banggai eggs

catdoc

catdoc

Premium Member
Tonight is the 21st day since I noticed my male was holding so I forced him to spit them a few minutes ago. It's the first clutch they've ever laid, so I was surprised he didn't eat them already! I thought by now, the eggs would be free-swimming but I guess I got that wrong. I have them in a rigid breeder box floating in the main tank. I'll get the brine eggs going tonight too. I collected 17 eggs that look like they are on the verge of hatching. Tips on how I can tell when they'll hatch? I don't have a kriesel (is that the right word?) but I had hoped that I'd be collecting fry, not eggs this evening. Will just an air bubbler in the box be sufficient? Once they hatch, are they immediately free-swimming or will they still need extra aeration/circulation? I'm really anxious now b/c I don't want them to die with the lack of circulation, all they're getting right now is what flows through the grates on the ends of the box.

I wasn't going to even attempt to raise them, but I can't stand to see them just get gobbled up by the other fish.
 
14 of the eggs hatched last night, so I guess I wasn't too premature in getting the eggs. The other 3 are still viable, I expect they'll hatch tonight. The brine eggs have been tumbling for 12 hours, so I'll have some ready first thing in the morning but will get another batch started too. What cue do I use to tell me that they are ready to be fed? Absorption of the egg yolk or free-swimming?

I've raised FW angelfish, but this is my first try at raising SW so bear with me!

day1banggai.jpg


The dots in the background are the microbubbles accumulating on the outside of the acrylic breeder box they're in.
 
If you put a 20-30 watt bulb about 5-6 inches from your brine hatchery you should get hatches at 12 hours or so. It up's the temp. Hope this helps...Carl
 
I've actually got the brine incubating in a large vase (used to be a betta tank eons ago, LOL) in my frag grow-out tank so it's warm and brightly lit. I'll go check to see if they've already hatched. I used to use a small desk lamp to light/warm them when raising the fw angels, but now that I've got the warm SW bath thought I'd give that a try. Thanks! I never seem to get hatches at 12 hours though. Do you use decaps? Mine aren't.
 
no decaps...tried it decap myself, too much of a pain. didn't see much difference. Best of luck with the babies...Carl
 
catdoc,

i use "easy hatch" from brineshrimpdirect

its the easiest thing :) dont have to worry about shells , decap etc etc. hatch rate is only 50%. its more exp. but atleast i do not have to worry about it.

kimec is very correct. i use a 25wt clipon light and mine also hatch within 12hrs.
 
I'd try the decaps if I didn't have a HUGE container of cysts to go through first, LOL. The shrimp are hatching, I think I just didn't give the water enough time to settle so I could see the bbs.
 
I moved the fry into a 10-gallon tank today. Last night, I pulled an unhatched fuzzy egg as well as one hatchling that had died. When I moved the remaining fry + 2 eggs, 1 of the eggs hatched within a minute of the transfer. I took a pic of him right away, so here's a brand new baby:

brand_new_hatchling_banggai.jpg


Here's a picture I took last night, approx 18-hrs past hatching:

18_hr_banggai.jpg


And here's one from this morning, day 2.

day2_banggai.jpg


I love watching these little guys! You can still see their hearts beating (can see them in the eggs too.) There is only 1 unhatched egg left, not too sure that it's still viable even. At the moment, I have 13 fry (2 unhatched eggs tossed, 1 dead fry, 1 unhatched egg). I've offered nhbbs, but not see them catch any yet. I have some other bbs being enriched that I'll offer this evening. (Enriching with selcon, is that enough? I also have some vita-chem, could get some DT's ordered if I need that too.)
 
Day 3 of my banggai log:

They are swimming more like little fish now, rather than flopping around on their sides. They're also starting to hunt the bbs, the yolk sacs are just about gone. I added my fake urchin this evening and a couple of hours later took these pics of my brave little guy (gal?).

3_day_old_banggai_in_urchin2.jpg


3dayold_banggai_in_urchin.jpg


The "urchin's" spines are toothpicks and wooden kebob sticks (ran out of toothpicks), for size reference.
 
Next time catch the male and force him to spit after you see the free swimming babies in his mouth. 21 days is just a reference and depends at least on your water temp. I have had 4 batches now and they have ranged from 25-29 days before I make him spit. Mine go all the way through the yolk stage in the male's mouth. When I catch and make him spit they are fully formed, and I get a much better survival rate.
 
How do you make him spit? I could make a comment but I won't. Really was curious on the best tactic for this....thanks Carl
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9113355#post9113355 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gbsteve
Next time catch the male and force him to spit after you see the free swimming babies in his mouth. 21 days is just a reference and depends at least on your water temp. I have had 4 batches now and they have ranged from 25-29 days before I make him spit. Mine go all the way through the yolk stage in the male's mouth. When I catch and make him spit they are fully formed, and I get a much better survival rate.
Click to expand...

My problem was that I didn't know for sure what day the eggs had been laid. With the hustle and schedule of the holiday/New Year, it could have been a few days by the time I noticed. (Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame.) I actually had some pics of him hiding in the urchin that I'd taken 5 days earlier, but I couldn't remember if he'd eaten in the interim. So we were at a definite 21 days, but could have been 26 even. I was doubtful that any would stand a chance if he spit the swimmers out in the tank, so I rushed it. I'm keeping closer tabs on him now. ;)

kmiec, I made him spit the eggs by netting him and moving him to a breeder's box (the acrylic ones they have at any LFS for guppies or mollies). He spat out 2 right away, the rest he spit out when I hand-caught him and held him above the water for a few seconds--I read about that technique here.
 
You don't really have to know when they quit eating. Once you figure out they are holding, look every day. Once they are hatched and swimming, the male won't be able to hold his mouth shut all the way and you can catch glimpses of fry swimming in his mouth. Once you see this, then try to net him and make him spit.
 
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