Time to strip Bangaii?
 

So I'm trying to figure out when to strip my Bangaii. I bought him carrying eggs 22 days ago. From my understanding he was only carrying for maybe a few days when I bought him. I don't have the supplies to make an egg tumbler, so I need to be sure that the eggs are hatched in his mouth before I strip him. Would they be hatched by now?

I need to know long enough ahead that I can hatch some brine shrimp too. I think I'd be ok if I start the brine shrimp right now, and strip him on Tuesday...?

I'll have an egg tumbler set up for the next batch.

What do you guys think?

you should be able to see them moving around in his mouth...little silvery eyes should peer out at you. Takes about 19 days for hatch to happen. Then another 6-8 days to release.

I can't see into his mouth. But it is getting REALLY full. I think he's gonna spit real soon. Like I said, he was carrying eggs when I bought him 22 days ago. So he must be ready to spit within the next few days...? Maybe even tonight...I hope not.

The brine only takes 1 day to hatch, and if he has been holding for 22+ days they should start coming out a few at a time. If you only have the clowns, and the goby then some of the fry might not get eaten in your main display tank. do you have a fake urchin in there for the fry to hide in.

My male held his first brood for 30 full days before I got p - ed off and "helped" the process... He actually did spit out 4 or 5 about a week earlier that were not free-swimming yet and didn't survive...

But of the 12 that he carried full - term all survived.

He is now carrying again, at about Day # 20 - 21... when he gets to Day 25 I will net him and place him in the seperate 10g nursery tank until he releases the brood...

Brine eggs hatch within 14 - 18 hrs if you have the correct water temp... no need to start them 2 or 3 days in advance.

Thanks guys! I went ahead and stripped him just now. Well, actually I didn't need to...he spat in the net as soon as I caught him. I checked his mouth, and he didn't have any left in there.

One baby got squished in the process somehow, but there are 13 little guys. Some swim fairly well, some aren't very good at all.

How do you guys heat the water for the brine shrimp? I just hatched them in one of those pop bottle hatcheries. Well, not too many have hatched yet...so I'll give them their first feeding in the morning. :)

I don't have a fake urchin. Is that mandatory?

[IMG]http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k43/Myka82/Aquariums/BabyCardinals.jpg[/IMG]

if the male and female is the only fish in the tank will they eat the babies

Yes they will.

I took the babies out. They are in a "net breeder" in a different aquarium.

OMG they are so little! Adorable I wish you success with them!

No fake urchins are not mandatory, but some form of hiding area in the breeders net will keep the banggers from huddling against the net.

In regards to the BBS hatching, if you warm the water the eggs will hatch faster, but room temp (okay room temp in houston this time of the yr (75-78F) is sufficient. it should take approx 24hrs at that temp. Many folks use Decap BS eggs, but use what youve got. The fry need to eat w/in 72hrs post hatch else you'll notice problems

Hey Carlso--nice to see you here

I heat my 2L pop bottle hachery with a 60w incandescent bulb in a clip fixture a few inches away from the bottle

Ah spiffy, thanks guys!! :)

The bangers are doing well today, no more deaths. Holding at 13. The water is infused with BBS, so if they want to eat they will.

I'll have to find something for them to hide around...maybe a fake plant?

My Bangaii released 5 fry 4 days ago and hasn't done anything since. His mouth doesn't look entirely huge (like it did before), but he is also not eating. I have him in a breeders net hoping hill spit out some more, but I'm getting worried about him. I'm wondering if the breeders net is stressing him out so that he's not eating. He's been "pregnant" for a total of 24 days. I tried to chase him around the net yesterday, enticing him to spit, but no go. How did you "strip" him and do you guys think I need to?

My male spat as soon as I netted him to strip him. To make sure he spat all of them, I picked him up gently, and I used a 2 inch piece of airline hosing with one end cut at about a 60 degree angle to gently open his mouth and look inside. He didn't have any left, so I let him go. This was a method of stripping that I read about after doing a Google search. I fed the tank about 30 minutes later and he ate greedily. Although sometimes he would bump into food and "forget" to open his mouth. LOL. He ate like a hog today as well.

If I were you I would check his mouth as I described above, then release him. There's no point in keeping him in a net or chasing him around it...you'll just stress him more than he needs to be. Open his mouth and get it over with I figure. I'm no expert, but it seems right to me. Stripping is actually really easy...

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11554628#post11554628 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Volkman [/i]
[B]My Bangaii released 5 fry 4 days ago and hasn't done anything since. His mouth doesn't look entirely huge (like it did before), but he is also not eating. I have him in a breeders net hoping hill spit out some more, but I'm getting worried about him. I'm wondering if the breeders net is stressing him out so that he's not eating. He's been "pregnant" for a total of 24 days. I tried to chase him around the net yesterday, enticing him to spit, but no go. How did you "strip" him and do you guys think I need to? [/B][/QUOTE]

If by "pregnant" you mean your Banggais spawned 24 days ago, then no, IMO you should not try to 'strip' him just yet. With my first brood my male held to 30 days past spawn date. If he is not eating he very likely has more fry. If you get to 30 days and no change then catch him and see if he has any more to let go...

When he released the first 5 were they fully formed and swimming, and actively looking for food - or did they still have yolk sacs and kind of lay around the bottom of the net? My male let go of 4 babies around day 21 but they were not fully formed, and could not swim freely - and did not survive more than another day or 2. My understanding and experience is that full-term fry should have no visible sac, be fully formed, and ready to eat within minutes of release

If you have the male in a breeders net along with the 5 fry, and he is not viewing them as "food" by now than I would bet he is still holding. After my male released all of the first brood he was looking to eat within the hour afterwards...

P.S. Hello Dr. Marini :)

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11554546#post11554546 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Myka [/i]
[B]Ah spiffy, thanks guys!! :)

The bangers are doing well today, no more deaths. Holding at 13. The water is infused with BBS, so if they want to eat they will.

I'll have to find something for them to hide around...maybe a fake plant? [/B][/QUOTE]

Myka:

Congrats on your brood... Are they starting to swim around or do they still hang out on the bottom of the net? Can you see them eating?

From your one pic it is a little hard to tell but they look a wee bit "early" to me... hopefully they are more active now and eating well.

My pair is holding their 2nd brood currently... my first brood just passed the 1 month mark since release... I have a lot of pics and info that you and the others here might find helpful; but I won't hijack this thread, I'll just start another one :D

Again, congratulations to you, volkman, and banggai man on your success!