Banggai Behavior

[Ace]

Hi,

What are some of the signs that will give me a clue that the pair of banggais that I purchased are male and female?

They are about 1.5 inches each. One of them being a little bigger at this point. They mostly stay together but sometimes they are at opposite ends of the tank.

Am I correct that if they were to males they would show signs of aggression? Also, if the were two females they would not fight and probably swim together like a pair?

Thanks for any info!

Ace

[FMarini]

Ace;
your pretty much right on the money.
Females pal around and swim together, sometimes an aggressive female will raise out of the pack, but w/ 2 fish its not usually the case.
Males however, are just like you described, once 1 males reached sexual maturity, BAMMMMMM
all other suitors are competition and must go.
If they really are just 1.5" then you might be getting close to breeding size. I would continue to wait, feed them well (a varied diet) and if your tank conditions are right(no harassing or fast swimming tankmats, good hiding holes, etc) then you should be rewarded. Time will tell
good luck
frank

[bigphish118]

I was wondering if cardinals can change sexes like clownfish? I also have a pair in my tank, probably now aproaching 2" and I'm starting to think they might both be female, so that would be the end of my attempts at breeding them right now. Thanks in advance
Friend in the hobby,
Steve Tousignant

[Ace]

Thanks Frank!

bigphish118,
I don't believe that they will change sex.

Ace

[FMarini]

Steve:
Unfortunately banggais are born one sex and stay this way.
I wish they changes sex as well. it would make life easier.
If the fish are hanging out together and not breeding them yes you most likely have 2 females.
sorry
frank

[Ace]

Hi,

Well it's been about a week since I added the two banggai to my tank.

I was starting to get nervous that I might lose one of them(the smaller of the two)because they were not eating well. Happy to say now they are going haywire over frozen brine shrimp.

This is what I noticed so far: the smaller one stays in the bottom corner of my tank all day just hovering in place looking a little nervous. The other one is close by but not exactly next to the other. When the light go out they both come out into the center of the tank.

I haven't noticed any bullying towards each other nor have I seen any of the other tank inhabitants picking on them.

How long should I wait to see if I have a pair or two females?

Thanks!

Ace

[canadawest]

When I got my two Bangaii's I just basically threw them in the tank and crossed my fingers. I picked two from the LFS tank that were healthy looking, and non aggresive to other Bangaii's in the tank. (There were about 5 in the tank at the time) Both were about 1.5" long when I got them.

After I introduced them to my tank it was 5 months before they started breeding. There was no fighting during the 5 months so I was certain that I had either a pair or two females. One day I noticed one of them with a mouth full of eggs, and I was happy to confirm finally that I had a pair.

All I can say is wait and see. Mine were both about 2" long before they started breeding and like I mentioned, spend 5 months before the first pregnancy happend. Watch yours over the coming months, and look for signs of agression. If you dont get any pregnancies within the next 4-5 months (if they are 2" long or bigger) then you probably have two females, and it'll be trading time for one of them.

I am now on my second brood of babies. First one caught me by surprise as I couldn't catch the male. I only managed to catch 3 babies from the main tank, but raised them all to 2 months old before selling them to a local reefer. Now papa Bangaii is in the nursery tank (thanks to the "after lights out" catching trick) and has released the first 5 of the next brood. I expect that the male will release the rest of the fry tonight and tomorrow night after lights out.

For reference, male seen with eggs on Sunday, Dec 23rd, caught and moved to nursery tank on January 12th (20 days), fry began to hatch on January 13th (21 days) and first release of new fry (5) happened on January 17th (25 days). I expect all fry to be released by tomorrow or Sunday (27-28 days).