Pajama Cardinalfish (Asia Pacific)

Gifted with a rainbow of colors and patterns over its scales, and a very peaceful demeanour, the Pajama cardinal fish is a wonderful addition to nearly any aquarium. Its eye is an intense scarlet red, matching the many polka-dots on its body. Its front half is bright yellow, and it has a dark belt across its middle. It always holds its fins erect which gives it a unique shape. Males and females are visually identical. It grows up to 3.5 inches.

The Pajama Cardinal is a peaceful, reef safe fish. It is happiest in groups of at least three individuals; it may school with other species as well. They are typically safe with invertebrates; however, it has a large mouth and may attack small shrimp or tiny fish. They are easy to feed on a variety of frozen foods, but may need time to adapt to dry food.

The Pajama cardinal has been known to spawn even in community aquariums. After breeding, the male will hold the eggs in his mouth to protect them. It may take several weeks for the eggs to hatch, during which time the male does not feed. It prefers an aquarium with some overhangs and caves which it may spend time in during the day. Cardinals are hardy and do not require much swimming space compared to other fish. We recommend an aquarium of at least 20 gallons for a single fish and 30 gallons or larger for a school.