The Convicts

Foiled Again

Like five prison convicts - four dressed in their stripes and the final one still covered in blood - these buggers were ready to leave the confines of their cell, and be acclimated to life with the general public.

With aquarium inhabitants, this is much easier than convicts (just an assumption though - not having tried to rehabilitate convicts before). It's a simple process really; they are chosen from their holding cell (tank) at the LFS, cuffed for their own protection (double-bagged and placed in a cooler to keep temperature), transported (transported), rehabilitated (acclimated to the environment using the same drip process described in Quit Clowning Around), and finally released to general population (freedom into the larger DT).

So who are the offenders?

• The Three Wise Men (Banggai Cardinalfish) - criminal masterminds always teamed-up
• The Bandit (Banded Coral Shrimp) - locked-up for scavenging loads of food
• Blood Bath (Blood/Fire Shrimp) - known offender of killing parasites on fish

The new inhabitants have been in the tank for about a week now. 

Jack, Jim, and Johnnie are still quite shy and skittish, but they are eating well. Their presence has added a lot more movement to the DT. They stay in close proximity of one-another, and their swimming style is totally different than the clownfish tail-wag swimming style. The cardinal fish swim in short, fast bursts in all areas of the tank.

Banggai/Kaudem's Cardinalfish (3):

Pterapogon Kauderni

Care level: Easy

Diet: Carnivore

Origin: Indonesia 

Temperament: Semi-aggressive

Max Size: 3”

Notes: These fish are being harvested from the wild at such an alarming rate that they are close to being added to the endangered species list. Luckily, these are some of the easiest species of fish to be bred in captivity. They are extremely aggressive toward other cardinal fish, but if introduced together they can be paced as small groups. These fish tend to swim together, which is attractive for aquarium enthusiast who are looking for "schooling" or "shoaling" fish. They can reproduce in home aquariums; the male holds the eggs in his mouth during the whole gestation period. Once hatched though the fry (offspring) need to be moved to a separate tank or they will be eaten.


Multiple shrimp in a small aquarium is usually a risk, and an aggressive shrimp may killing others. In a larger aquarium, having multiple species of shrimp is fine, provided they have enough room for their own area, and plenty of hiding spots. Being that I have a rather large aquarium, and that I love the movement of Pierre (Skunk Cleaner Shrimp), I decided to add a couple more of these scavengers.

Banded Coral Shrimp (1):

Stenopus hispidus

Care level: Easy

Diet: Carnivore

Origin: Caribbean / Hawaii / Indonesia / Sri Lanka 

Temperament: Peaceful

Max Size: 2 1/2"

Notes: This shrimp struts with its pinchers out in front of it, giving it the nickname "Boxing Shrimp." They are highly active and though scavenge in the wild, they will readily accept food during tank feeding time. They are aggressive toward other banded coral shrimp, and can pinch a fish in the act of defending its territory.

Blood Red Fire Shrimp (1):

Lysmata debelius

Care level: Easy

Diet: Carnivore

Origin: Indonesia / Sri Lanka 

Temperament: Peaceful

Max Size: 2"

Notes: This shrimp is a cleaner shrimp, and thus, sets up a cleaning station. At this station the shrimp will clean the dead cells and parasites from fish. It will also scavenge the substrate for left over food. It's not very active and typically stays in a cave environment.


Since the new additions, both the Blood Shrimp and the Skunk Cleaner Shrimp have been trying to chase down the Three Wise Men to offer their cleaning services. This happens every time the fish swim by with no avail. Hopefully when everyone feels more comfortable, I can post a video of the cleaning.

"Come on! Let me clean you!"

The two sets of fish I have already added are considered generally hardy and disease resistant. This is not the case for all of the fish I want to add. In order to spare the tank any future disease, I will be quarantining all newcomers. More about the quarantine process in a future post.