video they had been in the tank for 2 months. At the same time there had been another group of parvulus in a lg seahorse tank as well that had been in there even longer and used the whole tank.

 

[eatbreakfast]

T

Say what? Now I'm the one who doesn't follow ....... How can something be a schooling fish but not be a schooling fish? Sure, parvulus cardinals do school in nature (as do many other fish), but I have never seen it in any of the groups I have kept - nor anywhere else, for that matter. They move in 'loose aggregations', thus 'schoaling'.

That's the beauty of personal experiences, they aren't hard and fast rules that can never be broken. Multiple reefers can have the same species and still have a variety of experiences with them. We can only relate our own. My experience has been that parvulus school, this has been in multiple tanks on multiple occasions. Yours have not, though without video proof I find it hard to believe.