Banggai Cardinals

MarvinsReef · Nov 19, 2012

mfinn said:
The square jaw line was one of the ways we use to try and identify the males from the females.

That Hikari mysis is pretty good.
My pipefish really goes after it.

Must be nice to be able to drive to places like Tropicorium and CC

Hi Martin. what do you think of these two? I'm afraid I have two females now that I finally got a chance to look at the pics of the vents on a computer monitor. but seems like they have a slightly different jaw line.

this one is what I think is the male (2 vents)

jedimasterben · Nov 19, 2012

Feed them until they're about to bust and then look at their butts.

mfinn · Nov 19, 2012

The way we guessed the sexes, back in the day, was pretty primative. The way it's done now seems a little more acurate.

However one does have a more square jaw.

mfinn · Nov 19, 2012

You were saying that Tropicorium has a pretty good track recond with these guys?
I'd feel safe with their picks.

MarvinsReef · Nov 19, 2012

Thanks again Martin. I'm very hopeful. But the only way I can confirm this is when they actually produce babies.

Will two females hang out together in a tank?

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mfinn · Nov 20, 2012

MarvinsReef said:
Thanks again Martin. I'm very hopeful. But the only way I can confirm this is when they actually produce babies.

Will two females hang out together in a tank?

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I'm not sure.
I got really lucky when I had mine. The store had 3 of them and I bought all 3.
A month or so later one went missing.
A month or so later was when I witnessed the male taking the eggs in his mouth as I turned around to look at the tank.
Then I knew a new adventure was beginning.

MarvinsReef · Nov 22, 2012

mfinn said:
I'm not sure.
I got really lucky when I had mine. The store had 3 of them and I bought all 3.
A month or so later one went missing.
A month or so later was when I witnessed the male taking the eggs in his mouth as I turned around to look at the tank.
Then I knew a new adventure was beginning.

Do you still have the pair?

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mfinn · Nov 22, 2012

MarvinsReef said:
Do you still have the pair?

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No, I gave them away. This was approx 12-13 years ago.
After having them breed 5 times and only being able to save 4-5 babies at the most each time, I decided to give them to someone who could dedicate more time to them.
With my work schedule, I just couldn't be around to feed them as many times during the day as needed to give them a fighting chance to survive.
I did make a diy timed feeder, out of a 2 liter plastic pop bottle, a air pump, and a appliance timer. I was able to give them two feedings during the day of newly hatched brine shrimp. But being gone for 14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, gave me very little time to take proper care of the babies.

MarvinsReef · Nov 22, 2012

Ah ok. Thanks.

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MarvinsReef · Dec 20, 2012

I'm 99.9% sure that the Banggai's I bought about a month ago are a pair. Last Monday (17th), I was wondering where they were, they're normally out and about when I get close to the tank coz they think they're gonna get fed but they didn't really care last night. One of them (who I think is the female) was doing the shimmy dance (like what clowns do as a sign of submission) to the other. the next day, one of them didn't eat at all and seem to have a mouth full of something. I've read and have seen vids of the mating dance and egg transfer. I'm assuming the male is now carrying some eggs since he didn't eat! We'll see how this goes.

here's some pics I took a few night before lights out. they are pretty fun to watch. the female keeps the male in check, maybe to make sure he doesn't drop the eggs. hahaha...

male is infront in the first 3 pics

mfinn · Dec 21, 2012

That is very cool.

I see the male has a nice big square jaw.

MarvinsReef · Dec 21, 2012

mfinn said:
That is very cool.

I see the male has a nice big square jaw.

pretty cool to see indeed. kinda weird though seeing him with a mouth full. he just looks funny. :hammer:

mfinn · Dec 22, 2012

Gonna setup a hatchery tank and try and catch the babies?

MarvinsReef · Dec 22, 2012

mfinn said:
Gonna setup a hatchery tank and try and catch the babies?

Maybe in the future. Just glad I actually have a pair for what I paid for. LoL.

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mfinn · Dec 22, 2012

When I decided to try and catch and raise the babies, I set up a 20 long for the parents, with lots of fake green freshwater plants that had long leaves. When the parents wold spawn, I would catch the babies that were hiding in the leaves with a brine shrimp net and place them in a 1 gallon plastic hex tank ( from petco) that was anchored down inside the 20 long, using the parents water to keep the babies water warm. I used a small sponge filter for filtration and water movement.

MarvinsReef · Dec 23, 2012

mfinn said:
When I decided to try and catch and raise the babies, I set up a 20 long for the parents, with lots of fake green freshwater plants that had long leaves. When the parents wold spawn, I would catch the babies that were hiding in the leaves with a brine shrimp net and place them in a 1 gallon plastic hex tank ( from petco) that was anchored down inside the 20 long, using the parents water to keep the babies water warm. I used a small sponge filter for filtration and water movement.

Thanks for the tip Martin.

Last night the male didn't look like he was carrying the eggs anymore. Maybe he's still getting used to his role. Haha.. Bet it was a good meal for some of my fishes.

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mfinn · Dec 23, 2012

Yeah he may be new to it.
He also may have been stressed for whatever reason and had to dump the eggs.
He'll have lots more chances to get it right.

MarvinsReef · Dec 23, 2012

mfinn said:
Yeah he may be new to it.
He also may have been stressed for whatever reason and had to dump the eggs.
He'll have lots more chances to get it right.

sounds good. I'll document on how long it takes for the next one.

MarvinsReef · Jan 30, 2013

1st spawn: 12-18-2012 (male released eggs after a few days)
2nd spawn: 01-28-2013

Courting Vid
[video=youtube;UAWtzBHKgik]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAWtzBHKgik[/video]

Eggs transferred to male already
[video=youtube;J1sn1nm8jgo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1sn1nm8jgo[/video]

the male (front) having a bulldog face since he has eggs in his mouth atm

MarvinsReef · Feb 26, 2013

this male Banggai cardinal is a trooper. went through 2 tank moves and didn't let go of the eggs. the eggs were transferred on 01-28-13. my tank leaked on 02-06-13 so I had to scoop him up to take him out and then again, to take him back in the new tank. 2nd scoop out/in was on 02-22-13. I wouldn't have been surprise if he did let go of the eggs in his mouth during these stressful times but he didn't. a few days ago, I saw something dangling in his mouth so I looked very closely. still not really sure so I took the camera out with the macro and these shots turned out pretty good. eggs or the youngin's are born already?? I'm not really sure. I know that they hold the eggs for 4-5 weeks. it's about that time so maybe the eggs hatched already?? they sure do look like little Banggai's to me on the 1st pic.

what say yah?