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Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Monday, June 9, 2014 9:57 PM
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Breeding Journal DataSheet
This first post should be updated regularly to include new information as events take place or changes are made to your system General Species: Pterapogon kauderni Social Structure: Mated pair Size of Individuals: Approx 6cm Age of Individuals: Unknown Date added to Tank: 1 February 2014 Broodstock Tank Details Size of Tank: 450l (120g) mixed reef Substrate Details: Marble chips Filtration Details: Liverock + Sump with skimmer, GFO and chaeto Water Changes: 10% Fortnightly Water Temperature: 26 degrees Celsius Lighting: DIY LED Lighting Cycle: 9 Hours with 1 hour sunrise/sunset ramp Other Tank Inhabitants: Yellow Tang, Flame Hawk, Royal Gramma, Red Spot Blenny, Ocellaris Clownfish (x4) Broodstock Feeding Details Food Types: Frozen Lobster Eggs, Red Plankton and Mysis Shrimp + Flake + Pellets Feeding Schedule: Generally 2 times per day + 3-4 times on weekends Spawning Details Date of First Spawn: 23/2/14 Spawn Time of Day: Early afternoon - approx 1.30pm Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 20/4/14, 21/6/14 Courtship Details: Female would move up beside the male and then go behind him and move up on the other side. This continued for an hour or so before the spawn took place. Egg Size: Unknown at spawn Egg Color: Unknown at spawn Egg Count: Unknown at spawn Hatch Details Hatch Date: 7 May 14 to 11 May 14 Hatch Time of Day: Unknown # Days after Spawn: 21 Larvae Description: Similar to the parents, although largely transparent except for the black pigment - large egg sack Consecutive Hatch Dates: Larval Tank Details Temperature: 26 degrees Celsius Size of Larval Tank: The fry was raised in a seperate 'tank' made out of a fruit juice bottle located in my main display tank. Substrate Details: None Other Tank Decor: Fake urchin Filtration Details: Liverock + Sump with skimmer, GFO and chaeto Lighting: DIY LED Lighting Cycle: 9 Hours with 1 hour sunrise/sunset ramp Water Changes: 10% Fortnightly Larval Feeding Details Food Types: Newly hatched brine shrimp + brine shrimp enriched with Nannochloropsis Feeding Schedule: 3 times per day Metamorphosis/Settlement Date of Settlement Start: 15/5/14 Days after Hatch: 4 Date of Settlement End: 15/5/14 Description of Fry: I am deeming settlement to have occurred on the date the egg sac was fully absorbed. The fry was much more adventurous within the rearing 'tank'.
Grow-Out Tank Details Temperature: 26 degrees Celsius Size of Grow-Out Tank: The fry was raised in a seperate 'tank' made out of a fruit juice bottle located in my main display tank. The sides of the bottle were cut out and covered in a 50 micron mesh to aid water flow but still retain the brine shrimp. Substrate Details: None Other Tank Decor: Fake urchin Filtration Details: Liverock + Sump with skimmer, GFO and chaeto Lighting: DIY LED Lighting Cycle: 9 Hours with 1 hour sunrise/sunset ramp Water Changes: 10% Fortnightly Size at Transfer: Not applicable Age at Transfer: Not applicable Grow-Out Feeding Details Food Types: Newly hatched brine shrimp + brine shrimp enriched with Nannochloropsis Feeding Schedule: 2 times per day Additional Information (No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please) Miscellaneous Information: 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.
<message edited by Magicj on Sunday, June 29, 2014 2:36 AM>
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 6:12 AM
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I have a few months to catch up on and so things will move along quickly for a while  My newly acquired mated pair (obtained 1 February 2014) - this pair had successfully produced at least one juvenile in the previous owners tank so I knew they were a proven pair.  The male is on the left. Just over 3 weeks later (23 Feb 14) I managed to record their first courtship - unfortunately I missed the actual egg transfer ! http://youtu.be/rf7e9DK7vlw And some photo's  
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 6:16 AM
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A week later the male was still holding - you can see a couple of the eggs in this photo  Another week on and the male was still holding. However, yesterday when I got home (Day 16) I noticed that he was up at the top of the tank waiting to be fed. I don't know if it was just a coincidence but I had a nest of clownfish eggs hatch the previous night - I wonder if the temptation to eat some newly hatched clowns was just too great ?? I will see how things go over the next few weeks but I am seriously thinking about relieving him of his duties after 14 days next time - my reading suggests that the eggs will have a great chance of survival at this stage and I enjoy a challenge.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 6:42 AM
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The second spawn occurred on 20 April 14 - it looks like he may be carrying a few more eggs this time  And, Day 9 post spawn  I am seriously thinking about stripping him soon.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 6:48 AM
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Based on the design used by an acquaintance, I started building my egg tumbler - all the bits gathered together  I decided that if I was going to collect the eggs then tonight (2 May 2014) was the night - we are currently at 12 days post spawn - last time he made it to 16 days (before eating the eggs) but I was interested in documenting as much of the egg development/hatching as I could. So, I changed the timer so the lights turned off at 7.00pm and left the tank for an hour or so in darkness - I had read that if you do this and then quickly turn the lights on full, the fish are temporarily blinded and you have a chance to catch them. Whilst I was somewhat dubious, it does actually work and I was able to catch him relatively easily. Now, to get the eggs. From my reading, it seems that on most occasions the male will spit the eggs as soon as it is in the net - mine did not. One suggestion is to pick the male up gently by the tail and dip it in and out of the water and he will release the eggs - mine did not. Another suggestion is to gently pry open the mouth with something like a paper clip and dip the fish in the water - the backwash is meant to dislodge the eggs - that didn't work. After about 10 minutes I still hadn't managed to dislodge the eggs  I continued these various methods and eventually a few eggs come to the front of his mouth and then he spat them all out - success So, this is what we have - I count approximately 30  Similar to the clown fish fry, I am amazed at how soon in the egg development the eyes are pretty much fully formed. I am pretty excited at the prospect of trying to get these through the next 3 weeks.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 7:05 AM
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Almost had a major disaster last night (2 May 14) - woke up this morning to find the bottom 'plug' of foam in the tumbler had shifted overnight - it had turned 90 degrees and the eggs were hanging out the bottom of the tumbler . Luckily they are still sticky and held together on the filter material I had used. I have no idea how they were not eaten, especially given that my Coral Banded Shrimp is active of a night time. So, I managed to find some of my wife's stockings and put everything back together. I was still not happy with the level of movement so I jumped on the net to see what I did wrong - I used a 2l bottle - I should have used a 600ml bottle Off to the shed to start again - 
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 7:07 AM
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This is my rebuilt tumbler - much happier with the way it is now working.  And, thankfully, the eggs look to be fine  I am, once again, amazed at the development in the last 12 hours - they have gone from eggs with eyes to developing a head and mouth. 
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 7:20 AM
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For the next couple of days everything progressed nicely - the tumbler was working well and the eggs were developing quickly  And a short video - 4 May 14 or 14 Days Post Spawn. Lots of moment in the eye's (even though they don't appear to be attached to anything) and, the heart is now clearly visible. http://youtu.be/zs0xnWynfHU
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 7:38 AM
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I have started having some serious problems with my DIY tumbler. The bottom material has been getting clogged and restricting the water flow - to clean it I need to remove the eggs, clean the filter material and return the eggs. This has resulted in too much handling of the eggs and they are starting to show some wear and tear. Two have now separated from the main mass - they are now more buoyant than the mass and are getting sucked into the top filter material!! Anyway here is an egg at 15 DPS  I found the first hatched larvae on 7 May 14 at 17 DPS - it was trapped in the top filter material of my tumbler but seems OK  I have lost a few eggs to fungus and currently have around 16 remaining. However, I continued to be frustrated with the tumbler I was using and decided to build a water driven one using a small pump and a round bottomed glass. This is what I came up with  I planned on putting this inside a breeding net. What I didn't take into account was that the 'Doubled Wall Glass' that I used (which was selected because of the rounded bottom as seen in the photo) floated due to the air between the glass walls So, I decided to use some super glue to glue the glass to a small piece of ceramic tile to hold it down. Unfortunately, I didn't have much glue left and was applying some downward pressure on the glass to see if I could get it to set when the glass shattered Fifteen minutes later when I had stopped the blood flowing from the gash in my finger I found a beer mug which looked like it might do the job. After I spent another hour sorting out the eggs I went to bed hoping more than expecting that it might be satisfactory. The remaining eggs were not looking good - this is a macro shot before I removed the bad eggs  The bad eggs are easy to identify - the remaining viable eggs actually look quite good, although there is lots 'rubbish' sticking to them and evidence of what looks like fungus starting to grow on one. I suspect that these are all symptoms of poor tumbling of the eggs. This is after I managed to remove the bad eggs - 8 remaining although I would be very surprised if these don't also die in the short term. 
<message edited by Magicj on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 8:10 AM>
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 7:51 AM
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I continued to have significant problems with my DIY tumbler efforts and by 12 May 14 (22 days post spawn) I had one larvae remaining. I think this one hatched on 11 May 14.  By 16 May 14 my remaining larvae was growing quickly However, I suspect that it has a swim bladder problem as it struggles to stay in one spot - can anyone confirm this? 21 May 14 (31 Days Post Spawn or 10 Days Post Hatch) - No major problems for the past 5 days I have been feeding gut loaded (Nannochloropsis) baby brine shrimp 3 times per day, although the first feed of a morning before I go to work is quite large and there are still some remaining when I get home of an evening. It is growing nicely, it's just a shame it doesn't have any siblings  Sorry about the poor photo - it usually swims in an area where I can't get a clear shot 
<message edited by Magicj on Sunday, June 29, 2014 2:17 AM>
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Sunday, June 22, 2014 6:58 AM
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One month later and my sole survivor is still going strong - would now be around 15mm total length. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, it is still only eating gut loaded brine shrimp. I am sure that this is not really nutritious enough for it at this stage of its life but it won't touch anything else. I suspect that being the sole survivor doesn't help - if one in a group took some other food then the siblings would be more inclined to have a try as well.  My male is currently holding again, with a spawn yesterday afternoon, so hopefully I will do better this time - once again I plan to strip him around day 16 but I have a better tumbler ready to try out this time.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, July 1, 2014 10:30 AM
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Your pictures are simply amazing. What are you using for magnification? Light?
Congrats on your progress!
check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website: http://kathysclowns.com Captive bred clownfish and more (Wholesale to the trade.)
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Wednesday, July 2, 2014 6:01 AM
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Thanks Kathy - if you take enough photo's a few are bound to turn out OK - one of the great benefits of digital camera's I currently use a Canon 600D with a Tamron 90mm Macro Lens. I am pretty sure these were all taken with the on-camera flash, although I have recently purchased a seperate flash unit with wireless control. It's not high end gear but it does what I need it to do. I am currently in the process of buying myself a microscope with camera - just something else for me to have a play with...
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Saturday, July 5, 2014 12:08 AM
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Unfortunately, the male was eating last night  I had fed them a few hours earlier and everything was fine so I am not sure what happened during the intervening hours. He was at 13 days since spawn - I might need to strip him at around 12 days next time.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Saturday, July 26, 2014 8:04 AM
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My sole remaining baby Banggai - this was taken on 20/7/14 and records the fry at past 60 DPH. As they say, it only takes one  Hopefully, my male will stop eating the eggs and I will have some more to raise soon.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Monday, August 4, 2014 2:52 AM
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He looks rather skinny....like he's not getting enough to eat.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Monday, August 4, 2014 4:41 AM
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I agree Matt - this one never really overcame it's swim bladder problem and I decided to cull it last week.
My male is currently at 8 days with another spawn so hopefully I will have some better success next time.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Sunday, August 10, 2014 6:35 PM
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I was planning to strip the male on Friday night but my daughter was sick and had other things to do. Unfortunately, he was eating last night - 13 days, exactly the same as the previous spawn. I really must strip him before day 12 next time.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Thursday, September 25, 2014 8:40 PM
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OK, it's been a while but it's time to try again with these guys.  There could be one small complication - I will be away for a week from 4/10/14 and the fish will need to look after themselves during this time. He has traditionally eaten the eggs around day 13 when I will be away. So, my plan is to strip him next Thursday night (2/10/14) - this will be at 8 days which is a bit earlier than I would have liked but I will just have to see how it goes.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pterapogon kauderni
Tuesday, December 9, 2014 4:27 PM
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Unfortunately, from the spawn in October, the male ate the eggs before I had a chance to strip him. We did have another spawn on November 6, with the eggs collected on November 15. I counted 15 when he eventually released them (9 days post spawn)  Over the course of the next few days I lost a few to fungus - some started to hatch on November 20 (14 days post spawn). This was one the following day  Unfortunately, I then had some problems with my heater and, more significantly, with the tumbler. I think I had too much turbulence in the tumbler and lost a few where the egg sack burst, killing the larvae I will know better next time. Anyway, I now have 3 which have made it to 19 days post spawn - they are looking quite healthy so hopefully I can get these ones through. These would normally be kept by the male for a few more days.  Cheers
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