Just noticed ochre-striped cardinal with mouth brood

Ryengoth · May 19, 2016

I have 3 of these adult cardinals. First mouth brooding fish I've kept and he's the larges of all 3. Any breeding tips? I have bangaiis and azure damselfish that would love a snack so would like to isolate but gonna be tough to manage without stressing the fish. The eggs are fairly pink at this point based on what I can see when he adjusts the egg bundle so it looks like a new brood.

Daniel@R2R · May 20, 2016

Awesome! I've got no tips, but hopefully others will weigh in. [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG]

I Take Cars · May 20, 2016

careful not to bother him too much... They will swallow the eggs if stressed. He won't eat until they hatch.

eatbreakfast · May 20, 2016

I don't know if ochre stripes do the same, but bangaii cardinals will try to spit the hatchlings out into a long spine urchin at night. Some have fashioned 'dummy urchins' out of kebab skewers.

Ryengoth · May 20, 2016

Looks like most of the cardinals prefer a long-spine urchin as a release harbor. Looks I also need baby brine to feed and I'm probably too close to hatching to start that now. Any other options for feeding?

eatbreakfast · May 21, 2016

Baby brine can be hatched in about 24hrs. You could try frozen rotifers as well.

Ryengoth · May 21, 2016

I have decapped eggs, rotifer cysts and brine eggs on order along with a hatching cone set. At least one of them will work.

The fake urchin is done. Had to weight the silicone block down for now. Hopefully the bamboo will absorb enough water to make it neutrally buoyant.

Ryengoth · May 25, 2016

Well he's no longer carrying and is eating now but I don't see fry. Either he ate the eggs, the reef consumed the fry or they are hiding in the rock structure somewhere.
I noticed, tonight, that one of the bangaii has a faded tail and then realized he has a bulging jaw pallet as well so possibly another brood from a different species of cardinal
I also captured a bristle worm sneaking out for a snack and was tempted to snag him but too late to risk a rock slide tonight. My poor pink birdsnest has taken a beating from mountain slides the past couple of weeks. LOL

Blue Lip · May 26, 2016

That's coolE="Ryengoth, post: 2940628, member: 55364"]I have decapped eggs, rotifer cysts and brine eggs on order along with a hatching cone set. At least one of them will work.

The fake urchin is done. Had to weight the silicone block down for now. Hopefully the bamboo will absorb enough water to make it neutrally buoyant.

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chad vossen · Jun 1, 2016

The babies from this species are going to be larvae. Only the banggai cardinal releases fully developed babies. Raising this species will require live rotifers for sure. Very much like raising clownfish. Collecting the larvae will be a challenge. You can put the male in a separate tank where you'll raise the fry (remove him after fry are released). You can also use a larval trap at night to capture the larvae (easiest method).

eatbreakfast · Jun 1, 2016

chad vossen said:
The babies from this species are going to be larvae. Only the banggai cardinal releases fully developed babies. Raising this species will require live rotifers for sure. Very much like raising clownfish. Collecting the larvae will be a challenge. You can put the male in a separate tank where you'll raise the fry (remove him after fry are released). You can also use a larval trap at night to capture the larvae (easiest method).

^Trust this guy, he'll know.