A new arrival
- Thread starter Tomoko Schum
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Tomoko Schum
New member
Don't worry, Nicole. It will take a few months to grow them out anyways. I will let the male rest for a month before I try for the next batch. You can have a few juvies from the future batch.
Tomoko
Tomoko
timrandlerv10
New member
wait, what? 
when you say 'try for the next batch' you mean you'll just let them go the way of the fish-eat-fish world or do you so something to initiate the event(s)?
if i got some from you, how many should i get to be 'reasonably' assured that i'll end with a pair?
i assume i cant put them in the 75 yet? (sidebar: how big before they can go in there, if ever?)
would they be ok in the nano with the rainfordi, 3 turbos and a emerald? would candy canes or acans be any issue? would an urchin be needed, and if so, would one be compatible with all the other things in there? (if not, its aquascaping time in the 75!)
more importantly, from an ethical standpoint, what do i do with the outcasts? would you want them back? find homes for people that just want one? looking back on it, pairing GSMs seemed so much easier
how old should they be before they're 'weened'?
when are we going to get more pictures???
(and i shared some rots and nanno with a guy that was trying to raise his first clown fry...so i'm still trying to 'pay it forward')
when you say 'try for the next batch' you mean you'll just let them go the way of the fish-eat-fish world or do you so something to initiate the event(s)?
if i got some from you, how many should i get to be 'reasonably' assured that i'll end with a pair?
i assume i cant put them in the 75 yet?
(sidebar: how big before they can go in there, if ever?)would they be ok in the nano with the rainfordi, 3 turbos and a emerald? would candy canes or acans be any issue? would an urchin be needed, and if so, would one be compatible with all the other things in there? (if not, its aquascaping time in the 75!)
more importantly, from an ethical standpoint, what do i do with the outcasts? would you want them back? find homes for people that just want one? looking back on it, pairing GSMs seemed so much easier
how old should they be before they're 'weened'?
when are we going to get more pictures???
(and i shared some rots and nanno with a guy that was trying to raise his first clown fry...so i'm still trying to 'pay it forward')
Tomoko Schum
New member
Okay, two more pictures.
It's getting harder to take a close up shot because they are moving faster now.
Tim -
When I said "try for the next batch", I meant that I would let the parents spawn again in a month by putting them back together.
If you get a few from me, there is no real assurance that you end up with a pair. However, if you have 4 or 5 fish, the chances are good that you will end up with a pair. You just need to find good homes for the rest of your fish. To be honest with you, a lot of people lose outcast anyways because they tend to die in hiding.
If you want a pair just to have a pair of cardinalfish, you can put them in your 75G. If you want to breed them on the other hand, you need to put them in their own tank. It's a nightmare to have to catch fish out of a reef tank. I have mine in a 20GL bare bottom tank (with sea urchin poop substrate now.) It's a small enough tank to keep it well maintained, but it's long enough that I can put a divider easily to separate a male from a female after spawning or the male from his babies.
You don't need a sea urchin for your cardinalfish. I just opted for a live long-spined sea urchin because it's a natural shelter for the fry. A sea urchin poops a lot. It will put stripes on your rocks by eating coralline algae which is its natural food. It bulldozes frags off your rocks, too. It may remove some hair algae in the process, but it is not the most desirable thing in your reef tank.
If you let the male release fry in your reef tank, with or without a sea urchin, you will lose the fry to your female or to other tank mates who will eat the fry as they come.
Weaning is done very gradually. Cardinalfish fry are notorious for not accepting anything but live food. Some fry may take a very long time to get weaned. Most breeders usually start mixing live and frozen bbs one month after their release. Some people tell you to start mixing after two weeks to get the fry used to frozen ones although they will refuse to eat frozen bbs at that time. You need to feed live bbs a few times a day (at least twice a day) and you cannot skip a day, either, just because you are busy.
Tomoko
It's getting harder to take a close up shot because they are moving faster now.
Tim -
When I said "try for the next batch", I meant that I would let the parents spawn again in a month by putting them back together.
If you get a few from me, there is no real assurance that you end up with a pair. However, if you have 4 or 5 fish, the chances are good that you will end up with a pair. You just need to find good homes for the rest of your fish. To be honest with you, a lot of people lose outcast anyways because they tend to die in hiding.
If you want a pair just to have a pair of cardinalfish, you can put them in your 75G. If you want to breed them on the other hand, you need to put them in their own tank. It's a nightmare to have to catch fish out of a reef tank. I have mine in a 20GL bare bottom tank (with sea urchin poop substrate now.) It's a small enough tank to keep it well maintained, but it's long enough that I can put a divider easily to separate a male from a female after spawning or the male from his babies.
You don't need a sea urchin for your cardinalfish. I just opted for a live long-spined sea urchin because it's a natural shelter for the fry. A sea urchin poops a lot. It will put stripes on your rocks by eating coralline algae which is its natural food. It bulldozes frags off your rocks, too. It may remove some hair algae in the process, but it is not the most desirable thing in your reef tank.
If you let the male release fry in your reef tank, with or without a sea urchin, you will lose the fry to your female or to other tank mates who will eat the fry as they come.
Weaning is done very gradually. Cardinalfish fry are notorious for not accepting anything but live food. Some fry may take a very long time to get weaned. Most breeders usually start mixing live and frozen bbs one month after their release. Some people tell you to start mixing after two weeks to get the fry used to frozen ones although they will refuse to eat frozen bbs at that time. You need to feed live bbs a few times a day (at least twice a day) and you cannot skip a day, either, just because you are busy.
Tomoko
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timrandlerv10
New member
i had to stop reading right after 'sea urchin poop substrate' for about a minute
if you would be willing to sell/trade/give me some, i promise to make a good home for the (hopefully) resulting pair and find good homes for the rest!
i'm going to make a bbs hatchery this weekend...i saw a 2 liter soda bottle version that looks like its in my skill level. maybe make two, so i can have batches being born at alternating times of the day? should i start a new thread on raising bbs?
that picture with them all in the urchin is awesome...you need to publish that somewhere
if you would be willing to sell/trade/give me some, i promise to make a good home for the (hopefully) resulting pair and find good homes for the rest!
i'm going to make a bbs hatchery this weekend...i saw a 2 liter soda bottle version that looks like its in my skill level. maybe make two, so i can have batches being born at alternating times of the day? should i start a new thread on raising bbs?
that picture with them all in the urchin is awesome...you need to publish that somewhere
Tomoko Schum
New member
It will be a little while before the little guys can leave home. If you'd like to take them young, I suppose they can go in 1-1/2 months to 2 months from now. I normally made sure that juveniles are eating regular food before I let them go when I was breeding fish before.
As for the hatchery, I use 2 liter coke bottles with their bottoms cut off. I drill an approximately 7/32 inch diameter hole on the cap and squeeze a silicone type airline through it. At that diameter, it should be water-tight without using any silicone. I also use a large Gatorade bottle (about 2-liter size?) with its top half cut off to support the inverted coke bottle. You need to drill a hole on the Gatorade bottle to let the airline go through its side. Without the support stand made from a Gatorade bottle, you have to hang the coke bottle from somewhere. You can also buy the plastic base made for a coke bottle, but it costs about $15.
Tomoko
As for the hatchery, I use 2 liter coke bottles with their bottoms cut off. I drill an approximately 7/32 inch diameter hole on the cap and squeeze a silicone type airline through it. At that diameter, it should be water-tight without using any silicone. I also use a large Gatorade bottle (about 2-liter size?) with its top half cut off to support the inverted coke bottle. You need to drill a hole on the Gatorade bottle to let the airline go through its side. Without the support stand made from a Gatorade bottle, you have to hang the coke bottle from somewhere. You can also buy the plastic base made for a coke bottle, but it costs about $15.
Tomoko
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Tomoko Schum
New member
Hi Kyle,
Yeah, kind of. I find fresh water baby angelfish rather funny looking (after metamorphosis to get the flat triangular shape.) Cardinal babies are cuter
Nicole -
Yes, I am enriching them with Selcon since I am catching them at instar1 stage (I hope) before they develop their mouths to feed on green water. In a little while I will start growing some bbs to a little larger size by feeding them so that the cardinal babies have to hunt a bit to strengthen their muscles.
Tim -
Here's a picture for the parts:
All put together:
In operation:
I have an incandescent light bulb above the hatchery to keep the water warm in the winter time. Brine shrimp also needs light to hatch. The black strip on the bottle is a digital thermometer tape.
CRA should have the base made by Brine Shrimp Direct like this one:
Tomoko
Yeah, kind of. I find fresh water baby angelfish rather funny looking (after metamorphosis to get the flat triangular shape.) Cardinal babies are cuter
Nicole -
Yes, I am enriching them with Selcon since I am catching them at instar1 stage (I hope) before they develop their mouths to feed on green water. In a little while I will start growing some bbs to a little larger size by feeding them so that the cardinal babies have to hunt a bit to strengthen their muscles.
Tim -
Here's a picture for the parts:
All put together:
In operation:
I have an incandescent light bulb above the hatchery to keep the water warm in the winter time. Brine shrimp also needs light to hatch. The black strip on the bottle is a digital thermometer tape.
CRA should have the base made by Brine Shrimp Direct like this one:
Tomoko
timrandlerv10
New member
do you just hatch eggs, or do you breed them? i'm thinking eggs would be waaay easier.
i would much rather get them when they're eating solids
but feeding bbs would be cool too
i would much rather get them when they're eating solids
but feeding bbs would be cool too
Tomoko Schum
New member
I hatch eggs. You can still feed bbs, too.
Tomoko
Tomoko
Tomoko Schum
New member
Thanks, Monica.
It's really fun to have some babies around.
Tomoko
It's really fun to have some babies around.
Tomoko
Tomoko Schum
New member
Here's an update on the baby cardinalfish.
They are growing and getting a little fatter. They are also getting brave and venturing out of the spines of their sitter. Can you tell that they were just fed by their orange bottoms (not diaper rashes) ? :
Something spooked them and they are going back into the spine:
A mug shot:
Tomoko
They are growing and getting a little fatter. They are also getting brave and venturing out of the spines of their sitter. Can you tell that they were just fed by their orange bottoms (not diaper rashes) ? :
Something spooked them and they are going back into the spine:
A mug shot:
Tomoko
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Tomoko Schum
New member
Stephish, it's really amazing to see so many tiny but perfectly formed fish come out of the male's mouth.
I hope more people try to breed them since they are added to IUCN's red list of threatened species. They are very easy to breed and raise. Some people called Banggaii cardinal salt water guppies.
Tomoko
I hope more people try to breed them since they are added to IUCN's red list of threatened species. They are very easy to breed and raise. Some people called Banggaii cardinal salt water guppies.
Tomoko
Tomoko Schum
New member
Thank you, Kiran. I am having fun with my new camera
Tomoko
Tomoko
alittlephishy
Premium Member
Tomoko
If they where any cuter the universe would implode!
What camera are you using? Nice pictures.
If they where any cuter the universe would implode!
What camera are you using? Nice pictures.
