Apogon compressus
Blue-eye Cardinalfish
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Perciformes
Family
Apogonidae
Genus
Apogon
Species
Apogon compressus
Distinguishing features
A small fish with dark horizontal stripes and a distinct iridescent blue ring around the eye, usually seen in schools near branching coral.
Size
- Up to 12 cm (Standard length)
Depth range
- Depth range data is not yet available.
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
Areas of live branching coral (usually staghorn Acropora).
Found in most sheltered reef habitats around the island.
Behaviour
A nocturnal predator on crustacean zooplankton, these fish rest during the day close to the shelter of branching staghorn corals. They breed October - February, and the male fish hold the eggs in the mouth for 3-5days until the larvae hatch. Cardinalfishes have very short lifespans, becoming mature at 1 year old and living for only 3-5 years.
Web resources
References
- Barnett, A., D.R. Bellwood and A.S. Hoey (2006). Trophic ecomorphology of cardinalfish, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 322: 249-257. LIRS catalog number 1020.
- Doving, K.B., O.B. Stabell, S. Ostlund-Nilsson and R. Fisher (2006). Site fidelity and homing in tropical coral reef cardinalfish: are they using olfactory cues? Chemical Senses, 31: 265-272. LIRS catalog number 990.
- Gardiner, N.M. and G.P. Jones (2005). Habitat specialisation and overlap in a guild of coral reef cardinalfishes (Apogonidae), Marine Ecology Progress Series, 305: 163-175. LIRS catalog number 90014.
- View all references