Bangaii Cardinal

[scarface]

Hello everyone. I just recently bought a bangaii cardinal and had a few question. I did my research on this guy and he seems pretty easy to take care of or at least what it states on his research. I currently have a 30 gallon setup with 2 percs. and a chromey. He didnt seem to swim around so much but I read he is a night time guy and spends much of the day time hovering in one spot. My question is when I feed my fish he doesnt seem to be interested in the food, I alternate between flakes and brine shrimp. Am I feeding him the right kind of food for him to thrive properly? Thanks for the help in advance.:thinking:

 

[ryan115]

i have to pajama cardinals, really similar fish, during the day they really dont do much but sit there. They should be fine with flake food and brine they should eat both. But i am going tomorrow to see them back, i have had them for a few months i dont really like them, they arent that colorful and they dont really swim around. but i do like the look of the bangaii

 

[saltynewf]

I bought a Bangaii cardinal 3 weeks ago. He, (yes, he's a he) love dried brine shrimp. When I open the top of my tank, he comes right up to get his supper. I can hear his mouth opening and closing on the surface of the tank.
He hates flaked food, it's for the damsels anyway. He puts them in and spits them right out. The flakes, not the damsels!

 

[saltynewf]

Well, my beloved Cardinal (Rich) is dead. I think it was an intestinal parasite. Now I'm afraid to get another cardinal. Do they all have parasites?
He had trouble breathing and he was dragging some thready poop around for a day or two. When I came home today my hermit crab was trying to eat his carcass. Not Impressed.:nervous:
What will I do? If one cardinal has it at the lfs, do they all have it?
I miss him very much.

 

[mbrands]

Seems like a lot of fish for a 30. Did you test the water after he died?

 

[bang guy]

Typically Banggai will only eat meaty foods and will ignore flakes.
My recommendation is to be 100% sure that the Banggai you purchase is tank bred. They cost more but are well worth it.

 

[saltynewf]

Hi mbrands and Bang Guy
I checked my water today and here are my results
temp 80
pH 8.2
ammonia 0.25
nitrates 20
nitrites 0
Something is wrong so i called my lfs and they recommended not feeding my fish for a day. No mention of water changes.
My tank is 7 weeks old and did fully cycle before I added any fish.
I fed my cardinal (Rich) dried brine shrimp,butI need to solve my problems before i kill anything else.
My cardinal was a beauty and I'd like to get another one or two.
Also please note that the $30 I spent was Cdn!!

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by saltynewf
My tank is 7 weeks old and did fully cycle before I added any fish.
I believe this may have contributed to the problem. The bioload needs to be ramped up slowly. Everything needs to be slow for saltwater aquariums.
It should have taken you almost a year to add all those fish. Your filtration is now playing catch-up and you may lose more fish before it can handle the bioload currently present.