Getting mate for Benggai Cardinalfish

[dailykos]

I got a pair of tank-bred Benggai Cardinalfish a few months ago. While one of them has grown like crazy, the other ate poorly and disappeared over the weekend.

I would still like to have a pair of them, but don't know if it's possible to introduce a single new Cardinalfish and hope they pair up. Heck, I don't even know how to sex my remaining benggai.

Any suggestions?

 

[Wolverine]

No good reliable way to sex them (someone can chime in here and talk about fin length and jaw size, which will give you a 50% chance of getting a mate).

First thing I would do is make sure the other one has truly disappeared. The first few times a male carries eggs, it's not uncommon for him to hide for a while. You'd be amazed at how well they can hide if need be.

 

[dailykos]

First thing I would do is make sure the other one has truly disappeared.

Alright, I'll give it some time. But worst case scenario, the second one is gone, then what?

Buy one at random, plop it in the tank, and then see what happens? And what WOULD happen? If I end up with two males, I assume they'll instantly attack each other? What happens if I have two females?

Is it possible that a male and female would still fight, since they weren't introduced together?

Thanks for all help!

 

[jer77]

What worked for me since I had a large tank and fuge, I just got a bunch of them and didn't worry about sexing them. The fuge was filled with macro, mostly caulerpa, and before I knew it when trimming the algae, small baby cardinals began appearing so fast I had to trade/sell some. If your tank is over 75g, and especially if you have a longspine urchin or lots of hiding spots like macro the cardinal males shouldn't bother each other. At least I've never seen mine fight.

How big is your tank?

 

[Wolverine]

Buy one at random, plop it in the tank, and then see what happens? And what WOULD happen? If I end up with two males, I assume they'll instantly attack each other? What happens if I have two females?

I think two females are worse than two males. I've seen a few tanks be successful with two males setting up camp at opposite ends, and the female going back and forth between them laying eggs.

I've also seen tanks with two males or two females do fine. They don't really have anything to fight about until there's a fish of the opposite sex around.

Is it possible that a male and female would still fight, since they weren't introduced together?

Shouldn't be a problem even if they're introduced separately.

 

[dailykos]

How big is your tank?

55g. I'll roll the die. I'll just have to keep a close eye on them and hope this has a happy ending. Thanks for the help guys.