Apogon maculatus

Apogon maculatus
A young Apogon maculatus
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Apogonidae
Subfamily:	Apogoninae
Genus:	Apogon
Species:	A. maculatus
Binomial name
Apogon maculatus Poey, 1860

Apogon maculatus is a cardinalfish from the western Atlantic. Apogon maculatus is a nocturnal fish, and it usually hides in shadowy areas. This fish can be viewed with a red light in a dark room if needed to. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade because of its uniqueness. In captivity the fish's color tends to fade unless fed color enhancing vitamins. It grows to a size of 11 centimetres (4.3 in) in length. This fish can be aggressive towards other cardinal fish. Only one should be kept in a tank unless in mated pairs, or two can be placed in a 55 imperial gallons (250 L) or larger tank. Otherwise it does well with peaceful tank mates as long as it has caves and places to hide. The ideal water conditions are temperatures of 72–78 °F (22–26 °C), with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4, sg 1.020–1.025, and dKH at 8 to 12.

Requirements

• Light: minimal
• Minimum tank size: 30 imperial gallons (140 L)
• Hardiness: beginner, easy
• Aggressiveness: semi-aggressive
• Reef compatibility: yes
• Diet: It require a well balanced and vitamin-enriched diet of meaty foods such as feeder fish, crustaceans, mysid shrimp and bloodworms. Must feed daily.
• Size Class: 4
• Go well with: dwarf angelfish, blennies, boxfish, butterflyfish, cardinalfish, clownfish, filefish, gobies, grunts & sweetlips, hawkfish and pufferfish.

References

• AquariumsLife The aquarium database
• Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2008). "Apogon maculatus" in FishBase. December 2008 version.
• Bluezooaquatics Bluezooaquatics Apogon maculatus info page
• Animal Planet Animal Planet Apogon maculatus info page
• reef2reef reef2reef fish of the day Apogon maculatus info