Mandarin Breeding Attempt

Well mine just aren't being cooperative. Last night I set aside to try and catch them spawning. Well he chased her around the tanks for like 2 hours but no ascending. She seems way to interested in the fresh batch of copepods added to the tank yesterday. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch some tonight. I'm on break so I'm really hoping to catch some eggs this week.
 
Yes, while I don't think you should just put anything in your tank. I really believe in more of a whole ocean thing than just a reef or fish thing. My LFS laughs at me because he's a reef/coral guy, no sand nothing but coral and a few fish. When I ask how much a coral is or what it likes the answer is always high flow. I always say well my mandarin tank (the 125) is low flow that's why I ask the price. It's a mandarin tank with other stuff. If a coral is more than about $20 I won't buy it just in case it won't survive, I'm not out much. I also have some hair algae. I try not to let it get out of control but I don't try to get completely rid of it either as the amphipods love it. And I'm sure the copepods and Ostracods if I could see them well. I love all the little things as much as the big things. I find it fascinating to watch my ostracods with a hand magnifier or my barnacles swiping at the passing water.

I'm sure I'll have to adjust to more sterile for larva but first I have to get them to hatch LOL.

Even though this is my Mandarin thread today is exciting cause my cardinal male is holding eggs (day 1).
 
Well..... Went to reef -a-palooza 4/11 (awesome) ran into Julian Sprung. He says I may need to replace my male. I wish I had asked him 1000 questions but I did tell him about my pair and he says maybe my male is sterile. I'm going to give him a few more months at least but if I don't get any better spawning or development of the eggs then I'll look to replace him.

I also picked up a trio of ruby reds. I don't know if they'll survive. They were prepacked in a bag and I couldn't see them well but they are concave bellies. One worse then others. But I put them in my copepod/amphipod frag tank. and they are active and eating so... I hope they make it. The booth was the Mad Reefer I will not get anything there next year. But I should have turned the bag more and tried harder to get a better look.

The show was awesome but mostly corals. My cardinal is eating so no cardinal babies. That boy also has only a few months to stop eating eggs then he'll get replaced too.
 
wow, julian sprung! he's an old hero of a lot of us here in reefsville....
he must be a busy guy....i used to look forward to every new issue of fama just to read his column, even got a reply from him back in the nineties. that's cool kiz.
i've looked at rubies as a form of amphipod control in my dt...i can't get their numbers down and thought of one as a control. but i keep talking myself out of it.
too bad about your male, it must be a guy thing where we don't do what we're supposed to do.
 
Well I got eggs last night but they don't seem to be fertile. I really need to swap my male out but I like him so much it will be hard. I also don't think I'll be able to trade him in because his back is crooked. But he is a sweet personality and he eats frozen brine. *Sigh*.
 
Hmm...crooked backs are usually a sign of malnutrition when younger. I'm not an expert, but what are you feeding them again? Maybe if you feed the male more/better, then he might make sperm instead of converting it to necessary life functions. Then again, I'm not an expert in any way, shape, or form...
 
Well, I have only had him like 6 months. I think the crooked back might have happened during collection. Now he eats copepods, ostracods, amphipods and he will also eat frozen brine. I've tried eggs (cod) he doesn't seem to like them or mysis. But there are copepods, ostracods and amphipods in the tank. the female isn't having trouble finding enough nutrition. She doesn't show a preference for frozen brine but stays gravid. So it shouldn't be nutrition with him though it could have been when he was on the reef.
 
Ok so I know this isn't much of an update.... But I think they are spawning really late at night. At the beginning of my journal is was like midnight. But I thought I had successfully moved their time forward. My female has cycled through a few cycles of fat little belly not so fat. I beginning to think they are spawning once a month or more at night. I just missed her swollen belly a few days ago so sometime this summer I'm going to try to catch her with a swollen belly and wait til late at night to see what happen.

This could be very exciting if they are spawning as I now know the last batch was fertile. For those who been following my multiple threads you know I need this right now like a hole in the head but hey it's only time, space and money, what is that compared to BABIES!!!!
 
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