Love on the lake

[jasontammy]

A week ago our mixed ocellaris pair finally spawned. Unfortunately, there was something about the eggs that wasn't just right, so the male had a nice caviar dinner. Working on a new recipe for homemade food for the pair to try and correct whatever deficiency exists in their diet; a few of the eggs did not adhere well to the rock. I've read unpeeled shrimp finely blended and mixed into their food, but shrimp shells make me a little nervous. Suggestions appreciated. Hint Hint to Tomoko.



A few days later, on the second try, our male cardinal carried the babies all the way. We scooped him out on day 21 into a breeder and about 10 minutes later we had 13 new babies. Baby brine shrimp all around.



Photobucket page in case I didn't do it correctly.

http://s615.photobucket.com/albums/tt239/finsandfrags/

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I am sure you pair will get it together in a little while. They probably need a few more practice. I found live adult brine shrimp helps to condition the fish for spawning. Both CRA and The Aquarium Shop carry them.

Live adult brine shrimp helps a lot to wean the cardinal babies to frozen food as well. Babies seem to grow faster, too. Adult brine shrimp may be low on lipids (HUFA) but they are pretty high in protein. I also started feeding them a combination of live baby brine shrimp with frozen Cyclopeeze within a week from their birth to get them used to taking other things besides bbs. Bangaii cardinal babies are ultra stubborn about eating anything other than what they are used to. I'd give pulverized frozen food mixture early on before they get set in their way.

HTH,

Tomoko