Bangger problem

[ijneb]

Ok guys, Im having a problem.
Its been ~26 days since he has started holding. I've tried 3 times in the last 2 days to strip the male by holding him in a net in the water for a few minutes with no luck.
Is there any other methods of doing this?
Thanks,
Ben

[RCS]

Not sure if it works on cardinals (it works on most cichlids!), but take him out of the water completely and hold him upside down for a few seconds (wearing a glove can help keep from any injuries) over a net. If you put his head back in the water, he's likely to release at that point.

There might be other ideas out there, and as I said, I use this for cichlids, but it may work with the bangaii as well.

You could also try gently prying his jaw open with a cotton swab.

[Dazz]

I have heard while having him in the net, lift the net out of the water and dip it back in the water a few times. Apparently they will release the fry. I'm hoping that will work because I will be trying it in about a week =)

[Atticus]

Yup, air exposure usually does it. also can use a paper clip to pop his mouth open.... Use that as a last resort and use the curved end only. If you bend the clip it can also work to hold his mouth open. Like I said use it as a last resort as it is tough not to hurt him while holding him. gloves are a good idea.

[Undergrad]

Dazz,
That net dipping trick works like a charm for me. However, I've only had one pair of breeding banggais, so there might be some individual variation at how successful this.
Also a word of advice, use a large (at least 2x the body size of the male banggai) fine mesh net (the white ones) to catch him. Their gills or fins have a habit of getting caught in the green mesh nets and it really makes getting the male out of the net a PITA without releasing all the banggers.
Good luck!

[ijneb]

The net trick didnt work (4 different times), exposing him to air ~10 seconds at a time didnt work either (2 occasions) but he has let 5 healthy babies out since my last post. He is still fat in the mouth.

Im scared to try the paper clip trick, but I might operate tomorow.

thanks for the help,
Ben

[ijneb]

Good News!
When I pulled him out of the tank to try the paper clip trick he shook and now I have banggers all over the place



I just counted 43 babies!


How long until the male eats again?
I just tried feeding him and he ignored it. He looks normal in the mouth again. I'll try again tommorow.

Released 39 babies on day 31.
Thanks guys!

[cwbroden]

Congrats on the babies. Real cute.

[Atticus]

nice clutch size!!! He may have held onto a few and that is why he is not eating. He should eat within a few hours of release IME.

[Undergrad]

Congrats! That is a very nice clutch size. Make sure you have enough bbs ready and be sure to keep up on the water quality of their rearing tank. 43 hungry banggers produce alot of waste!

[ade]

I have a pair of spotted cardinal fish and I had seen that the male had quit eating and his mouth is full, I am not sure when this started are there any signs that I need to look out for before he releases the fry. How do you all catch your fish. With out harming them. What did you use for a holding tank for the fry? Just an air pump and heater or are the fry strong enough to be placed in a tank with a small filter?
Thanks Ade

[FMarini]

ade- you might want to do a search for whatever species of cardinal you have. We discuss other apogons frequently
Banggais are the only cardinalfish which holds its fry for an addition period. All other cardinals release planktonic fry.

IJneb- Wow congrats, thats a great clutch size and holding for 31 days is yikes, good but long.
Glad you stripped the fry out, hope you have plenty of enriched BBS bubbling away, I suspect your fry will eat immediately. As for the male give him a day keep him away from a female and fatten him up, meaty foods, for at least 1 week, a female will have him holding in 3 days or less

[Atticus]

Frank,

Have you ever had a female attack a male after he released? One of my females killed my main male the other day less than 6 hours after I stripped him and put him back with her. Needless to say I was a bit confused and upset when I found him with his fins ripped off... She had roughed him up once before, but it never was like this.

[Dazz]

I found that the trick to getting him to spit the babies (or even eggs) out was to make sure it was about an hour after lights out, and then do very quick sucessive dips in and out of the water. He should spit them out np. I have a more modest clutch of about 26, but that is more than enough for me right now =).

[ijneb]

Well guys. The male put himself on another month long "no-food" diet today.
Anyone in central florida want some bangii babies?