Male Bangaii Cardinal CARRYING EGGS :)

Yes! You and NaCAL! Looking in, I'm guessing there is at least 5 babies in there. I'm just torn with two scenarios.....do I let nature take its course and trust Mr. Cardinal's judgement where to release the fry (knowing I have the devil of a six line wrasse who can almost be seen chomping his lips) OR do I get one of those fry boxes to float somewhere in the tank, catch the male and wait until he spits them in the box?

The naturalist in me says...let him do his thing since this is his first time at the rodeo, hoping that he will enjoy the experience enough to try again soon...and that way I will know the entire cycle, uninterrupted by me.

What'd'ya think!?!?
 
I always had better luck letting him stay in the dt & wait untill he is ready. It will happen in the early am so keep looking & just catch the fry.
 
Thanks for the thought...you sealed the deal...I'm letting nature take its course until I see the little guys swimming for dear life in the open. That was my lean too, so you really helped me decide.

I just snapped a few pictures before the lights went out (thank goodness for the timer, otherwise I could try all night to get the perfect shot.)

It's so interesting to watch this guy! The babies are very far back and down in the males mouth. They were all lined up, side to side, all facing forward. I see about 5 fish. All perfectly uniformed. As soon as I tossed in some small flake food, the male opened wide and started 'sifting' the water. Within a minute, the babies were all scurrying around with no uniformity in his mouth...they were everywhere, even with a few fins having out of his mouth. They were very aware it was feeding time. I'm patiently waiting for the pictures to download as I type this.
 
This is before I put in food....notice the 6 white lines in his mouth...those are the babies...so uniformly lined up. VERY COOL. I wish you could see it like I do with my eyes (not my camera..)

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And if you look really close, there are a few that say "I belong to ReefStew" and the others say, "NaCal's Newest Additions". ;)
 
More babies on the way! I've opted (again) not to 'mess with Mother Nature' and just sit back and see where Mr. Mom will release his crew! If you've ever had a man with a mouthful of babies, you'll understand when I say..."You better be QUICK!!!" Not only is the female very pushy...always driving him away from any visitors, but when he opens his mouth you literally have a blink of an eye to snap the shot! I took about 50 pics to get these. Oh if only I had nothing else to do tomorrow!

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I didn't see your first round of posts in the beginning of 2012.


Sure glad it's happening again because I got to go through them and will tag along this time. You got some great shots.

:thumbsup:
 
Thats awesome! Thanks for sharing the whole expierence with us! I had a bangai from someone on RC who was going to flush him because he was so mean. He killed several females befor we decided he must be a loaner... He would even attack his reflection. lol... Good luck with the babies I hope they all make it.
 
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