Rescued 4 bengai cardinals . How often should I feed them

[Koty]

Rescued 4 bengai cardinals . How often should I feed them?. Also, I got them out of the DT last midnight and i put Artemia at he same time so they will be ready only this midnight. Can I feed them frozen copopodes? reefroids? Hikari carnivor mashed to dust?
Thanks in advance for helping

 

[Sean Clark]

I don't think it is called "rescued" when you don't know how to care for them at the most basic of levels. Not trying to be negative, but you should probably donate these four cardinals to you LFS in the morning if you really want to rescue them. Ask the store if they will hold them for you while you do some research on how to care for them.

I have been that person before. Getting animals that I was not prepared to care for and it did not end well. Please be responsible and do the right thing for these fish.

 

[Koty]

Yes, indeed you are a bit negative.
LFS??? Irrelevant, they import and sell and would not care or bother about it.
Meanwhile, they are in my 100-liter quarantine tank that has an internal filter, and a skimmer. because of the flow, they are all in one corner. I feed them from the stuff from the bottom of my DT sump using TLF J's thing.

 

[reeferguy3303]

They will eat Flakes, pellets, mysis. Pretty much like any other fish
I think what @Sean Clark is trying to say is in this hobby buying/rescuing livestock you don’t know the care for could end up being a waste of money and time.

 

[Sean Clark]

Please keep us posted on how this goes. Sounds like you have it covered. Call me confused for misunderstanding your original post on how to care for these animals as it seams that you have it all figured out. Best of luck to them.

 

[Koty]

Thanks will update.
update 1: Thanks to these guys I found that my sump is a crowded copopode heaven. so for now they are getting food I will try to record it

 

[Koty]

Sorry for the low quality. The fry and the pods are visible

 

[Koty]

Update:
there are now 6 as 2 were in the refuge. The tank setup seems counterintuitive but it is not. There is a lot of flow by the Deltec skimmer, a small wavemaker, and an internal Eheim filter. the fish were fed artemia for several days but I found out that as a result of the high doses of copopods from the sump they are all over the place and the fry has constant food. the currents cause them to stay together.

 

[Koty]

Update. lost 3 out of 6 although I did not see how they ended their lives. I guess the amphipods were not enough so I am now feeding them 2-3 times daily with frozen amphipodes, live ones, saki Hikari mashed to dust, and live NH artemia every other day.

 

[Grumblez]

OP you probably should have specified they where Bangaii Cardinals Fry in your initial post lol. Very cool, I would recommend start trying to introduce a wide variety off small frozen food, flakes and tiny pellets to help make them less picjy eaters.

 

[Peace River]

Nice work with the fry! I think you may have thrown people off with the word “rescue”. I have bred over 100 species of fish (freshwater and saltwater) and it is always a learning experience. Water quality, food, hiding places, and lack of predators are some of the factors to consider. Good luck!

 

[ReefGeezer]

Bangai are kind of weird. They do hang out together... but... in small tanks they pick off the weakest in the group until it dies and then start on the next weakest. You will probably end up with two. Feeding is not an issue. They eat anything small.

 

[Sean Clark]

Thanks for the update @Koty keep up the good work.

 

[Koty]

My Banggai cardinal got smarter (or lucky) and released his fry close to the overflow so I have about 15 new fry. After losing half of the 1st batch I am not taking any chances and they are getting fresh artemia every other day. Also based on the size of the newborn. 2nd pic show the older ones

 

[timthetoolman1]

These guys are a bit harsh. Banggai are super easy to raise if you have the setup (which is not difficult). I'm glad you rescued them!
There are books and articles that explain the process.

 

[rmorris_14]

sounds like you got it all figured out. I read once (because I have one) that these fish are nocturnal and one of the feedings should be at night. I have never done that, as my fish is much older and seems to have adjusted to my feeding schedule but I thought I would throw that out there . Also, mine has never liked flake food.

 

[Koty]

Here's another update. fish are eating frozen copepods and NH artemia. All seem to be alive including 2 in the sump.
Tank looks like a mess because of all the ugly algae but water is clean (NO3= 1.7 ppm; PO4=0):
https://youtube.com/shorts/wkw-DOYEhcE?feature=share