Apogon leptacanthus - Breeding Log
- Thread starter mwp
- Start date
mwp
In Memoriam
4-6-06 - well it looks like the leptacanthus are back on their routine - I didn't notice any courtship other than the usual hussle between these guys, but the male is again holding. Looks like they're back to a 1 week holding, 1 week eating kind of routine! Everything is back up and running, the 10 gallon is ready and waiting to be set up (guess I need to start setting it up for real vs.just having the parts on hand!). Wish me luck. Haven't seen a goby hatch since the move which is kind of disappointing...hopefully they'll come back soon -> I have someone local who's willing to try their hand at 'em (I'm going to focus my rearing efforts on the leptacanthus first).
MP
MP
mwp
In Memoriam
Ok, back for a couple quick updates. The male leptacanthus held his brood all the way up to the end, I'm pretty sure of it. I was expecting release on the 13th or so, but by the morning of the 14th he was still holding tight and we had to leave for the weekend. Of course, by the time we got back on the 16th the brood was gone.
Now, it's 4-23-06. Sometime during the afternoon today we had another spawning on these guys. This time I plan on being around for the release! The rotifer cultures are going strong, my Nannochloris and Tetraselmis are up, although I literally just restarted my Nannochloropsis and tried a new source for Isocrysis to see if I could get THAT going as well. Keep the faith!
MP
Now, it's 4-23-06. Sometime during the afternoon today we had another spawning on these guys. This time I plan on being around for the release! The rotifer cultures are going strong, my Nannochloris and Tetraselmis are up, although I literally just restarted my Nannochloropsis and tried a new source for Isocrysis to see if I could get THAT going as well. Keep the faith!
MP
mwp
In Memoriam
I have a feeling it's going to be at least 60 days before the fish are really "solid"...just a hunch 
They start out about the same size as our Green Banded Goby larvae!
Another NOTE - apparently our two females are getting pretty PO'd with each other lately...both have torn up mouths and one has a slight fungal infection at the mouth (yet they're STILL breeding). It's definitely aggression between them that's causing these injuries....I didn't really expect to see this type of aggression as the fish matured...when they were younger things were fine. My real suspicion is that the sub-dominant female became the dominant female after the first time she spawned (spawn #2)...since then there has been increased quarreling among our two girls.
MP
They start out about the same size as our Green Banded Goby larvae!Another NOTE - apparently our two females are getting pretty PO'd with each other lately...both have torn up mouths and one has a slight fungal infection at the mouth (yet they're STILL breeding). It's definitely aggression between them that's causing these injuries....I didn't really expect to see this type of aggression as the fish matured...when they were younger things were fine. My real suspicion is that the sub-dominant female became the dominant female after the first time she spawned (spawn #2)...since then there has been increased quarreling among our two girls.
MP
mwp
In Memoriam
Well, looks like our Leptacanthus may have to go co-culture with Mandarins...granted my track record with mandarin eggs is less than 3 days, so eitherthere will be larval mandarins or this leptacanthus brood will have a 10 gallon to themselves (the last spawn is still going strong and looks to be held to term - that MALE is a ROCKSTAR compared to the rest of my cardinalfish males).
mwp
In Memoriam
4-30-06 - it's 10 AM and darnit, I MISSED the release of the leptacanthus larvae AGAIN! Note for myself - technically, that's less than a 7 day incubation...I still need to learn the signs that the male is ready, although I think one of them was noticed by Renee last night - aparently the male was spitting the eggs in and out..hmm...
Matt
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
Well, I somehow missed posting this sooner; 4 days have already gone by.
5-4-06 11:50 AM...we have ANOTHER spawn. Maybe by the time these are released the mandarin larvae will be large enough to handle some companions? My anticipated release date is 4-12 or so...I should be around this time!
MP
5-4-06 11:50 AM...we have ANOTHER spawn. Maybe by the time these are released the mandarin larvae will be large enough to handle some companions? My anticipated release date is 4-12 or so...I should be around this time!
MP
mwp
In Memoriam
5-13-06 - 2:18 AM and the male is STILL holding onto that clutch...I suspect he's going to release them sometime soon, but i"m not sure when. I may pass this batch along, as I currently have another mandarin spawning in the kriesel as well as 194 GBG larvae...well it's either that or set up a 2nd larval tank...I technically have the space and some of the equipment already...it's convincing Renee that's the hard part!
Matt
Matt
BrianPlankis
Premium Member
Matt,
Just tell her that setting up a second larval tank will help insure better survival and that very soon you will make a huge profit from the sale of the fish By the time reality sets in it will have been setup for 6-12 months and she won't object
Brian
Just tell her that setting up a second larval tank will help insure better survival and that very soon you will make a huge profit from the sale of the fish
By the time reality sets in it will have been setup for 6-12 months and she won't object Brian
mwp
In Memoriam
Well, I've been watching and waiting for a NATURAL release on this last spawn. I expected a release as early as the 11th (7 days)...when that didn't happen I was sure it would happen last night (8 days). We are now almost to 9 days and the male is still holding strong. HMMM. Maybe some of those prior larvae were released prematurely? I checked my temperature records and well...it looks like the temperature while brooding has remained roughly the same, at most maybe a degree or two difference but generally still around 78F. The male is "chewing" a lot as I'm sitting here typing this, so maybe release is iminent.
Matt
Matt
Fishfreak218
New member
thats great... i would LOVE to buy some Captive Bred Apogon leptacanthus... they are my favorite
mwp
In Memoriam
5-15-06 - 12:30 AM and the male is STILL HOLDING. This is VERY unusual. Not much else I can say other than I really really really am fighting the temptation to go in there and net him out. This no longer makes any sense as every other brood has been 7-8 days to produce viable larvae.
I should mention that I tried something different on the night of the 13th/14th...I turned out every single light and set up our brine shrimp net in the overflow...I figured maybe this added total darkness would spur the release AND prevent predation when I finally decided that I simply had to go to sleep at 3:30 AM. Obvously nothing happened, and tonight the moonlights are back on so I can observe.
On the upside, I have to give our male leptacanthus major props considering our Bangaii Male won't hold past 2 days and both margaritophorus males consume spawns the moment they occur. So here's to you little skinny fish with the huge bulging throat! CHEERS!
MP
I should mention that I tried something different on the night of the 13th/14th...I turned out every single light and set up our brine shrimp net in the overflow...I figured maybe this added total darkness would spur the release AND prevent predation when I finally decided that I simply had to go to sleep at 3:30 AM. Obvously nothing happened, and tonight the moonlights are back on so I can observe.
On the upside, I have to give our male leptacanthus major props considering our Bangaii Male won't hold past 2 days and both margaritophorus males consume spawns the moment they occur. So here's to you little skinny fish with the huge bulging throat! CHEERS!
MP
mwp
In Memoriam
5-15-06, 2:45 AM - OK, so tonight is definitely the night..around 2:15 AM, after squaring things away with another surprise mandarin spawning, I checked my brine shrimp net in the overflow...2 leptacanthus larvae were in there but both looked Dead. I added them straight to the larval tank anyways, just out of hope.
I spent the next 30 minutes trying in vain to capture the brooding male leptacanthus...NO LUCK and I have the urchin stings to prove my good efforts. Yeah, try catching a NOCTURNAL species at night..it doesn't get you very far.
Yes, I've been known to say "Screw the cardinalfish" when the mandarin babies show up, but hey, that doesn't mean I should just ignore them.
So, basically here's what I've done (we'll know in the morning if it works). I raised up the water level in the filtration (topped off with FW) so that there's a good inch of water standing above the mechanical filters. On TOP of the mechanical sponge I placed a doubled-over carbon bag..the mesh is fine enough that babies aren't going to go through, and the form is such that it forms a barrier that covers the entire surface area of the mechanical chamber...thus ensuring that babies, once skimmed, will be in there.
As per past experiences, the larval leptacanthus are NOT positively phototrophic and well, my basic hunch is that the male has been slowly releaseing larvae all day, only for them to instantly be picked off by the other cardinalfish in the tank. So the moonlights are back off, and as soon as I'm done typing this the computer monitor is going off too...it's going to be as dark as I can possibly make it...hopefully cardinalfish can't hunt in TOTAL darkness....we'll see I guess!
MP
I spent the next 30 minutes trying in vain to capture the brooding male leptacanthus...NO LUCK and I have the urchin stings to prove my good efforts. Yeah, try catching a NOCTURNAL species at night..it doesn't get you very far.
Yes, I've been known to say "Screw the cardinalfish" when the mandarin babies show up, but hey, that doesn't mean I should just ignore them.
So, basically here's what I've done (we'll know in the morning if it works). I raised up the water level in the filtration (topped off with FW) so that there's a good inch of water standing above the mechanical filters. On TOP of the mechanical sponge I placed a doubled-over carbon bag..the mesh is fine enough that babies aren't going to go through, and the form is such that it forms a barrier that covers the entire surface area of the mechanical chamber...thus ensuring that babies, once skimmed, will be in there.
As per past experiences, the larval leptacanthus are NOT positively phototrophic and well, my basic hunch is that the male has been slowly releaseing larvae all day, only for them to instantly be picked off by the other cardinalfish in the tank. So the moonlights are back off, and as soon as I'm done typing this the computer monitor is going off too...it's going to be as dark as I can possibly make it...hopefully cardinalfish can't hunt in TOTAL darkness....we'll see I guess!
MP
