Tank Journal Archive

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
The First Spawn (23/2/14)
Three weeks later.....

I noticed some interesting behavior between these fish this afternoon and suspected that something was about to happen ;)

Went to grab my DSLR but had a flat battery :mad: - grabbed the video camera and eventually found my tripod and set it up in front of the tank - I then realised that I only had about 15 minutes left on the tape :mad:. Anyway this is a video of the initial courting behaviour - it is the female moving up on the male.


After about 20 minutes I went to see what was happening - the courtship was still continuing so I decided to review the recording that I had with the intention of re-recording over the last 15 minutes. I spent about 5 minutes looking at the tape - went to set it back up on the tripod and noticed the banggai's down in the opposite corner of the tank. A closer look revealed that the male had a mouthful of eggs :banghead The exchange must have taken place whilst I was reviewing the video and I missed it .....

Anyway, I can't be too upset given that the male is carrying eggs after only 3 weeks in my tank.







As always, there will be many more pictures to follow in the next month or two :)

Cheers
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
Another week on and the male was still holding. However, yesterday when I got home (Day 16) I noticed that he was up at the top of the tank waiting to be fed :(.

I don't know if it was just a coincidence but I had a nest of clownfish eggs hatch on Monday night - I wonder if the temptation to eat some newly hatched clowns was just too great ?? @Dr. Schell any thoughts?

I will see how things go over the next few weeks but I am seriously thinking about relieving him of his duties after 14 days next time - my reading suggests that the eggs will have a great chance of survival at this stage and I enjoy a challenge :)
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
yes, I have noticed that if there is "good" food on offer, my male bangai will choose to eat over incubating the eggs. May be an artifact of 'domestic selection' in captively bred fish.
I was reading a thread a few days ago and the poster made the comment that he was watching his male banggai, who was holding eggs, go to eat some food in the tank and in the process swallowed his eggs - he was adament that the banggai had a "O shit, what have I just done !!" look on his face :)
My banggai's has been showing signs of their spawning 'dance' over the last few days - hopefully a spawn is not too far away.