Threadfin cardinalfish

The threadfin cardinalfish or bluestreak cardinalfish is a tropical marine ray-finned fish in the cardinalfish family Apogonidae.

Description

The threadfin cardinalfish is translucent, with bright blue and orange bars on the back of the head and the front of the body, and with a whitish line along the back. It may reach up to 6 cm in total length.

Distribution and habitat

The threadfin cardinalfish occurs in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, west to East Africa and the Seychelles, east to Marshall Islands, Tonga and Samoa, north to the Ryukyu Islands, and south to Australia, Micronesia and New Caledonia. It inhabits sheltered bays and reef lagoons and forms dense schools, often with other cardinalfishes.