Finally got Banggai eggs, but it's too late

[ichthyogeek]

My banggai cardinals spawned last night! After a summer of heavy water changes and quality food, I found a very big jawed cardinal in my 55 display today! Only one problem...I'm going back to college in 2 weeks...I was hoping that they would have spawned a month or two ago, so I could raise the fry, but that's fish for ya. Well...I'm glad that I got to see a preggers BC before I left for college. I can totally put this on my resume for a marine biology program application, right?

Anyways, what do you think are the chances of BC fry surviving in a display 55 tank housing the following: the BC parents, a clown pair, a barbershop pole goby, and a hippo tang(yeah, I know. It was my dad's impulse buy...)? My parents aren't as fishy enthusiasts as I am, but my mom and dad do like baby fish (as evidenced by their constant feeding of a convict cichlid tank I had a few years ago to make more babies).

Oh...and just out of curiousity, does anybody know how well a pair bond can survive if fish are shipped from Arkansas to California? I'm wondering if I could maybe swing a tank next summer if I get an internship at the local marine observatory/station, and maybe actually raise fry there, since the fish are already proven to be sexually mature.

 

[farfromsea]

Sounds to me like the fry will soon enough become dinner for the rest of the tank inhabitants. This first batch may not turn out well anyways. I'm sure you could see them again during winter break. Your parents could try making a fake sea urchin for the babies to hide in, I saw one video a while back where the owner's banggais surprised him by breeding and he peeked in the tank one day to see one small baby hiding in his (actual living) urchin just as they would in nature for protection.

I can't say anything about shipping them but that sounds like a lot of work when you can just find another male/female pair or just wait until you're living in one place and then try it. You have to wait about what 25d for the eggs to hatch? And then raising the fry over a summer isn't very long and then you'd have to move again.

 

[ThRoewer]

Shipping shouldn't be the biggest issue if you want to spend the money for overnight shipping - likely more than you paid for the fish. It may just be cheaper to get another pair in California. Or see if you can bring them in your suitcase.

I have 3 pairs and so far none of the males has carried the eggs to term - that is actually the way bigger hurdle than getting them to spawn or to raise the fry.
One pair is in the sump tank with 2 large long spine urchins and another in an acclimatization box and jet another in a 40B. It's always the same, after a few days the male's mouth is empty.
Next time I may just try to steal the eggs and try to incubate them in an egg tumbler.