It is among the relatively few marine fish to have been bred regularly in captivity, but significant numbers are still captured in the wild and it is now an endangered species.

[3] This species has an extremely limited geographic range (5,500 km2) and small total population size (estimated at 2.4 million).

[4] It is a demersal tropical marine fish that forms stable groups of about 9 individuals in shallow water, being most common at 1.5 to 2.5 m in depth.

It inhabits a variety of shallow habitats, including coral reefs, seagrass beds, and open areas of sand and rubble.

[4] It is often found associated with the seagrass Enhalus acoroides and the long spined sea urchin Diadema setosum.

[3] Individual fish exhibit well-defined homing behaviour and return to the original location of their group when disturbed.

[6] In addition to sea urchins, other living benthic substrates such as soft corals, anemones, hydrozoans, and mangrove roots also serve as microhabitats around which the cardinalfish group.

[7][5] Such limited dispersal of Banggai cardinalfish prevents them from spreading over large geographic ranges, thus serving as a major risk of extinction along with heavy exploitation by aquarium fish collectors, as well as low fecundity.

), the honeycomb grouper (Epinephelus merra), the crocodilefish (Cymbacephalus beauforti), the snowflake moray (Echidna nebulosa), the estuarine stonefish (Synanceia horrida), and the yellow-lipped sea krait (Laticauda colubrina).

[4] The female plays an active role in courtship and pair formation, which occurs a few hours to a few days before spawning.

[3] Unlike many other species of marine fish, the Banggai cardinalfish lacks a planktonic stage in its life history.

[10] Therefore, pairing tends to occur among individuals of similar sizes, so the male is able to care for all the eggs that the female produces.

Then she places herself alongside him and tilts her body thirty degrees outward from its vertical plane, when the male and female's caudal and anal fins come into contact.

[13] By forming a pair with a female with more mature eggs, or closer to spawning, a male can increase his reproductive rate.

[7] Although the free embryos maintain their size difference after hatching, they increase several times in weightwhile being brooded inside their father's mouth.

[14] They form a tight school around different structures such as sea urchins, corals, and anemones, and swim around together while the father does not exhibit much caring behavior.

Initially, the relatively high cost–benefit ratio of its production combined with the large number of less expensive wild-harvested fish prevented expansion of aquaculture efforts.

In recent years, prices for captive bred or aquacultured specimens have plummeted as large numbers have entered the market.

In addition, a newly emerging threat in the form of a viral disease has been documented in wild-harvested individuals maintained in captivity.

It is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN based on its small range, the fragmentation of its distribution, and its continuing decline due to exploitation for the international aquarium trade.