Help! Banggai fry in an anemone

[Lotus99]

My male banggai released some of his fry last night (he's still holding), and there are two hiding in a bubble tip anemone!

They seem OK so far, but will the anemone eat them? I'm hoping I can net them out of the anemone, but I'm scared putting the net in the anemone will trigger its feeding response. I first saw them in there four hours ago, and so far they're both there.

Any suggestions? Should I net them out?

Also, I have a couple of choices for housing the fry: in the sump of my 125g (with lots of macroalgae); in a 15g frag tank that often has a lot of evaporation (and salinity swings); or a 10g tank in which a fish died last week (not sure why it died, I'm just worried the conditions aren't right). Which would you choose?

 

[yellowslayer13]

in the wild an anemone is where they commonly release their fry

 

[Lotus99]

Thanks That makes me feel better.

I found a third in the tank, but netted all three out and put them in the sump. I think it will be easier to feed them in there and still have the advantages of the large tank's stability.

The brine shrimp are set up, and hopefully I'll have something to feed them later.

 

[shutiny]

This is interesting to me. Are the Banggai babies doing OK? Do Banggais normally immune to anemone nemaytocyst? I thought Banggai likes sea urchin for shelter and protection?

I had, ~ 500+ newly hatched baby pink skunk(A. perideraion) that were killed by the same ritteri anemones that protected the egg mass. Sorry not much help, but I would seperate them from the anemone just to be sure.

 

[klavestat]

We've raised about 10 broods each 20 fry on average over the past 2 ys (with 10 adolescent survivors so far). In my experience, the fry are usually safer taking shelter in anemone or corals. Far more likely that they'll get munched by their parents than the inverts.

Make sure you keep a steady supply of live brine shrimp brewed for
them. Top 3 causes of mortality: 1) initial predation by parents, 2) starvation while being weaned off live foods, 3) sibling rivalry/bullying.
The latter 2 are some months down the road.

Good luck!

 

[Lotus99]

We netted the two out and put them in the sump, along with a third baby I found hanging out at the top of the tank. They seem to be OK in there so far. Just waiting for the BBS to hatch.

The male still has a bunch he's holding. I guess he'll release some more tonight.

I wish I knew more about the babies and the anemone. My first reaction is to get them out of there as fast as possible. Perhaps I'll find more in there tomorrow morning.

We got a few pics of them in the anemone, but they're not that great. I'll see if I can upload them later.

 

[shutiny]

I am surprised to have learned that they take refuge in anemones! I have seen in wild and captive environment that Dascyllus sp use sea anemones(H.Malu is one) as nursery, but didn't know Banggais do the same

Good luck with your babies, please post pictures when you can, love to see it.

 

[Lotus99]

Here's a couple of pics. They're not great, but you can see the babies.

 

[yellowslayer13]

i read on MOFIB that the percent of Banger babys that will go in to an anemone is higher than those that go in to a long spine urchin

 

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12700744#post12700744 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shutiny
I had, ~ 500+ newly hatched baby pink skunk(A. perideraion) that were killed by the same ritteri anemones that protected the egg mass. Sorry not much help, but I would seperate them from the anemone just to be sure.

The clown larvae hatch out in a rather undeveloped form that is fine for planktonic life before metamorphosis occurs. As such, they are unable to deal with an anemone yet. While the bangaii's aren't released to the environment until they are fully developed and ready for such things

 

[shutiny]

Thanks for the info Billsreef. Anemonefish "acquire" Biochemical properties that insulate them from the nematocyst, but not sure at what stage after met/settlement.

Incredible pictures, to see a tiny banggai fry amongst the tentacles of E.qua makes me wonder what is in the fry coating( or not having) that makes it immune to the anemone stings? Would the fry be ok in anemones that has powerful nematocyst like H.magnifica and the Stichodatyla genus?

Beautiful bay fry you have there. By the way, sorry for going off to a different direction of your thread

 

[Lotus99]

Shutiny, that's OK. It's interesting about the anemones and fry. I absolutely feared the worst when I saw that yesterday. I've never seen the parents near the anemone, and just assumed the anemone would eat the fry fairly fast.

We managed to save another three this morning in the tank, but it looks like the rest got eaten. There were some more we couldn't get to, and it seems that the other fish have eaten them already I'll keep looking, just in case.

So, only six saved. We'll see if these will make it. The three from yesterday seemed fine in the sump this morning.

 

[Lotus99]

We still have five left. We've moved them into a 15g tank this weekend.

Here are some new pics:

 

[Lotus99]

Update of fry at two weeks old:

 

[billsreef]

They are looking good :thumbsup:

 

[Lotus99]

They seem to be doing well. I was having huge problems with baby brine shrimp because my brine shrimp eggs were old. Nothing was hatching I ordered a new hatcher and some new eggs, and the fry seem much happier now that I have a good supply going. The poor things were existing on frozen BBS and some bottled zoaplankton.

 

[kirklinsclownfi]

How do you tell male from female to pair up and breed??

 

[Lotus99]

Wow. This is a really old thread.

Our LFS owners are really good at figuring out male and female banggais. They gave us two they thought were a pair, and they were. They've often bred them at the store. One of the owners says females have a slightly more gray face (when you look at them head-on) than males.

Update two years later: We raised five to decent size and sold them to the LFS. The male died a few months ago (two years after the fry). It seems to me they really only have a few breeding cycles where they get it right and before they lose interest. Perhaps it would be different in a tank with just a banggai pair. The male seemed worn out by the constant breeding. He'd drop the fry sooner and sooner after this batch.

Raising the fry was probably one of the best experiences I've had in the hobby, although I've raised countless freshwater fish.

We're going to let momma live the rest of her life and then think about getting another pair.

 

[scubasteve06]

Man I've been looking for a pair or just one banggai cardianl(s) for ever around here! I really want one, or two, or three lol. Why don't you breed some more and I'll be glad to buy two off of you!