Banggai Tank Setup

[tanglovers]

My newly setup (filled and cycling) broodstock system has two 29 gallon tanks devoted to banggai cardinals. I would like to get a little info from you guys who are breeding these guys and have them in breeding type setups.

I was planning on a crushed coral substrate. I was not sure if I should do a couple of flowpot planters or liverock caves.

Also after reading the Banggai Breeding Manual it discussed being able to hold 2 pair in a 29 gallon tank with a divider so the two pair are seperated. Anyone think this is possible? I have also heard that banggais prefer to have about 30 gallons to themselves. Just wanted to get more opinions here.

 

[spk]

Good luck on your venture.

Unfortunately, my pair are in the my show tank and the babies live in the sump till they are sold. So I cannot give you any information that you may be looking for.

Steve

 

[tanglovers]

Thank You,

Most the people I know that have had luck breeding them they are in show tanks and they net out or collect the babies once the male releasses them. I just did not know how breeders were setting them up. I am thinking of doing a couple flower pots in each tank with some artificial (man made) fake urchins for the babies to go to.

Are most people collecting the male and making him to release? I know some males will not hold full term. My game plan at this moment is once the pairs are established to see if the male will go full term let him hold, if he will not and I can not rule out why he is not doing this to consider an artificial incubation.

Sound like a good plan? Just do not want to reinvent the wheel if there are obvious errors in my thinking/understanding of the research/reading I have done.

Thanks,

 

[spk]

I am one of the group that let him carry to term. It seems that as a result I end up with about 8 of his brood each time.

Most people catch him just before release date, couple of days, and then force him to release. This is what I plan to do for the next brood he has .

In my show tank, I have a long spined sea urchin, which both he and the babies use as protection, so yes having something that resembles an urchin would be great. Dark_Stranger on here has a good picture of one if you are looking. In my sump where the babies live, I have rock and algea but nothing else. It is cool as at feeding time they all come to the front of the tank and wait for food. The family really love that.

Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[jake levi]

tank layouts

tank layouts

Hi
I kept two breeding groups, 6-8 adults in two 30Ls.

Some live rock, sparse, a couple pcs of staghorn and a couple urchins, eventually I made a couple pcs of plexiglass dividers to herd brooding males to a section where they could be netted out,

I'd move them to a 20H, with a small HOB filter with sponge on the siphon, and usually a separate airstone.

A couple urchins and small live rocks were the only things in the tanks other then a couple pcs of staghorn coral.

My first broods were 6-12, but after supplementing daily feedings of instar artemia with rotifers the brood numbers rose, best was around 28.

Occasionally I fed some adult brine shrimp when available to brood stock. The breeder tanks were heavily fed. The HOB filters in both of those also had sponges on the siphons, plus I later kept sponge filters in them also. Substrat in all tanks was 1-2" crushed coral or aragonite. Brood stock also had flake and adult frozen BS. feedings of 3-4 Xs a day.