Breeding Fish?

[Jet Black]

I have an interest in breeding saltwater fish, my school requires seniors to have a big project for the year and one of the requirements is a stretch and a challenge. I was thinking that maybe I could breed or simply raise a batch of juveniles of something along the lines of Bengii Cardinals. Ideally I would be able to impress the judges and have an enjoyable project.

Would I be able to coax a species of fish into breeding and be able to raise the fry into a healthy size in the period of 7 months? Im thinking Bengiis due to their threatened condition, their easy , and because this is important for non fish people, they're "pretty". I would be open to raising multiple species or batches if anyone would be willing to provide help.

If anyone has information or even can help be a mentor to make sure that I can raise healthy fish I would greatly appreciate it!

Justin

 

[Saltwaternooby]

Well since banggais mouth brood they are a decent size when they are released, clowns in 7 months aren't very big. Banggais would be close to 1" if not more in 7 months. No "coaxing" that I know of to get them to breed.

 

[79chopperdr]

I believe pajamas are more likely to breed in a aquarium than bengaiis. I have a trio of PJs, the big male is constantly swishing a batch off eggs around in his mouth. Never seen any make it to babies yet though. I've been told you can build a egg tumbler and take the male out of the loop.

Do some reading and maybe we can get you some pj eggs :reading:

 

[psykobowler]

Why don't you just propagate red bubble tip anemones or corals? It doesn't have to be fish.

 

[Jet Black]

Why don't you just propagate red bubble tip anemones or corals? It doesn't have to be fish.

I thought about that, but the problem is it has to be a stretch and a challenge and the teachers who know me probably wouldn't fall for that. Part of the required mentor for the project is that they verify this through a short email.

I have been reading up on different propagate-able fish, I'm hoping to find someone local who can help me with some of their experiences.

Thanks for the offer on the eggs! I'm open to any fish that is a possibility.

 

[ThreeMoneyJ]

In my limited experience it will take about 2 months (7 weeks) from setting up a tank to having Banggai's spawn.

Another month after that for the fry to be released.

I may have just gotten lucky though. I'm on my third hatch right now and learning as I go. I'm not an expert and not exactly local, but if you have any questions let me know.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2390796
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2420638

 

[generaltoaster]

I think propagation of nems would definitely suffice. Kids at our school get away with a lot less..

 

[psykobowler]

Some people have issues just keeping their corals alive let alone trying to propagate fish on minimal experience and inadequate equipment. Freshwater fish might be a better alternative for you. Short tale minnows are live bearers. Those might work better.

 

[Jet Black]

Some people have issues just keeping their corals alive let alone trying to propagate fish on minimal experience and inadequate equipment. Freshwater fish might be a better alternative for you. Short tale minnows are live bearers. Those might work better.

I already have a tank full of different live bearers that I use to feed to my bigger cichlids. The main reason I want to do this is to gain experience, use the pile of equipment sitting in the garage and because propagating corals is no longer as big of a challenge anymore. The project idea is to expand your horizons so Im going to try something new.

I think maybe Ill have a two part project and have anemones as a back up if I cannot get the fish to breed or raise juveniles. Thank you ThreeMoneyJ, Ill contact you through a PM.

 

[generaltoaster]

I'd say that Justin's equipment and experience is far from inadequate

 

[Jet Black]

So after a bit more research I think I will be setting up a twenty and two tens as bare bottom with HOB filters. My concern would be the fry getting sucked up but if the parents keep them until they are sizeable hopefully they should be fine.

Little weird to be asking over the internet, but would anyone like to be my mentor?! Its mostly as an outside reference that I am indeed doing the project but the school requires a home phone and an address on the form. I'm pretty sure that they wont contact you, with 500 seniors having the same requirement and all, but I understand not wanting to have to deal with a public school and all its wisdom. If anyone would be willing to assist me I would greatly appreciate it!

Justin

 

[ichthyogeek]

If you're breeding Pterapogon kaudernii, then have you also read Wittenrich's guide on breeding? There's also an article from the August 2010 issue of Aquarium Fish International that might provide a little bit of help. You could also try adding a small "forest" of Caulerpa prolifera to help with water quality and give them a sense of safety in the 20 gallon. I'm assuming that the breeding pair will reside in the 20 gallon, and two separate broods will go into the 10 gallons? How do you plan on conditioning the cardinals for breeding? What beginning foods will you provide for the fry?

Sources: mostly from the browsing I've done in this site and other sites.

 

[bfliflet]

One challenge in breeding fish is triggering a spawn which is a hard first step. Splitting a bubble tip via cutting is radical and impressive. It shows the general resiliency of BTAs. Couldn't you do something like fragging a colony of birdsnest (or equivalently "easy" SPS) and growing them out to closely similar sizes? Corals reef devastation is such a hot topic.

 

[greenhead]

I agree with you Justin that you should challenge yourself in this project. Clowns to me are what I think of when I think of captive breeding, but my experience is that the pairing phase and feeding of the fry is quite complex. Until of course we get a local retailer to carry live feed on hand like the algagen products that are hitting the market.

I think you're heading in the right direction when it comes to the cardinals. I think Bengai are cool fish and from what I have read are fairly easy to breed. In watching some videos I did notice a lot of people using sponge filters rather than HOB. I know there are some club members who have done this. My suggestion would be to bring a recorder or a notepad to the next meeting and if anyone who has done it successfully before is present than afterwards pic their brain. No substitute for plain old experience. Ask Anne or Anthony to bring it up at the beginning of the meeting.

 

[Saltwaternooby]

Put a filter pad around the intakes of the HOB filters to prevent sucking them up.

 

[CLeadfootS]

Make sure you play some Barry White to get things going.

 

[Saltwaternooby]

Make sure you play some Barry White to get things going.

I was going to say that earlier, but not sure if Justins Generation knows who that is......

 

[Jet Black]

Why do you people always bring this up when it comes to fish breeding...

 

[Boom]

I have a crustacean breeding program going on now. I have lots of live tiger pods and phytoplankton, rotifers and ciliates all actively culturing... and a B.S. SecEd Bio and Chem. What city are you in Justin?

 

[Jet Black]

Sacramento CA so it's a little far from Las Vegas, I think I will be trying the parent taking care of the fry method on the first batch of fry. I'll just make sure to feed e parents a lot of high quality food first.