Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon Kauderni

General
Species:  Pterapogon Kauderni (Banggaii Cardinal)
Social Structure:  bondd pair
Size of Individuals:  Male- 3 inches, female- 2 3/4 inches
Age of Individuals:  unknown
Date added to Tank:  had the fish seperate for about two months- together since November 20th
 
Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  15 gallons of 120 gallon system
Substrate Details:  Bare bottom
Filtration Details:  Filter sock, deep sand bed, live rock, macro algae, carbon, skimmer, bio-pellet reactor
Water Changes:  25% bi weekly
Water Temperature:  80 F
Lighting: Vho T12
Lighting Cycle:  lights on a 9:30am, lights off at 10:30pm
Other Tank Inhabitants:  bonded pair of Onyx Percula, hermit crab, 1 cleaner shrimp

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  Rods food Breeders Blend,  frozen Blood worms
Feeding Schedule: Three times a day 

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  12/13/11
Spawn Time of Day:  afternoon
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 
Courtship Details: always by eachother, caught them swimming belly to belly on 12/11/11, female very very protecive of her male and brood
Egg Size:  2mm? one egg fell out of the males mouth when he shuffled them around being annoyed at the female and her overprotectiveness.
Egg Color:  opac creamy white
Egg Count:  a lot- male is already going to explode with eggs!

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


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

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types: 
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: 
Water Changes: 
Size at Transfer: 
Age at Transfer: 

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types: 
Feeding Schedule: 

Additional Information
 
(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 
Male was from a previous mated pair. male obtained from Tropicorium fish store- captive bred. female obtained from A&M wholesaler- captive bred


You will be required to provide photographic or video evidence in this thread of each event submitted for the MBI Program.
If your thread does not contain these photos the MBI Committee will not be able to approve your reports. PHOTOS AND VIDEO S MUST BE PLACED IN ADDITIONAL POSTS, NEVER IN THE FIRST POST IN A JOURNAL.

picture of newly formed pair in a 20gallon tall tank (bonding tank).

Picture of pair in permenant home with onyx percula.
 

I've noticed the female is starting to get chubby. Yesterday I caught them both in some prespawn behavior. They were swimming together with their bellies touching. I fed them heavily after seeing this just in case they do spawn the male will have plenty of reserves.

The banggais were doing dances again yesterday. upon getting a closer look, i seen that the female is actually shaking, some what like clownfish do, but not as exaggerated. she does this when she has her belly up next to the males belly. i will try to get a video of this when i get home today and will post it up.

That is definitely pre-spawn behavior.  I don't think it will be long before you get some action from them.

i took a look at the banggai's today after I got home from work. The female doesn't look so chubby anymore and the male refused to eat when I fed them. the female is Pestering the male and won't leave him alone.
http://youtu.be/9bM_colEfy4 
after taking this video I sat and watched the fish for a few minutes to see if I could see anything.  The female still chasing the male around. the male opened his mouth and out popped an egg!! HURRAY!! my banggais have eggs!!!! but the question is now- what do I do? should I seperate them or let them figure things out for themselves?   A few minutes ago I checked on them again and the female is back to shaking her belly against the male. could she have more eggs for him? he already looks like he could burst! lol.

Females "protect" the males when they are holding. That is what I'm seeing in the vid. You may want to add some macro or other hiding places for them... the tank looks a little sparse. IMHO

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I added another tile to the other round homemade tiles, so now half of the tank is cave systems. they seem to be hiding in there for the time being. it has surprised me on how fast they paired up and already have eggs. they haven't even been together for a month yet.  Love at first sight I guess. LOL.

If this is a new pair- do I do reports on these or no since I already did banggai's before??

I don't think it will let you do more than one report on the same species.

RLTW

180 Gallon Mixed Reef

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

Reports can only be filed once per species. However, you can create a new journal for a new pair.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

gotcha- pair is doing good. female is not bugging the male so much- almost back to normal. male doesn't look as loaded with eggs as he did yesterday but he still didn't eat today.

While feeding the fish today the male Banggai was eating again, so he must have eaten the eggs. hopefully better luck next time.

That happens.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Michelle  
 

Is there anything that can be done to prevent this? A more varied diet prior to spawning?

Michelle  
 

My Banggais have spawned 3 times now and everytime the male has eaten the eggs by day 3. I think they may need a tank of their own for the male to feel comfortable enough to keep the eggs to full term.
they spawned again yesterday and I stole the eggs from him this afternoon.
Here are pictures of the egg mass.


there is one egg that is clear with embriotic development inside. but the others are orange. My question is are the orange eggs fertilized? are they just developing slower than the clear one?
I have the eggs tumbling around in a moded coke bottle brine shrimp hatcher. they are rolling almost constantly and once in a while rise into the water and fall back down. I am using air as a lift as i do not have a small enough water pump for the eggs at the time nor a tank or beaker to properly set up something nice. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they will develop and hatch in the next few weeks.

Wow, nice pics! Good luck!

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Nice work, those are some cool pics. I will have to try and find the link but I have seen some designs for in-tank tumblers that are water driven. They were for banggai eggs.

Any updates

Michelle  
 

yep,
 the previous eggs didn't make it, they got stuck in an outlet hole in the coke bottle. the pair spawned again on Friday, and I will take the eggs again after I get out of work today and set up my bottle again and take some pictures.

Sorry they didn't make it, but happy you have more on the way

Michelle