Alto's Bangaii Cardinal Breeding thread

[Miss Nano]

Wow, Alto...awesome thread! I just noticed two days ago that my tank bred Bangaii have started breeding! (My pics aren't as nice as yours though. ) I'm definitely going to be following your thread! Keep us posted on your updates.

[altolamprologus]

Will do! All I say right now is they're eating like two fat kids in a donut shop and if the male doesn't hold this time I'll be pretty disappointed

[MikeTR]

Put me on the list for 3 of these guys if you can ever get the male to hold up his part of the bargain..

[altolamprologus]

Put me on the list for 3 of these guys if you can ever get the male to hold up his part of the bargain..

I'll let you know, but it won't be anytime soon, that's for sure.

[MikeTR]

yea no prob.. i got at least 6 mo before i'll have an sps colony big enough for em

[altolamprologus]

Sexy time has begun again. Here's hoping I get babies this time.

[smitty_1280]

Good luck to you

[altolamprologus]

Failure. Idk if the male has any eggs left in his mouth, but I counted 21 of them laying on the bottom. I'm gonna try tumbling in a brine shrimp hatching style tumbler, but honestly I have no idea if they're even fertilized. I need a hug

[altolamprologus]

Got the tumbler set up and collected 15 eggs

[smitty_1280]

I wish you the best of luck with this. I wonder why the male wont hold the eggs for you? Maybe time for a new male?

[altolamprologus]

I wish you the best of luck with this. I wonder why the male wont hold the eggs for you? Maybe time for a new male?

That's what I'm thinking. He's old enough and had enough experience by now to have figured it out if he was ever going to. Idk where I'm going to find a captive bred male. And I certainly don't have hundred of dollars to spend on a proven fish.

[smitty_1280]

I can understand not having the money for a proven male. Wouldn't a new captive bred male be better then a male that just swallows or spits out the eggs though? I'm just thinking out loud.

[altolamprologus]

I can understand not having the money for a proven male. Wouldn't a new captive bred male be better then a male that just swallows or spits out the eggs though? I'm just thinking out loud.

Yeah the problem is finding one. When I got these two, I had been looking in my area within a couple hour driving distance and couldn't find anything. Inland aquatics is the only commercial breeder I know of, but they don't sex their fish so I would have to buy multiples and pay $55 to have them shipped overnight. I guess I'll give my male the time it takes to find one locally to prove himself. If he cleans up his act before then, cool. If he doesn't, off to my reef tank he goes.

[Builder Anthony]

maybe he likes blowing bubbles

[altolamprologus]

maybe he likes blowing bubbles

Lol either that, or he's a homicidal cannibal baby serial killer.

[sean151]

You need to see if they are fertilized by checking them over time, which you will obviously. If they aren't fertilized then maybe he's not mature enough and only knows he should hold them.

[altolamprologus]

You need to see if they are fertilized by checking them over time, which you will obviously. If they aren't fertilized then maybe he's not mature enough and only knows he should hold them.

Yeah I guess I'll see if they turn white overnight, it's a fertilization issue. He's a year old and males can start breeding at 6 months so I doubt it's an age problem. He could very well be infertile or just plain terrible at fertilizing eggs though. I wish I had access to a high powered microscope so I can know for sure.

[altolamprologus]

So the last egg died in the tumbler yesterday. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since some lasted 2 days, that means they were fertilized right? I've been doing some reading on tumbling bangaii eggs and it seems really common for them to die in the first day or two, even when fertilized. Hopefully they're being fertilized so I can improve my tumbling technique with the next batches.

[Mr Pants]

I got my pair from Inland aquatics. I didn't want them to breed and we are on our third brood (can see baby fish in his mouth now (~day 23). I talked to them awhile on the phone and I got the dominant one in the whole group (presumably a male) and then a smallish one (presumably a female). It all worked out well. Ours started breeding at ~4 months old.

 

Some people have great success with 2 males. The female will alternate which she spawns with giving the other time to recover. It would also give you a way to hedge your bets. Though since you know you have a good female why not give Inland Aquatics a call and ask for the dominant fish in a brood?

[altolamprologus]

I got my pair from Inland aquatics. I didn't want them to breed and we are on our third brood (can see baby fish in his mouth now (~day 23). I talked to them awhile on the phone and I got the dominant one in the whole group (presumably a male) and then a smallish one (presumably a female). It all worked out well. Ours started breeding at ~4 months old.

 

Some people have great success with 2 males. The female will alternate which she spawns with giving the other time to recover. It would also give you a way to hedge your bets. Though since you know you have a good female why not give Inland Aquatics a call and ask for the dominant fish in a brood?

Damn you got lucky with yours. I got my pair from inland as well, except I bought them as a confirmed pair. It cost me $55 to ship them to me and I really don't want to spend that much again and still take the chance of getting a bad male. I'm going to try to find one locally first, but if I can't I'll talk to inland.

 

I'm not gonna try 2 males in the same tank. I've never heard of people having success in less than 100 gallons. The males get too aggressive during breeding. If I do get a second male, the current one will be banished to my reef tank.

[altolamprologus]

After doing some more reading and looking at pics of bangaii eggs, I'm almost certain my eggs were unfertilized. I guess that explains why he would always swallow the next day.

[smitty_1280]

It seems like you are just having a hard time with this male. I hope he gets the hang of it soon for you.

[altolamprologus]

It seems like you are just having a hard time with this male. I hope he gets the hang of it soon for you.

Idk I didn't really think too much of it before, but the eggs turned clear just a couple hours after being laid. Healthy, fertilized eggs stay bright orange. That combined with him swallowing each clutch the next day has me convinced he's sterile. I've already posted want ads on a couple forums so he'll be replaced as soon as I can find another male.

[smitty_1280]

To bad you have replace him, but it for the better.

[Jolleyreefs]

Man that's a shame alto. My two aren't doing much better. They are definitely bigger but still have yet to exhibit any breeding behavior. But I did however, just purchase a bonded pair from live aquaria divers den yesterday so hopefully they too wont let me down.