catdoc Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 I added a pair of immature (but hopefully paired) bangaii cardinals to my 125 this weekend. They lurked at one end of the tank, way behind the rocks until this evening. Now, they're out in the open in full view and not intimidated in the least by me staring at them with my face to the glass. Not only that, but one of them decided to move into my larger rbta while the other one is parked in the spines of my newly acquired urchin (thanks again, Buster!). The rbta and urchin are right now touching, so we'll see what happens when the urchin marches on. The most amazing thing to me is that my maroon clowns DON'T CARE that the bangaii are in THEIR anemone! Unbelievable if I hadn't seen it myself. My female maroon lives up to the aggressive reputation (in a snuggly, loveable kind of way ) but this relatively tiny little bangaii may as well be invisible for the attention she gives it. I expected the bangaii to show interest in the urchin but was unaware that they sometimes will host in anemones. Apparently it's also seen in the wild but it was news to me so I was all a-tingle when I saw it. (Yeah, I'm easily amused!) I debated adding this pair for months b/c I was afraid my maroons would beat them up. I sure didn't expect the cardinals to settle in so quickly and so closely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revance Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 I love my little cardinal... however he isn't so little anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 That is so cool. I've got to get down there and see your tank one of these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 Yes, you do! Not that it's much to show, but I could use some input from those "in the know". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaH2O Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Christy - that's so awesome! Take a picture if you can. I'd love to see them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 This little pair continues to fascinate me. They are in the thick of things--much better community fish than I'd expected. They are eating EVERYTHING, even flake (which I didn't expect) and at feeding time, they race for the meal with the other fish. It cracks me up to see them (about 1" body size) competing with my maroons, yellow tang, blenny and royal gramma. They are so much smaller than the other fish (3-4") yet not being bullied in the least. I held off on getting these fish b/c I was led to think they weren't active, were easily intimidated by larger fish, and were in general fairly delicate. They appear to be none of the above. They ARE captive-bred so that probably has a lot to do with it. Great fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revance Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Unfortunately mine only eats frozen food. I really need to get him a buddy as his died shortly after purchasing the pair. The one just never grew. Eventually he perished. I am guessing he probably had some kind of genetic defect since he never did get larger despite his good eating habits. They are wonderful little fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted December 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 My bangaii are still doing very well and growing like weeds. I'm wondering how big they are before they start spawning--anyone know? Here's a pic I took this afternoon. They don't spend much time in the urchin anymore, although they'll hover near it. I think they're getting too big to hide in there these days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buster Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 Nice looking Urchin!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted December 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 I think it's growing! Last night when I was preparing to feed the tank, I had to do a double-take. His spines were poking out of the egg crate that I have covering the tank! 8O I almost put my hand right on top of his spines--glad I noticed in time. Thanks again for him, Buster. My cardinals love him! It was tiring over the holidays to explain to guests over and over that no, the orange thing on the back isn't his eye. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 My banggai spawned. The male looks like he has the mumps, so cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaH2O Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Awesome Christy! Can't wait to hear about the babies! I'd want to add a pair to my daughter's tank. Post pics of the male's face if you get a chance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Sorry for to poor quality pics. My nice camera was injured and had to be euthanized, so these are with my older camera. I'll try to get some new pics up quickly, hubby just picked up my new camera and the battery is charging. Here is a pic of the female: Here is the male: And just so I can brag, here is a pic with all of my breeders in the 125. The maroons have a huge nest behind the rose bta at the moment. The male banggai is at the lower left in the pic. I can't believe there are two species spawning in this tank at the same time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted January 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I need to get a better side shot of the male so you can see how his mouth is bulging but in the last of those pics you can see how there is a difference even in the front shot. See how the male has a doubled white line on his throat? It usually looks like a pair of single lines just like the female looks in that shot, but with his mouth full of eggs it's distending the throat and making the doubled lines visible. (You can't see the doubled line on his right side.) I can't see the eggs at all, so I assume this is probably a small spawn. Since it's the first, I'm not surprised at that. In hindsight, I'm wondering if the pic that I posted on Jan 1 shows the male already holding. I took it b/c the cardinals hadn't been spending as much time in the urchin so when I saw him there, I snapped a shot. I notice he's been hanging out with the urchin almost all the time the past 2 days. I just can't see in that pic well enough to tell for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buster Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 That is neat having all that sucess. Keep us informed of the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted January 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Male is still holding the eggs. I wish I knew for sure the spawn date so I'd be more aware of when the babies would be released. I may try raising some from the next batch, we'll see how it goes. The male is also still spending a lot of time in the urchin. He'll swim out of it until he sees someone walk into the room, then he bolts for home! I think he's getting pretty hungry too. He follows the food when I feed the tank, but I've not seen him take the first nibble since he started holding the eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted January 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Ok, so much for waiting for the next spawn. I netted the male and forced him to spit the eggs into a breeder box this evening. I've got 17 viable eggs that look on the verge of hatching. Fingers crossed! Going to go get the brine eggs brewing now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJGreene Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Congrats and good luck with the babies! If possible, pics of the eggs and fry would be cool. Looks like we might have a new source for tank raised fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted January 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Most of the eggs (13/17) hatched overnight! This morning, they looked pretty feeble--just big yolk sacs with clear tails. Now they are swimming and have obvious fins with black pigmentation, still have the big yolk remnants though so I've not offered any bbs (it's ready for them as soon as they get the munchies though) Here's a pic I took this morning. They already look different though, so I'll have to get another shot. Next pic, I'll use the macro lens though. My usual lens just isn't doing the job!! The specks in the background are the microbubbles that are hanging onto the outside of the acrylic box they're in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted January 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 Update: I have 13 fry. I newly hatched fry died and another unhatched egg hatched when I moved them into a grow-out tank today. Here's a pic of the brand new hatchling, literally about 2 minutes post-hatching: Here is a pic from last night, just 12 hours past the picture in my previous post: And here's a pic from this morning, day 2: Now are you sorry that you asked for pics? LOL Too bad that I can't get a decent video, they're very busy little guys and you can see their hearts beating since they're still transparent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newlinj Posted January 28, 2007 Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 That's too cool! Good luck raising the fry. I'm sure it will be a lot of work but it will be worth it. If you decide to sell any when they mature please keep me in mind. I'm just up the road from you in Martinsville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJGreene Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Christy, I don't know if it is just me, but I'm not able to see the second set of pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buster Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 I can se all the pics. That is very cool, keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdoc Posted January 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 I still haven't seen any of the little guys taking any bbs (baby brine shrimp) but I'm hoping that's b/c they're still living off of their yolk sacs. I also found today that the maroons made another huge nest today. I swear, each one is bigger than the batch before! If I can have some success with the cardinals, maybe I'll try the clowns someday. I'm a bit intimidated by rotifer culturing, to be honest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJGreene Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 I can see the pics now. Very cool looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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