Banggai cardinalfish breeding

[dgiglio]

Anyone on here have any luck with breeding their Banggai cardinalfish? Mine have breed for the 3rd time now, the male is holding again as of yesterday. I actually witnessed the eggs this time. He spit them out the past 2 times and I'm wondering what I can do to prevent this from happening again. Should I move him to a separate tank , like a in a breeders net/box?

 

[cdipasquale]

I wouldnt seperate him. Make sure you are feeding him a lot of food. If you notice the female dancing for him, start feeding him extra heavy so he can really fatten up. He has to hold the eggs for almost a month without eating anything so he needs as much food as possible before the transfer so he can survive that long. If he gets too hungry he will abort the eggs so he can eat.

 

[sullyfish]

+1 on the feeding. also make sure to feed a variety. I feed mine 2-3x a day alternating with mysis,frozen brine, bloodworms and rods. I also supplement everything with Kent Zoe ( vitamin supplement ). I have not had any problems since doing this.

 

[Baltimore Bryan]

I have similar problems. My pair has bred at least 5-6 times but the male always spits or eats the eggs within 10 days. I will try to really bulk up the male before the female lays eggs again, but if it still doesn't do the trick, would you recommend separating him or not? While I feel like the other fish and food in the tank is distracting and doesn't help him hold the eggs, I would also imagine trying to catch him and move him to a new tank while holding the eggs wouldn't be easy for him either. Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Bryan

 

[cdipasquale]

I don't think moving him with eggs is going to help. I have heard that some males will just never hold eggs. Personally, I have had 2 that carry just fine with plenty of feeding so I would say food should be the answer.

 

[Lrood]

Sometimes a male just never holds eggs to term. I had one like that (no matter how much I fed!). Other breeders have used egg tumblers to successfully raise banggai's, but I haven't tried that.

 

[dgiglio]

Hey my male is still holding them, so things are looking up this time. The pair is young id say maybe a year and a half old. I got them as baby's. The reason I wanted to seperate him from my other fish is to make sure no other fish were bullying him to spit out "their FOOD!". Something I've noticed as well is that he has gotten darker. Instead of being black and silver I'd say he's black and grey.

Thanks for posting guys.

Here's a little video their mating ritual. The very next day he had a HUGE mouth full of eggs.
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc478/Daniel_Giglio/New 2012/2 19/ebdac52b.mp4

 

[Baboo11]

Thanks for sharing the vid...I've been watching my pair, but now have a better idea of what to look for!

 

[Clownfishfan]

Where did you get your banggai?