Bangai breeding details.

[axeman45t]

Thought it was about time that I posted a thread about my breeding setup for Bangai cardinals.
(I am in Australia)
I have been reefing for about 3 years but breeding bangai for over a year.
The pair i purchased started breeding from about a month after they were introduced to my mixed reef. (4' x 2.5' x 2.5')BB with a remote DSB.
It was at this point I started searching around for information on breeding Bangai. (Thanks Frank Marini)

The first time i tried to save the babies was an absolute disaster It was near impossible to catch them in the net. I ended up with a few that did not survive the first week. I was using a breeding net (little box with net around it) I found that it got dirty very fast and was not much use.

I decided to build a separate tank to hold them. The 3' split into three has a weir at the back.
Originally this tank was stand alone but I found keeping the water clean was a real problem
In the last few months I connected the 3 ' to my main and things have improved 10 fold.
I have also found that when the first hatch that the 1' square chamber is a little large so I have purchased some fresh water breeding boxes that work a treat.

I feed a rotating batch of freshly hatched brine. I start a new batch every 24hours. The babies eat before I go to work , when i get home and again before I go to bed.
At about the 4 week mark I start to put frozen enriched brine in with the live brine. Once i can see that they are eating the frozen, i stop the freshly hatched. (I use a razor blade to shave the frozen).
I use two liter coke bottles cut open with an hard air hose feeding air to the bottom.
A local on line supplier sells decapsulated brine which I use. I have found that if there are any egg shells in the mix the babies can have what looks like a heart attack. They do not always die but they do suffer.

I have sold the survivors for anywhere between $20 and $30 a fish and love to see them in other peoples tanks.

Now some pictures.

Main tank

Three foot tank

My male.

My Female

Brine eski. and coke bottles.

Breeding box. (such a great idea)

And last but not least the babies...

Axeman

 

[catdoc]

Wonderful! I'm raising (or trying to, anyway) the first spawn from my Banggai. I have 13 babies, 5 days old now. How long do yours take to grow-out to sale size? I am expecting 4 months, is that reasonable?

Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[David M]

Nice pbt, thanks for the pics. Are the bangers breeding & holding to term in that divided cubicle?

 

[damer]

gday axe,

good to see you over here.

i think i have read on RTAW you are not interested in freighting them. what would it take?

i have bought many adults from various wholesalers with no luck ever. and as far as i know, know one here (VIC) breeds them.

damien

 

[axeman45t]

Catdoc I prefer to wait 6 months before selling them, although I have done it at 4months for a tank that had no other fish in it.
In every batch there are always bangai that grow faster than the others.

David M My male holds the babies for 25-26 days in the main. I collect them with a net and a turkey baster.
On the 25th day I turn the lights off early (so I am not up all night) and about an hour after he releases some. This goes on for about an hour with 5 or 6 relased every 10 minutes. I use a torch to locate the babies.

Recently I discovered a baby that was at least 4 months old living in the weir. It had survived on frozen food (and what ever else was produced in the tank.

Damer.
I might think about sending some interstate at your risk.

Axeman

 

[Kmiec123]

Nice set up. Thanks for the info.

 

[catdoc]

How do you know how much to feed them? I've been feeding mine two or three times a day, but I find there are still many many brine still swimming from the last feeding. I don't want to overfeed if that's a problem (water quality? will they overeat?) but I'm worried that I might not feed enough.

 

[David M]

What I do for baby bangers is take a small jar like a spice bottle (plastic cap of course) and drill a couple 1/4" holes in the cap. Fill the bottle with bbs and place it in the tank on it's side. The bbs will slowly diffuse out over a period of hours. The only problem I've had is the smarter bangaii will lean to just sit right in front of the bottle waiting.

 

[catdoc]

I saw that tip of yours and have my spice bottle ready to go, may as well give that a try tomorrow. I remember when I was raising some FW angels, they learned that the turkey baster was the bringer of food and they'd all rush to suck the bbs right out of it. They learn quick, don't they!

 

[Kmiec123]

Cool Tip...Thanks