WAIKIKI CARDINALFISH
Apogonichthys perdix (Bleeker, 1854)
     This little cardinal was long known by the name Apogonichthys waikiki and was considered a Hawaiian endemic. It is actually widespread in the Indo-Pacific but seldom seen or photographed. Variable in color, usually mottled brown, it is best identified by its rounded tail fin, which is often reddish. (Only one other Hawaiian cardinal has a rounded tail, the Bay Cardinalfish, Foa brachygramma.) The Waikiki Cardinalfish is encountered most reliably in holes or under ledges in isolated coral heads or boulders from the shallows down to at least 60 ft., often in pairs. In areas seasonally affected by large waves, such as Waimea Bay, O`ahu, it lives at 60 ft. or below. It emerges only in almost total darkness and hovers in midwater not far from its hole feeding mostly on small planktonic crustaceans. The species name, meaning "partridge," refers to its mottled brown color. To about 1 1/2 in. Indo-Pacific. Both photos were taken at night, the smaller one off Waikiki in a few feet of water. The larger photo, taken by Fernando Lopez Arbarello off Ulua Beach, West Maui, shows iridescence similar to the common Iridescent Cardinalfish, Apogon kallopterus.