Common Name:Mediterranean cardinalfish

Scientific Names: Apogon imberbis

Description:This small, plump fish, up to 10 cm long, has an orange-red body, with dark eyes that have a white horizontal bar running just above and just below.

Distinctive Features: A small orange-red fish with two white horizontal lines through the dark eyes.

Abundance: In small shoals of 10 – 20+ fish during the day.

Habitat & Behaviour: They are regularly found hovering in the same caves and crevices from very shallow (1-2m) to diving depths during the day. They are night active and emerge then to range more widely and venture further afield.

Reaction to Snorkellers & Divers: Wary of surface snorkelers, less concerned about divers.

Other Notes: The same cracks and crevices on Gozo are occupied by small shoals year after year. The male fish brood the eggs in their mouths giving them a distended appearance until they are ready to hatch.

Text: Bob Earll
Photo: Russell & Gill Bennett
Video: Bob Earll & Julia Jagoditsch