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The recent popularity of this fish being discussed on the forums, retailers, and other websites prompted this post. Please read it and check out the links for yourself.

Around this time last year the popular Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) was assessed as an endangered species under criterion B of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, “IUCN”. Yet, if you look at many popular aquarium stores and online retailers you will often see wild specimens for sale. In fact a few e-tailers have them on sale right now…

These fish are one of the few that can be captive bred successfully. With their decimated numbers in the wild there is no logical reason to purchase wild collected specimens. The decimated populations of this fish have been known for sometime, but the Endangered Species status has not prompted much change in the hobby. 

We strongly urge you to only purchase captive raised individuals and make your local fish stores aware of their endangerment.

Back in January, 2007 the United States made a proposal to list this beautiful species on Appendix II of CITES. This proposal was latter rejected by CITES, but contains some good information:

The Banggai cardinalfishPterapogon kauderni is an endemic marine fish that has been negatively affected by heavy collection pressure for the aquarium trade and is highly vulnerable to extinction if trade continues at current rates. Harvest and trade first began in 1995, and has increased to an estimated 700,000-900,000 fish/yr.

The numbers on Banggai collection range considerably from source to source, but to give you an idea of collections in the U.S…  a single LAX wholesaler estimated receiving 500 Banggais a week just last year. This does not include the large number of deaths when shipping the collected fish from the Banggai Islands and sent on a two-week-unfed-journey to Jakarta and Bali before coming to the U.S. Also worth mentioning is frequent use of cyanide that historically has been used when collecting P. kauderni. The IUCN literature describes the collector-buyer implications well here:

P. kauderni are shipped primarily by boat from the Banggai Archipelago to national exporters via Tumbak and Manado and to a Bali exporter via Palu, and also direct to Bali exporters. An estimated 115,000 fish/month were transported on the Tumbak–Manado route, 3,000/month along the Palu to Bali route, and up to 10,000 fish/month were sent direct to Bali in 2001 (Lunn and Moreau 2004).

It has been heavily exploited by the aquarium trade since its rediscovery in 1994. Despite claims that captive breeding has been successful, most aquarium specimens are still captured in the wild. Fishes are collected, mainly with nets, and held in floating nets until purchased by fish buyers who visit individual fishers at least 3 to 4 times a month. Collectors are paid a small sum (ca. US $0.01 to 0.025 in 2001) per fish by buyers who, in turn, sell to exporters for US $ 0.10 to 0.12 a fish (Vagelli and Erdmann 2002).

It has been noted that satellite populations of Banggai’s have popped up in areas such as the Limbeh Strait (Erdmann and Vagelli 2001) and Gillamanuk, Bali (Various Collectors). We do not know the repercussions that will occur from this, but it’s comforting to hear there are other populations in the ocean. These introductions excluded,  Pterapogon kauderni can be found among the 27 islands of the Banggai Archipelago where collection is heavy. In total, the population in 2007 was estimated to be only 2.4 million. With collection numbers just shy of 1 Million a year it’s quite obvious there is a problem.

The issue of high collection rates is magnified by the low fecundity of P. kauderni. Like other Cardinals they are paternal mouthbrooders with a short lifespan. In lab conditions females have been found to be sexually mature at 9 months, but with an average life of 2.4 years in the wild, that equates to nearly 30% of their lifetime in a non-reproductive state. Interestingly, P. kauderni often lives 4+ years in captivity. Other issues hindering their reproduction include clutch transfer losses, holding periods (inside the males mouth for 30days), and predation.

In captivity, P. kauderni is the marine guppy. They readily pair off and breed. Because of the long mouthbrooding period, when the babies are released from the male their large size makes it easier (than other species) to raise. They are often touted as a hardy nano-fish, which they are… but in these discussions and suggestions their sustainability is rarely brought up.

It’s disheartening to think that without CITES approval of the U.S. proposal there is no change in the hobby’s view on these fish. CITES rejected the proposal stating Banggai Cardinals appeared to be sustainable and with proper management there is no reason to place the species on the CITES Appendix.

The International Wildlife Management Consortium, “IWMC”, World Conservation Trust recommended to CITES that the proposal should be rejected because it did not believe the species was threatened by collection and because it did not have the support of Indonesia. They also cite “information not in the proposal” and recently adopted measures by the Government of Indonesia as justification for the rejection.

CITES may be correct and the fish populations may now be sustainable, but purchasing captive bred when available is always a smart decision. If you are interested in this fish, ask around to your local fish stores and local forums to see who in the area is breeding them, or how you can get them. Our hobby already has a tarnished and unforgiving reputation, let’s not let P.kauderni perpetuate the myth. 

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