looking for advice. (Banggai Cardinal Fry)

[shananagans]

Picked up a random pair of Banggais maybe a month ago. I watched for quit sometime before I took them home and even found out they had been in the store for months. I figured they were either 2 ladies or a pair, either way they weren't fighting and that what I wanted. Well a few days ago I noticed the larger Banggai (not typical for male to be larger) with his jaw out and mouth full. It has been a couple of days now and he looks the same, I am goin to assume babies are on the way. Funny thing is I have tried so hard in the past to get a breeding pair, bought these 2 on whim and they didn't wait long in the tank to get busy. I just hope dad doesn't spit them out early or get too hungry...


So my questions are, does anyone in Tucson have experience with this? I would like to try to raise the fry. I have a bit of work to do with taking out 2 fish I have in a 5g nano reef that I could potentially. Move the fry into.

Should I move dad in there now or wait for just the fry?
Should no just try to put the fry in a breeding net in my main tank?
Is hatching my own brine really the best way to feed them? (A lot of work) Would reef bugs work? Not that I have either...
What obstacles am I to expect?

Any advice Would be great!

 

[savageAJC]

Google will probably be your best friend. Otherwise I believe there is someone on the FrAG forum who breeds cardinals. Good luck though that's really awesome!

 

[shananagans]

Thanks, I did quit a bit of research in the past and am trying to get a refresher. I was hoping for someone local.

 

[danfeig]

Hey Scott. It seems like my Bangaii gets a mouthful of eggs every four to six weeks now. The male will eat like a pig for 7-10 days and then will stop eating. It's then that I notice the large jaw. He will usually carry the eggs/fry for 20-30 days.

The first set of babies was when they were in my seahorse tank. 4 babies survived and I kept them tell they were about 3/4". I moved the pair to one of my QT's and I put in a large urchin, some live rock and small pvc pipes. My pair usually has 3-4 babies at a time and they hang out in the urchin. I pour a bag of rotifers into the tank when the babies are first spit out of the males mouth. I will then feed both rotifers, copepods and live brine for a few weeks before starting them on frozen brine.

 

[shananagans]

Thanks Dan.

Well I just hot home from being away for 5 days first thing I noticed when I walked in... An empty mouth.