Banggai holding eggs

WWIII · Mar 18, 2018

So I'm like 99% sure one of my banggai cardinals is holding eggs in his mouth. His throat/jaw is sticking out pretty far and he won't eat. He will open up his mouth and do a little weird mouth rearrangement, but too quick for me to see much.

Anyways, I'm wondering if it would be worth me doing anything to try to see if I can catch him and hold the babies to try and raise them? I've had clowns breed and lay eggs all the time, never had a real big desire to raise them so I never tried. If I could raise the baby cardinals I would be interested. Not sure if I should try or just monitor and research some more for next time? I have 3 tanks set up and lots of extra saltwater. I have 2 15 gallon long tanks as well that are dry I use for ttm. Was thinking about trying to catch him and put him in a 15 long with a piece of liverock just to see what happens? I guess I would need to figure out how to feed them as well.

Long story short, should I just watch and wait? Try to track their patterns and do some more research? Or pull him out and put in tank alone to try and raise them? I am not sure how far along the eggs/babies are?

Any advice is appreciated!

reef lover · Mar 18, 2018

If u just noticed the bulge u have time takedown 21_ 25 days to spit them out. I would watch most cases he eats them anyways

if he' still carrying in a couple weeks scoop in out gently and trnsport to a rearing tank with a fake urchin for babies to hide from dad...and be prepared to make lots of bbs.

WWIII · Mar 18, 2018

Thank you for the response @reef lover ! Can't help but get a little excited, baby banggai's are cute little suckers! I'll mark it down, do a little research/setup and wait n see. May get a brine shrimp plan and fake urchin, just to be prepared. My wife really loves these fish as well, so anything to get her more involved/excited about the tanks is a plus!

reef lover · Mar 19, 2018

Wishing u luck!! Mine likes to get me excited and then eat them...

WWIII · Jun 4, 2018

Well after he swallowed or spat out the first couple broods within a week or a little longer, he finally carried them "full term". Or at least pretty close. I put the male in a 15 gallon tank with a air pump/sponge filter, 2 small heaters, a little rock and a fake ziptie urchin. That was over a week ago.

He released a couple eggs that I saw on the bottom of the tank 3 days ago. I wasn't sure if they would make it, but it appears they are so far. Yesterday there were 3 babies with some egg still attached swimming around. Today there is at least 12 swimming around, with a few more wiggling around on the bottom with egg attached. I thought they would be a tad bit more developed when he released them? Maybe he doesn't have it down perfect yet? His jawline is still protruded and he's been hanging in the corner by one of the heaters for the past couple days. Maybe he will release a few more? Gonna give it a day or 2 if he behaves and see what the final count is to start out! I have had baby brine shrimp going for over a week (2 different batches) and just fed a small amount this morning.

I will get some better pictures when it settles down a little. I'm afraid to scare the babies or male with too much light and/or my presence. Here's a bad picture of what they look like as of today...

reef lover · Jun 4, 2018

Congratulations!!

WWIII · Jun 4, 2018

reef lover said:
Congratulations!!

Thank You! After he carried the first couple broods only a week, I kinda figured it wouldn't work out any time soon. This last time after I saw his mouth full for 3 weeks I said well it's worth a shot! Hopefully the babies do well, we shall see.

reef lover · Jun 4, 2018

Hoping for you!! Mine just eats them..

WWIII · Jun 6, 2018

Up to 20 babies this morning. My male Banggai is still in the brood tank with a fat mouth, so maybe some more to come. He is behaving himself very well for the time being, even with a baby swimming right by him. Hopefully he will release what's left soon and I will move him to another tank to get fed well before going back in display with his female!

For a first time dad he seems to be doing really well. I was surprised to see so many released with much of the egg remaining, but other than that very happy with the success so far!

WWIII · Jun 6, 2018

Up to 34 that I can see/count this afternoon. Don't think they like my green ziptie urchin as they are hanging out in the corners instead for now. I can't believe there's so many. I was hoping/expecting somewhere between 10-20. I know they are far from over the hump of survival, but it's exciting! Here's a couple crappy pics of 2 of the 3 groups...

Fudsey · Jun 6, 2018

That is really cool

WWIII · Jun 7, 2018

Up to 47 that I can count without losing track. I removed the male this morning and put him in another tank I have so he can have a break. I'll let him eat for a few days or longer, then put him back in the display with the female. I have no idea what I'm gonna do with 50 baby cardinals, but will raise them best I can for the next weeks/months! Gonna be hard to give them up (to lfs or others) if they make it through to that stage. Will worry about that then I guess.

I have a nice little light for the 15 gallon I will probably hook up next week. Hopefully then I can get some better pics!