Breeding Journal, Species: Sphaeramia nematoptera

General
Species:  Pajama Cardinal   Sphaeramia nematoptera
Social Structure:  Mated Pair
Size of Individuals:  Both about 2.5 inch diameter
Age of Individuals:   Approx 4 years old
Date added to Tank:   8/1/2011

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  40 gallon
Substrate Details:  2" aragonite
Filtration Details:  20 gallon sump, 65 gallon skimmer, filter floss, refugium w/chaeto
Water Changes:  5 gallons weekly
Water Temperature:  80.2
Lighting:  250w HQI fixture. 20K Halide bulb, PC supplement, LED lunar
Lighting Cycle:  12 hours daily, total
Other Tank Inhabitants:  Full display tank.  Gobies, percula clownfish, several inverts and corals

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  Spirulina brine shrimp, New Life Spectrum Thera A
Feeding Schedule:  Brine shrimp in evening after work, pellets in morning and once before lights out, just a "pinch"

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  10/02/2012
Spawn Time of Day:  Late at night/early morning
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 
Courtship Details:  Couple has been rubbing against each other, and swimming erratically together.
Egg Size:  Unknown-Have not been able to see as male has not opened his mouth.
Egg Color:  Unknown-Have not been able to see as male has not opened his mouth.
Egg Count:  Unknown-Have not been able to see as male has not opened his mouth.

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

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: 



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This is a couple of Pajama Cardinals I've had for years through several tanks.  They've never really had much interest in each other, up until about a month ago.  I noticed they seemed to rub up against each other and nip, but not aggressively.  Seemed more playful, if you could call it that.   I purchased a long spined urchin on Tuesday, October 2nd to mow down some caulerpa.  I got home with it around 6 PM.  By the next morning, I saw this:
 

Congrats on the spawn.  I wouldn't necessarily correlate the spawning with the addition of the urchin..hmm.

I think is just coincidental.  I have noticed that for the last several weeks, they've been nearly inseparable. 
 
If I understand correctly, I might need the "S" type rotifer to try and rear them?

You can always try size sorting your rotifers and/or raising at higher temps (which I've been told will make them smaller as well).  You might also try some infusions early on from some of the various Algagen Copepods...my vote lately would be for Pseudodiamptomus given the versitility it seems to display as well as a relative ease of culture compared to something like Parvocalanus or Acartia...?

I might give those a try.  He didn't go full term anyway.  Swallowed or spit on Sunday.  No worries, I wasn't prepared anyway.

 
Constant heavy feeding (with appropriate waste control and not actually over feeding) over time is the best method for making a rotifer smaller from what Tim and Eric have told me.  Higher temps just make for higher metabolism, which helps speed up the cultures productivity, which in return results in having more smaller (younger) ones to sieve out, but they are not actually smaller rotifers

how would you go about grading rotifers,  what size mesh would catch the bigger but let through smaller ones? guessing its quite a fine line

Well our Lorica length is ~160 µm on the RMI "L" strain.  We harvest with a 40 µm for all sizes, so I'd just use like an 80 µm, or what ever size you are looking to cap it at.  You will not shrink the naup size by much though.