Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
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Siphamia

Siphamia mossambica

Smith, 1955

Sea Urchin Cardinalfish

Likely Reef Tank Suitable

Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable

Range: Western Indian Ocean: Kenya to Sodwana Bay, South Africa.

Size: 2 inches (4 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits urchin spines in tidepools and usually found at depths between 15 – 85 feet (5 – 25 m) where it feeds on crustaceans/zooplankton during evening hours.

General Husbandry: Has a silvery overall color, and is quite rare in the wild where it lives among the spines of urchins. As of 2016, not collected for the trade.

Taxonomy:

    Order: Perciformes

    Suborder: Percoidei

    Family: Apogonidae

    Subfamily: Apogoninae

    Genus: Siphamia

FYI: Shown here for identification only.

 Siphamia mossambica (Sea Urchin Cardinalfish)
Photo © John Randall
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