🐠 Five-Lined Cardinalfish (Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus)
An Iridescent Silver Body With Five Black Horizontal Stripes • A False Eyespot Near the Tail • A Nocturnal Hunter With Noticeably Large Teeth
 
📋 The Five-Lined Cardinalfish, also known as the Toothed Cardinalfish, has an elongated, slender body in iridescent silver, marked with five black horizontal stripes running its length. A bright yellow-and-black spot near the tail creates a false eyespot, confusing predators about which direction the fish is actually facing.
It comes from a vast range across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and Mozambique to the Pitcairn Islands, inhabiting reef flats, lagoons, and seaward reefs to depths of around 40 metres. Every Five-Lined Cardinalfish we ship is feeding well.
A nocturnal hunter, this species rests in caves and crevices, or sometimes shelters among the spines of the long-spined sea urchin, by day, becoming active at night to feed using its noticeably large, canine-like teeth. It's a slow, methodical swimmer, and males are documented mouthbrooders, incubating the egg mass in their mouths until hatching. While this species is peaceful toward similarly sized tankmates, it's a real predatory threat to small shrimp, small fish, and feather duster worms, so it's considered reef safe with caution. It reaches up to 13cm, so a 190L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Silver Body With Five Black Stripes: A striking, classic cardinalfish pattern
👁️ A False Eyespot: Confuses predators about direction of travel
🌙 Nocturnal: Most active at night, resting in caves by day
⚠️ Reef Safe With Caution: A real threat to small shrimp and feather dusters
👨‍👦 A Male Mouthbrooder: Fathers carry the egg mass until hatching