Raising Banggai in reef

[RoscoPColtrane]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for different ideas on how to raise my Banggai babies. I have done this in a separate 10 gallon system with success. It requires a lot of time to monitor salinity daily and perform water changes every few days, not too mention having to set up an additional tank.

I was thinking of using some sort of acrylic box or breeding container inside my reef held in place above the water line with magnets. Ideally this would be a separate container inside my reef. For water changes I could simply submerge one corner of the container in the tank water. After a few weeks when the babies are bigger and less fragile, I would move them into a bigger tank.

Any thoughts?

Mike

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

look at the Coral magazine online archives, back to the third or fourth issue in 2009. There was an article about breeding these fish where the author described an in-tank box similar to what you're describing.

I've been interested in getting a pair of these fish to breed for years, looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

 

[block head]

bangaii are tough in general. breeding is even harder. i honestly don' t think you'll keep a pair alive for long without a dedicated system. financially the money isn t there. it tends to end in the death of the male. i'd enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[RoscoPColtrane]

der_wille_zur_macht,

Thank you for the info... exactly what I was looking for. Once you get a pair getting them to breed is fairly easy IME, it just requires heavy feeding. I keep my adults in my 120 gallon reef and remove the male at day 25-30. I have had my pair for almost two years. Based on their size I would guess they were about 6 months old when I acquired them. Raising the fry is a lot of work but not overly difficult once you get a routine that works for you. I have raised about 5 batches with varying degrees of success. Block head is correct, you will likely not make money but it is a rewarding experience if you have the time.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

the biggest problem I had with these Cardinalfish was removing the babies once Dad spit 'em out.

The babies will get eaten by larger fish unless they can hide among anemone tentacles, a long spined sea urchin or some similar safe haven.

tip: search RC /URS older threads by usernames ri, Guy and myself. We posted a LOT of info on this species. Rick had an awesome set up for raising highfin Cardinals and Guy is/was THE MAN on raising them.

 

[gmneil]

i have seen some people use those little breeder nets seems to work but a little small.

 

[RoscoPColtrane]

Thanks Gary I will check out older threads... its unfortunate Guy no longer visits here.

I have always had to force the male to release the eggs around 30 days. I catch him in a large net, after 30 seconds or so he releases the fry. I usually fatten him up for a day or two before returning him to the 120g. My biggest struggle has been providing the fry with food. My usual routine is baby brine shrimp with selcon, this time around I would like to supplement with enriched adult brine shrimp. I have been deciding/researching on the easiest route to raise and enrich the adults, seems to be the most challenging aspect.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Piscene Energetics frozen Mysids are a great food for spawning fishes

 

[block head]

I visited a shop in Md that raised everything with frozen Cyclops. He had very large lagoon style tanks. They had enough volume to deal with lg broadcast feedings. Breeding fish should be fed a lot. Just like teenage boys. My reef wasn't equipped to deal with the excess waste. My reef suffered and the fish's needs weren't being met.

 

[RoscoPColtrane]

You bring up a good point. I don't want to risk polluting the tank and all the extra water changes to deal with the waste will add up quickly.

 

[block head]

it happened to me, i had bangaii and clowns spawning in my nano. thought it would be cool to raise a few. my reef took a big hit with the extra feedings, tanks started poping up around the house. it turned into a hot mess. never really recovered from it. my advice is to wait untill you have the ability to set up a breeding system. a reef/breeding system are quite different