Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni

General
Species:  Pterapogon kauderni
Social Structure:  Pair
Size of Individuals:  2.5"
Age of Individuals:  unknown, based on conversation with previous owner, expected to be around 5 years.
Date added to Tank:  3/1/2011

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  16g
Substrate Details:  crushed coral
Filtration Details:  linked sump with live rock and air driven skimmer and macro algea
Water Changes:  25% bi monthly
Water Temperature:  79-80
Lighting:  florescent
Lighting Cycle:  12/12
Other Tank Inhabitants:  none

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  mixed frozen foods
Feeding Schedule:  3-5x a day..amount eaten within 15-20 seconds

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  4/11/2011 (had spawned previously for previous owner, but he stated not in last several years)
Spawn Time of Day:  early morning
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  4/4/2011, 5/5/2011, 5/18/2011, 6/20/2011, 7/13/2011, 8/10/2011
Courtship Details:  Dancing and twitching.  Female gets more aggressive at her image in glass
Egg Size:  unknonwn can't see (in mouth)
Egg Color:  unknown
Egg Count:  unknown

Hatch Details
Hatch Date: 
Hatch Time of Day: 
# Days after Spawn: 
Larvae Description: 


Larval Tank Details
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Size of Larval Tank: 
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Other Tank Decor: 
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Lighting Cycle: 
Water Changes: 

Larval Feeding Details
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Feeding Schedule: 

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start: 
Days after Hatch: 
Date of Settlement End: 
Description of Fry: 

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature: 
Size of Grow-Out Tank: 
Substrate Details: 
Other Tank Decor: 
Filtration Details: 
Lighting: 
Lighting Cycle: 
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Size at Transfer: 
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Grow-Out Feeding Details
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Additional Information

(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 
M01 & M02


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Well these two failed again...They don't seem to be able to get farther than a week, and this time only a few days.
 
  I think I am going to retire them to the DT.  I may attempt to pair them up with younger partners and see what happens. 
 
The other pair in the system seems to be holding just fine, so I am really starting to think it is just the pair.

*wrong log*

ok, well after the countless failures of this batch, before ejecting them to DT I decided I would give a tumbler a try.  I followed Jon and Sissy's tumbler, seeing as how it was the simplest DIY, and I actually already had it made as a seive, I am going to give this a whirl.
 
Male usually doesn't hold past day 5-8, so I am going to try this out in the next day or two.
 
You can find info on the tumbler here http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/tm.aspx?m=49180&mpage=1
 
I am still trying to acquire stock for my species tank attempt (http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/tm.aspx?m=59620) at breeding these, so I am getting a bit more desperate to try to get some additional stock from another source.

Well, the first day in the tumbler the eggs got stuck on the PVC, so I adjusted and they seem to be doign ok.  I will get pics up of the tumbler tomorrow, hopefully.  Most of the egg mass is still intact and the eggs are pinkish.  Not sure if that is good or bad, as I have not done this with a tumbler before.  I had one egg that got loose from the others, so I stuck it under a scope and was interested to find out what is all over the egg.  I will post a pic of that too when I get the tumbler pics posted.

I had a hard time keeping the eggs tumbling, the flow just didnt seem to lending itself to keeping the eggs suspended...they would manage to fall off to the side of the tumbler, just outside of the major flow, or if I turned it up higher, they would get stuck to the top.  i will have to play with it.
 
At this point, I think the eggs are lost.  They are white and deteriorating.

He was holding again this morning.  Still trying to figure out a good tumbler as the last one didnt work too well.

Well, I never moved these guys simply because I was being lazy.  And now, I think we might have a winner.  I was out of town during the spawn, but he is now on three weekends of holding.  so 21+. 
 
So even with age, it is looking like it is possible.  He wont open up for me so I can see if they are hatched.  I do not know what the major change is.  The wife is now feeding them, and she typically feeds less than I do.  Varied frozen foods.

Wow, that's interesting!  I have found good males to only be good for a couple years.  It's tough to find good males to begin with too ime.  I never had any luck tumbling, but then I had no resources and no experience when I tried.  There is a lot of help on these forums though so anything is possible!  Good luck!  =]

I played with tumbling, and actually think I have a good setup.  played with several patches of my PJs in it and kept tweaking.  I got it to where I wanted it and then had to start working out of town.  I am going to take it with me when I move my PJs.
 
Regardless, I am stoked if this guy holds.  I am going to move him tomorrow to a grow out tank, which is where I release of bangs.  If they are hatched, even if he spits, we will be good if they are hatched.  I have raised fry from 23 days before with high survival. 

Yeah, I stripped my male at 21 days I think it was.  At the time, I thought that some had swim bladder issues, but now I think that sometimes I stripped before meta - haha!  He got used to the routine, and became very easy to net.  He would spit on different days, so I couldn't predict which is why I started stripping him.  I raised several batches from him, but I never sold a single baby because I could never wean them off BBS.  I only documented a few batches.  Did you read my journal?  It's from 2008, but I did post it here.

Well it didn't happen.  Might have but I didn't catch them.  I went to move him the next day and they were he was ready to eat. 

I think at this point, I have pretty much given up on this pair.  I am not sure if I should try to move them into the tank with the larger group to see what would happen.  The group is very calm and I worry that a pair that has been isolated so long might cause issues.
 
Still debating. 

Well, i was hoping to play with the idea that egg holding had to do with water quality, but I lost my male.  He died on the 22nd of September.  Not sure from what, but it almost looked as though he had becomed stressed at some point and sucome to a fungus.  This had to have happened in short order, as he seemed to be eating fine and doing his normal routines the day before.  i most likely will try to repair the female with a young male.

I have replaced the male with a young male, and they have resumed spawning.  This last round I thought he was going to actually hold the entire time.  There have been roughly 6 unsuccessful spawns and this last one held for almost 4 weeks.  I am going to be watching for a new spawn to track the dates much more closely and see if we can produce a new batch.  This will make spawning with a very old female and a young male.