Banggai cardinal fish or Pajama Cardinal Fish for 20 gallon?

commanderwho · Mar 18, 2021

hello,

In a 20 gallon tank I plan to have a pair of clownfish. Is it better to be with a banggai cardinal fish or a pajama cardinal fish?

Why on liveaquaria its listed banggai for 30 gallons and pajama cardinals for 20 gallons? They are both 3 inches.
Are the banggai cardinal more aggressive then the PJ cardinal?

thanks

lapin · Mar 18, 2021

The will both grow to the size of the tank. I have seen them grow to almost baseball size in giant aquariums

Auquanut · Mar 18, 2021

commanderwho said:
Why on liveaquaria its listed banggai for 30 gallons and pajama cardinals for 20 gallons?

My guess is because the pajama cardinal is much less active. Just kind of hangs out. I had a pajama cardinal in a 29 biocube with a clown and long nose hawkfish. No problem. Moved him to a much bigger tank with tangs, meanaurus wrasse , flame hawk, etc... and still no problem. He was completely fearless. Always out and about, just not real active. Mine got to about 3" before he died suddenly for no apparent reason. I had him for about 4 years.

I would go with the pajama, but I guess I'm biased.

commanderwho · Mar 18, 2021

Auquanut said:
My guess is because the pajama cardinal is much less active. Just kind of hangs out. I had a pajama cardinal in a 29 biocube with a clown and long nose hawkfish. No problem. Moved him to a much bigger tank with tangs, meanaurus wrasse , flame hawk, etc... and still no problem. He was completely fearless. Always out and about, just not real active. Mine got to about 3" before he died suddenly for no apparent reason. I had him for about 4 years.

I would go with the pajama, but I guess I'm biased.

Never thought of them being less active lol. The banggai don’t look too active either. Do you currently keep any pajama cardinals right now?

Auquanut · Mar 18, 2021

commanderwho said:
Never thought of them being less active lol. The banggai don’t look too active either. Do you currently keep any pajama cardinals right now?

No. Since Frank died, I've thought about it, but I'm pretty happy with my current stocking.

commanderwho · Mar 18, 2021

Is a 20 gallon waterbox enough to have 2 clownfish and 2 pajama cardinals? Thanks

vetteguy53081 · Mar 18, 2021

Pajama much more versatile and hardy

yababo · Mar 18, 2021

PJ seems a little more hardier but they seem to loose their color as they get older(seems to get a little dull) no real issues with aggressiveness in either of the two though.

Reefer of Oz · Mar 18, 2021

I would suggest PJs from a conservation standpoint. The Bangaii are a threatened species. PJs are tank bred these days in many cases. Something to consider always when looking into livestock options is the source populations, locations and methods.

Auquanut · Mar 18, 2021

commanderwho said:
Is a 20 gallon waterbox enough to have 2 clownfish and 2 pajama cardinals? Thanks

Might be pushing the limit in terms of bioload. Should be okay as long as you keep up with water changes and don't overfeed. I'd go with the smaller clowns like ocellarus clowns and add the cardinals first. A pair of mated clowns can get pretty aggressive. If the clowns aren't defending territory against new arrivals, you'll have a better chance for success.

Mastiffsrule · Mar 18, 2021

I love my pair of pajamas.

They are probably around 7 or 8 years old. I have caught the male with eggs in the mouth once. They are so chill.

I would say they are about the size of my palm. The male and female can chase each other from one end to the other of the 180 on occasion. Not sure if it is something to do with part of the breeding? But usually they hover.

commanderwho · Mar 18, 2021

Reefer of Oz said:
I would suggest PJs from a conservation standpoint. The Bangaii are a threatened species. PJs are tank bred these days in many cases. Something to consider always when looking into livestock options is the source populations, locations and methods.

Yea, that is true. I know the banggai are also captive bred but I do see way more pjs available online

commanderwho · Mar 18, 2021

Auquanut said:
Might be pushing the limit in terms of bioload. Should be okay as long as you keep up with water changes and don't overfeed. I'd go with the smaller clowns like ocellarus clowns and add the cardinals first. A pair of mated clowns can get pretty aggressive. If the clowns aren't defending territory against new arrivals, you'll have a better chance for success.

Yes, i would do weekly 10 percent water change and make sure just to feed them just enough. I plan on getting them on liveaquaria through ora

commanderwho · Mar 18, 2021

Mastiffsrule said:
I love my pair of pajamas. They are probably around 7 or 8 years old. I have caught the male with eggs in the mouth once. They are so chill.

I would say they are about the size of my palm. The male and female can chase each other from one end to the other of the 180 on occasion. Not sure if it is something to do with part of the breeding? But usually they hover.

That’s a big tank you think it’s to much to have 2 clowns and 2 pjs in a 20 gallon ? Thanks

JayinToronto · Mar 18, 2021

Had 4 of both. Put both groups in as small juveniles. My Bangaiis were constantly breeding. There always seemed to be a male with eggs in it's mouth. I even caught a baby in the overflow and managed to raise it in the sump by feeding cylopeeze. Eventually they all died (after about 4 years). 10 years later all 4 of my pyjamas are going strong. So I feel from a hardiness standpoint, all things being equal, the pyjamas win.
From an interesting standpoint, they are both very boring. Just hover in place. Don't really interact with anyone, including each other. Cool patterns though.

commanderwho · Mar 28, 2021

JayinToronto said:
Had 4 of both. Put both groups in as small juveniles. My Bangaiis were constantly breeding. There always seemed to be a male with eggs in it's mouth. I even caught a baby in the overflow and managed to raise it in the sump by feeding cylopeeze. Eventually they all died (after about 4 years). 10 years later all 4 of my pyjamas are going strong. So I feel from a hardiness standpoint, all things being equal, the pyjamas win.
From an interesting standpoint, they are both very boring. Just hover in place. Don't really interact with anyone, including each other. Cool patterns though.

That’s good that they don’t move too much in a 20 gallon tank! I need my clowns to use the tank space more lol.
so PJs are hardier and they live much longer!

monkeyCmonkeyDo · Mar 28, 2021

I think the bangis are prettier. I like the red eyes of pjs though. Niether! Get cardinals no one else has. Ive seen 2 or 3 other cardinal fish variations. They are not active swimmers. They sit in one spot mostly and hover in the water coloum. Kinda like dartfish or firefish.
D