Tank Journal Archive

[MagicJ]

I had a bit of a welcome surprise tonight - I noticed my Banggai's acting a bit funny (the female was being very protective) and realised that the male was holding eggs. This is just over 4 weeks since the last spawn which is the shortest period between spawns I have ever had.

At this stage, I would like to collect the eggs on 19/12/14,

And, just for the record, the Marine Breeders Initiative (MBI) has approved my reports from my previous Banggai breeding attempts and I have been awarded the Banggai symbol - see my signature below :)

 

[slin1977]

Beautifully photographed and stunning fish.

 

[RobbieMVFC]

are they Banggai rabbits ?
Mine have done anything for about 3 months (i think)

 

[MagicJ]

are they Banggai rabbits ?
Mine have done anything for about 3 months (i think)

Mine have a break occasionally - how old are yours? Making such large eggs and then holding them for 3 weeks without eating takes a fair bit out of both the female and the male. After about 3 or 4 years they have just about had enough and you will find that both the quantity and quality of eggs declines.

I have been removing the eggs from the male because he has shown a tendency not to hold them to term. But, this does allow me to work on some protocols for the successful raising of the eggs artificially. This does have some positive side effects as it allows the male to return to eating much earlier than would otherwise be the case thus shortening the time frame between spawns.

From my first hatching I only had 1 survive to 60+ days; the second I currently have 3 survivors; for this one I have a few things I want to do differently so we will have to wait a few weeks to see if they are successful - I will treat 10 survivors as a success :)

 

[RobbieMVFC]

10 survivors is an outstanding achievement , well done!
I have only had mine for about a year and they are in a community tank.
I have not made any effort to protect the fry.

 

[MagicJ]

10 survivors is an outstanding achievement , well done!

No, that is my aim for the current spawn - it's not something I have yet been able to achieve. Your congratulations is appreciated, if not a bit premature :)

I have only had mine for about a year and they are in a community tank.

You may find that in an attempt to maintain a low nutrient environment in your display tank you are only providing enough food to your fish to survive. Producing eggs takes a lot out of a fish, something they are unlikely to do if they are in survival mode.

This is not a criticism of what you are doing as your fish are no doubt well looked after it's just that they may not have much left over at the end of the day to produce eggs. Whilst I would like to be able to feed mine 3 to 4 times during the day, that is just not practical as I have a full time job. But, from 5.30pm until 9.30pm I generally feed my frozen mix 3 to 4 times, and more often on weekends. These Banggai's are in my display tank so the downside is that I have high nitrates and no longer have any LPS corals :eek

 

[RobbieMVFC]

I have actually turned away from the low nutrient environment hype , I have gone back to basics , I feed the fish 1-2 times a day and feed the corals once a day also.
10-15% water change every week.
with only a skimmer and a very small refugium.
My SPS have never looked better.....go figure.
In saying all that my male Banggai's is a fussy eater.
He only eats frozen food plus a a type of flake that has garlic added to it.
I feed them frozen food 5-6 times a week.
This has all the makings of a hijack ....sorry

 

[MagicJ]

This has all the makings of a hijack ....sorry

No apologies required - this is The Reefuge - hijacks happen - all the time :p

 

[MagicJ]

So, yesterday was the 19th - the night for the egg collection.

Got home from work and went to feed the fish as usual - guess who was up at the top waiting to be fed

The Seventh Spawn has now officially ended.

 

[ReeferRob]

When I was breeding African cichlids we used a small clear plastic tube and air. A very slow bubble rate did the trick.

 

[MagicJ]

When I was breeding African cichlids we used a small clear plastic tube and air. A very slow bubble rate did the trick.

Yep, already tried a few DIY options.

The problem I encountered was that, initially, the eggs were held together in a clump. So the amount of air going through the tumbler was adjusted to keep the clump in suspension. However, over time, the clump would begin to break up, with some of the eggs becoming free floating. Because the air was adjusted to keep the clump in suspension, it was too much for the single eggs and they became trapped on the top mesh and died.

I must do a post on my new egg tumbler :rolleyes

 

[VietEric]

Are you still working with the Banggai? I am building a breeding setup and have 5 pairs of Banggai 3 that have started laying in my current tanks havnt had time to really fatten them up yet though.
This tumbler seems quite interesting also if my males keep eating the eggs while I get them fattened up enough to hold them.