Daddy's Got a Mouthful

It seems that the pair of Banggais that I won at MACNA are a M/F pair... the one I thought was a male hasn't eaten in a few days and has a mouthful of something[]  Since they are still young I'm not expecting much chance of survival.  The first few batches don't usually make it but, we'll see.
 
 
Note: I just checked my records and I noticed the full mouth on October 30th but didn't post about it until this date.  Want to keep my records straight[]

when you get a batch i want some.. i have one large one.. wish i could find a good deal on another large one but hard to tell whats M or F... i want to be on the list for yours!

Do you have a good pic of yours?

i can get one.. will have to clean the glass. i will try tomorrow

Try to get the fish to pose for a side view shot[] LOL  JK  I might be able to figure out what it is.  I have another pair currently living in the sump.  One is a medium size male the other is larger, most likely a female since they seem to get along (no fighting) but no babies either. 
 
If yours is a male I might be able to let you try my large one.  I want to keep the medium size male to switch with the smaller one that is holding right now.  You can't keep the same M/F together all the time or the male will end up dead from starvation.  The male doesn't eat for the 20-25 days that he has the eggs... once he lets them go the female is ready to spawn again.  You can see where that would end up without some recovery time between batches.

alright ya a good side shot  will get one tomorrow

Yeah put me on the list too Tal once you get some babies ready to sell.

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

As far as I can tell he's still holding them[]  I'm hoping for the best.

My Threadfins have breed a few times. Everyone once in awhile i see one of the males with his mouth full. There have only been a very few people have raised the fry though and they are not supposed to be easy to do..Plus right now I'm too lazy to even try. Right now I'm pretty happy with just feeding, scraping the glass once a week and water changes here and there.

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

I haven't read much on them.  I have enough on my hands at the moment, LOL.

Jarrod,  Did you get me a pic of yours yet?

nope not yet... will do

ok tal here ya go
side

front

close front

Love that last pic!

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

Looks like his nose is sticking through the glass!!

-Mike- 240g In-wall - 48x48x24 - Mixed Reef  

Nice pics!  I think that's probably a female but, I'm not an expert.  How big is it?  Is the body larger than a quarter?

the body is for sure quater size.. larger.. maybe by a little... its hard to tell on these

thanks

Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
You must be talkin' to me 'cause I don't see anyones else around!

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

If anyone is interested in breeding Banggai Cardinalfish, here's a new article that just came out: http://www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com/archives/vol_2/issue8/pages/issue_8-6.htm

My neighbor let me use her cam... got some pics, not good ones since I'm not familiar with the settings but...
 

 

 

Better pics...
 

 

Here's a link to an article that explains a little more about determining gender: http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/k_clarke_102499.html
 
Looking back at Jarrod's pics it's hard to tell from that angle.  If you look at the first pic in my post above, the female on the left definately has the "straighter" jaw-line... from the lip down to the edge of the black stripe.

mine for sure has a wider swoop in the jaw than the pictures of the females...

How long does the male brood them?

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

 
The male usually holds them for about 21 days.  I noticed mine holding on the 30th so, if he hangs in there he should release on the 20th.  Being the first spawn, it's doubtful.

I have to commend you on all the work and research Tal. I'm just too lazy to do all this stuff. If I was to breed them I'd have to do it like Trop does. Put a bunch of them in a really big vat and let nature take it's course! If I could get one of those 150 Gal Agra tubs into the basement I might try it..

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

Thanks[]  It was a little overwhelming at certain points (still more to come I'm sure!) but I'm getting my head wrapped around things now.  I feel like I'm in college some times, LOL

Papa Banggai is still holding but he's getting really cranky and hungry.  I feel bad for the poor guy.

 
So what, the papa (male) will not eat for the 21 days? Poor guy.
 
Steve

Are Banggai's born as a male or female?
Or are they like clowns, and morf into one or the other?
 
I see in an above post that you describe how to tell male from female, is this only as an adult fish, or is it distinguishable early on?
 
Steve

Slow down Steve! LOL[]  I'll try to answer all of those...
 
Banggais are mouthbrooders ie; the male incubates the eggs in his mouth.  Therefore he doesn't eat for 21-25 days  That can become problematic because by the time the fry are ready to be resleased, the female is about ready to spawn again.  The male only gets a few days to "bulk-up"!  They don't for monogmous pairs so it's possible to "switch" the male with another to give him a break.
 
Cardinalfish are "gonochorists", they are born male or female.
 
Sexing them is difficult when they're juveniles, a bit easier as they mature.  I listed a few possible way to tell them apart above.  There's no easy rule though other than 2 of the same sex will conflict with each other in an aquarium.
 
HTH[]

Here are pics from today, day 15'ish
 

I guess he couldn't take it anymore.  He still had them at noon but, they're gone now.  I guess I'll just get him beefed up for the next spawn in a few weeks. 

Sorry to hear that, good luck next time.
 
Steve

Thanks.  I looked around the tank in hopes that he spit them out but I don't see any.

No action yet but I did pick up a Diadema urchin today from Darrell in Saint Clair Shores.  Nice guy too.

Sorry no pics of the urchin yet, cam is in the shop.

Well it seems I got a visit from the Stork instead of Santa  Daddy Cardinal is holding again.
 
Maybe it's a Holiday thing... last time it was Halloween, this time Christmas.

I only get it on the holidays too

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

LOL[sm=.gif]

I got a few quick pics this evening: