Seabass's Banggai Cardinalfish Nursery

[seabass]

Seabass's Banggai Cardinalfish Nursery

06/13/19

 

07/29/19

[seabass]

I'm setting up this 20L tank for Banggai cardinalfish babies, which are currently in the father's mouth.

 

This will be my second attempt at raising a brood.  My first attempt was unsuccessful.

[seabass]

I'm currently building up the biofilter for this tank.

[Christopher Marks]

Great to see they'll have their own tank to grow out in! Following along, Grandpa Seabass 😉😄 

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

Nice good luck with these new guys. 🙂

[FISHnChix]

Very neat following along

[ef4life]

I Can’t wait to see more baby cardinals.

[debbeach13]

update? Is the tank up and cycling? What equipment are you using? Dad still got a mouthful? 

[seabass]

Dad still has a mouthful.  He doesn't eat at all during this time.  Problem is that I'm heading out of town for a few days.  I'd like to catch the father and move him to the nursery; but I don't want to leave the dad in the tank without food for him or the babies while I'm gone.  The timing couldn't be much worse; although my fingers are crossed that I can still move him when I get back.

 

I'm still cycling the rock (adding DrTim's Ammonium Chloride) in the bucket with the sponge filter.  I've also added DrTim's One & Only to supply more bacteria.  It's now processing ammonia a lot quicker than it was previously.  I'd say that it's fully cycled, but I'll continue to dose ammonia in an attempt to make it even more robust.

 

I've purchased an Ammonia Alert Badge to better maintain watch of ammonia once the fish are in the tank.  Plus, I've purchased some decapsulated brine shrimp eggs for feeding (not hatching).  It would be nice if I didn't have to hatch live baby brine shrimp.  I'm afraid that I may have over fed the live shrimp last attempt, which probably contributed to the ammonia spike.

 

Hopefully I'll have another update in a week.

[seabass]

I was leaving town this Friday afternoon; but in the morning, I saw a bunch of Banggai cardinalfish babies in the overflow box of my 100 gallon tank.

 

I quickly prepped the empty 20L.  I had previously decided I wanted to tint the back and sides, so I quickly applied the static cling film.  I used a spray bottle with water and a couple of drops of Dawn dish soap as application fluid.  You spray it on the glass, then use a card to squeeze out the liquid and air bubbles.  I cut the film large, then trimmed it to fit.

   

 

Here's the tank ready for the babies.  I also added a new Ammonia Alert Badge to monitor NH₃.

 

 

Then I drained the water in the overflow so I could capture the cardinalfish.

 

 

I removed the stand pipe so I could fit my mitts in the box.  I used a tiny scoop to catch and transfer the babies.

 

 

Here they are in the newly set up tank.

 

 

When I got back yesterday, I found 8 more babies in the overflow.  I captured them too.  They refused to eat decapsulated brine shrimp eggs; they also spit out the Golden Pearls I fed.  So I started hatching some baby brine shrimp, which I fed to them today.  They were all very excited to get something that they recognized as food.

 

I didn't really count them yet.  I think there are somewhere between 12 and 18 little ones swimming around.

[pricewayne]

&&& need to follow.

 

Also, quick callout - definitely thought the first pic in your latest update was a web of spiders around a pipe.

[WV Reefer]

8 minutes ago, seabass said:

I was leaving town this Friday afternoon; but in the morning, I saw a bunch of Banggai cardinalfish babies in the overflow box of my 100 gallon tank.

 

I quickly prepped the empty 20L.  I had previously decided I wanted to tint the back and sides, so I quickly applied the static cling film.  I used a spray bottle with water and a couple of drops of Dawn dish soap as application fluid.  You spray it on the glass, then use a card to squeeze out the liquid and air bubbles.  I cut the film large, then cut it to fit.

   

 

Here's the tank ready for the babies.  I also added a new Ammonia Alert Badge to monitor NH₃.

 

 

Then I drained the water in the overflow so I could capture the cardinalfish.

 

 

I removed the stand pipe so I could fit my mitts in the box.  I used a tiny scoop to catch and transfer the babies.

 

 

Here they are in the newly setup tank.

 

 

When I got back yesterday, I found 8 more babies in the overflow.  I captured them too.  They refused to eat decapsulated brine shrimp eggs, also they spit out the Golden Pearls.  So I started hatching some baby brine shrimp, which I fed to them today.  They were all very excited to get something that they recognized as food.

 

I didn't really count them yet.  I think there are somewhere between 12 and 18 little ones swimming around.

 

They are sooooooooo cute!! I hope they do well in the new spot. 🤞🏻

[ef4life]

7 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

&&& need to follow.

 

Also, quick callout - definitely thought the first pic in your latest update was a web of spiders around a pipe.

I thought the same thing, I was like on no!!! Some kind of pest in the tank, then I’m like oh it’s babies - awesome!!!!

[Tamberav]

They are adorable...makes me want a pair.

[yoshii]

So tiny! Even the scoop is cute

 

I hope this batch does well, you seem very prepared!

[seabass]

Thank you all for following along.

 

7 hours ago, Tamberav said:

They are adorable...makes me want a pair.

My biggest issue with the parents, is that they only want to eat frozen mysis.  Not too big of a deal, but you can't put frozen food in an automatic feeder.  I definitely notice more macro growth (higher nutrient levels) since adding them.

 

Normally, it's kind of difficult to tell the male and female apart.  Some say you can tell them apart after a large meal.  I got my pair from Diver's Den as a bonded pair.

[debbeach13]

A new batch. So exciting. Good luck I hope they do well.

[NaturallyKait]

Awww tiny babies. They are so cute. 

[Tamberav]

6 hours ago, seabass said:

Thank you all for following along.

 

My biggest issue with the parents, is that they only want to eat frozen mysis.  Not too big of a deal, but you can't put frozen food in an automatic feeder.  I definitely notice more macro growth (higher nutrient levels) since adding them.

 

Normally, it's kind of difficult to tell the male and female apart.  Some say you can tell them apart after a large meal.  I got my pair from Diver's Den as a bonded pair.

It has been years since I fed pellet food. Good to hear you got them from DD as that is where I have been seeing them and been tempted. My macro tank is pretty tall and peaceful so they could hang out there happily.

[seabass]

So I think I just figured out why I had problems with my first batch of Banggai Cardinalfish (BC) babies.  The lack of fatty acids in baby brine shrimp (BBS), which aren't a true marine species, causes sudden fright syndrome (SFS).  That, and the fact that I had a small ammonia spike from over feeding, which I didn't immediately catch.

 

I guess the key is to enrich the shrimp.  In this effort, I will setup a second brine shrimp hatchery.  Then add Selcon and live phytoplankton to the hatch water.  I hope to get this down pat.  I've read they should be on live BBS for the first month before switching to frozen foods.

[seabass]

I took this video on my iPhone the other day while feeding.  The quality is fairly poor; but I'll post a better video soon.  Still, I thought some of you would like to check out the little guys.

 

[Christopher Marks]

Looks like they’re eating well, thanks for sharing the clip! Enriching the brine shrimp sounds like a good plan, it makes sense in hindsight. Keep up the good work!

[seabass]

A fun fact, but also a hurdle, is that baby brine are born without mouths.  Therefore, you cannot really enrich (or gut load) them.  It's only after their egg sac is depleted, and after their first molt, that they have mouths and can finally be enriched.  After hatching, it may take 12 hours for the shrimp nauplii to reach this stage.

 

It is recommended that you start enriching the BBS six hours after hatching, and harvest them for feeding 14 hours after hatching.  I almost think that I should be culturing phyto fed pods instead.  I know my first batch of cardinalfish babies experienced sudden fright syndrome, which is caused by lack of HUFAs (Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids).  So I know I have to improve their diets.

[debbeach13]

That is a fun fact. How many times a day are you feeding?

[seabass]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

How many times a day are you feeding?

I've been shooting for two; but I know that's very low.  I should probably bump that to three.  I may have to change my light schedule to accommodate a different feeding schedule.  IDK, maybe I need a PJ reefs Magnetic Feeder.  Hmm... just thinking out lout now.  Maybe I'll get a magnetic Artemia feeder in addition to enriching stage 2 BBS (fed a couple of times a day).

 

I don't believe the problem has been not enough food, because the babies grew quickly and looked very plump.  I think the biggest problem was the quality of the the food.  Previously I fed BBS to the point where there were always more than they could eat.  I suppose this resulted in having Artemia that were neither enriched, nor had a nutritious egg sac.