---
title: Brown Cardinalfish (Nectamia fusca)
scientific_name: Nectamia fusca
common_name: Brown Cardinalfish
taxon: Cardinals
conservation_status: LC - Least Concern
published: 2024-11-08T19:51:13.322Z
updated: 2025-11-25T13:58:09.000Z
tags: Brown Cardinalfish, Nectamia fusca, Cardinals, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/cardinals/brown-cardinalfish
---

# Brown Cardinalfish (*Nectamia fusca*)

**Taxon:** Cardinals (*Apogonidae*)  
**Conservation Status:** LC - Least Concern  


Nectamia fusca, also referred to as the Ghost Cardinalfish or Brown Cardinalfish, is a marine species indigenous to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This tropical, reef-associated fish is typically found at depths ranging from 1 to 20 meters and can reach a maximum length of 11.2 centimeters.

The species is prevalently observed in reef flats and shallow lagoons, where it seeks refuge during daylight hours within Acropora thickets, various corals, and in crevices and holes. Nectamia fusca demonstrates nocturnal behavior, foraging at night on free-swimming invertebrates. Additionally, it inhabits sheltered seaward slopes at similar depths. Its diet primarily consists of small fishes and benthic invertebrates, such as alpheid and penaeid shrimps, isopods, copepods, crab larvae, and polychaete worms. The fish typically forages within a close proximity of 1 to 2 meters from its cover.

Nectamia fusca is known for its unique breeding behavior as a mouthbrooder and exhibits distinct pairing during courtship and spawning.

Geographically, this species is distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, recorded in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, with the exception of areas such as the Seychelles, Chagos Archipelago, Cargados Carajos, Mauritius, and Rodrigues. Its range extends north to Japan, south to Australia, and across the Western Pacific to the Tonga Islands, Samoa, and the Phoenix and Marshall Islands.

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*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/cardinals/brown-cardinalfish)*
*Updated: November 25, 2025*