APaquarist

"the iridovirus has been wrecking havoc on their populations ontop of collection" This is fortunately not the case. The iridovirus is not present in wild populations and appears to be picked up somewhere along the way in the aquarium supply chain. (See page 16 of A study to assess the impact of international trade on the conservation status of Pterapogon kauderni (Banggai cardinalfish) Ndobe, et al.) Also, the species now has significant protection in its native range and is doing well. See the article by someone who is boots on the ground there: https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2023/08/22/are-banggai-cardinals-depleted-in-the-wild/ "It has been suggested and being reviewed to move this specie to appendix II of CITES, commercial trade with limited yearly export quota." This is thankfully also not the case. Over the past several years, a trove of data and numerous CITES documents have been generated outlining the status of the species in the wild. CITES elected not include the species on its appendices, as the determination was made the species is not threatened by trade and therefore is not eligible for CITES listing.