Reef Discussion

[Talmier]

Hi guys

Does anyone know where I can buy a Bangai Cardinal pair?

I'd like to buy a pair but I am pretty unsure on sexing them at this point in time

I'm looking at a nano for these guys, what size do you think would be suitable

 

[MTG]

where are you situated?

 

[Dr. Schell]

Hi, I sexed my pair by the two spines that are present just at the posterior end of the fish's cloaca. when next you are in my neck of the woods, call in and I will point out the difference. Despite what has been written about the male having an "bulkier" jaw, this comes and goes depending on weather he is brooding eggs or not. The females also have the ability to puff out the jaw when they display to each other and to the males.
Cheers, Chris.

 

[Dr. Schell]

Hi,
Below is a photo that I found on the net. This shows the typical appearence of a reproductive pair. The female is relatively deep bodies,while the male has a shallower body. Also the colouration of the female is often "cleaner". The enlarged mouth of the males is as a result of brooding. When the eggs/larvae are relaeased, it is difficult to tell the sexes apart based on jaw structure.
Hope this helps.

 

[Talmier]

Hi I'm located in Brisbane

I can see the outline of the jaw is rounder and the female looks less two toned.

It also appears the fin on the bottom is sharper and less runded then the males

The females body also look quite a bit rounder

 

[Talmier]

Pet city had a few in stock so I went along and picked out a couple, they seem to be sticking close to each other at the moment. They are about 9 months old which I am told makes them to young to pair off yet.

A lot of people are telling me the best way to sex them is to put them in with a known breeding male and if he goes straight for it then it's a male otherwise it's a female.

I've read numerous people saying they have a 100 pct success rate with this method

 

[Dr. Schell]

Now you just need someone to help you. Perhaps you should have used pet- city's resident male Bangai

 

[Talmier]

I asked ;)

I think these guys have a few months before they reach maturity anyway so I doubt whether they would have caused a stir

I think they have two resident males as the guy there told me one of their breeders died. They tried to pair it up with another one but they just fought the whole time.

 

[Dr. Schell]

Bangais are relatively short lived but are prolific breeders

 

[Talmier]

Bangais are my favourite marine fish but they can be hard to track down and quite expensive.

Luckily I had some credit in the bank from a recent birthday so the CFO at home approved the funds for a couple

Hopefully I can breed some and get a species tank or something along those lines going

I heard they live for between 5 to 7 years at the most

 

[Dr. Schell]

yes, they are an "R selected" species. They live for a relatively short time, but have a huge reporductive output. Although they do not produce large quantities of babies, they do produce huge eggs, most of which hatch. Also given that the larvae are brooded by the male, this ensures that the maximum munber of individuals survive. This species has no larval stage (i.e. does not metamorphose) like most marine species and therefore in the aquarium, are relatively easy (by marine standards) to rear. I have just posted a video on my link of a batch of my reciently hatched bangais (see below - sorry about the orientation of the vid). At this stage they are feeding off their yolk.
A life span of 5-7 years is correct for this species.

 

[Talmier]

Nice vid

Is this your current lot?

If so which tank do you keep them in?

 

[Dr. Schell]

yes, this is my current lot. They are in my large tank, within a bottle. They will remain in here until they are larger enough to go into a tank of their own.

 

[Dr. Schell]

This is another video I took today. They are now free-swimming and feeding on Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS) that are less than 24H old. Yolk sacs have not yet been fully utilised.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvPfF-i-c0Q

 

[Dr. Schell]

I got a video of my pair of Bangais courting, laying eggs and transfering eggs on camera. See below