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Ruby cardinalfish

Apogon coccineus

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth1–21 m
  • Water temperature17–30 °C
  • Best monthsMay and November
  • How commonOccasional
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About this species

Apogon is a large genus of fish in the family Apogonidae, the cardinalfishes. They are among the most common fish on coral reefs. Over 200 species have been classified in genus Apogon as members of several subgenera. Some of these subgenera, such as Ostorhinchus, have been elevated to genus status, leaving just over 50 species in the genus.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Apogon”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 11 records
  • February: 10 records
  • March: 22 records
  • April: 30 records
  • May: 71 records
  • June: 41 records
  • July: 23 records
  • August: 25 records
  • September: 28 records
  • October: 26 records
  • November: 47 records
  • December: 20 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–21 m · Deepest record: 71 m

  • 0–10 m: 190 records
  • 10–20 m: 60 records
  • 20–30 m: 27 records
  • 30–40 m: 5 records
  • 40–50 m: 0 records
  • 50–60 m: 0 records
  • 60–70 m: 0 records
  • 70–80 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 17–30 °C

  • 16–18 °C: 1 records
  • 18–20 °C: 0 records
  • 20–22 °C: 5 records
  • 22–24 °C: 15 records
  • 24–26 °C: 71 records
  • 26–28 °C: 118 records
  • 28–30 °C: 156 records

Names and classification

English
Ruby cardinalfish, Cryptic Cardinalfish, Red Cardinal, ruby cardinal, ruby cardinalfish
Names in 3 more languages
Japanese
コミナトテンジクダイ
Thai
ปลาอมไข่ทับทิม
Simplified Chinese
大目側仔, 大面側仔, 透明紅天竺鯛

Other scientific names: Apogon kominatoensis

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 746 open-data records from 1838 to 2014.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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