baby bengais!

Torpus · #1 01/09/2008, 08:07 PM

Came home from a three day trip today from minnesota to see my male benghai with a huge mouth full of something...

We've never had baby bengais before so we'll see what happens, anyone here in the area had them spawn before??

These are a new couple only been together for about a month and a half, the male is from hung at sea of marvels and the female is from pets playhouse!

ipiniowa · #2 01/09/2008, 09:09 PM

The male is Hung?

.

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. You would think at 35 I wouldn't act 12.

musty baby · #3 01/09/2008, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ipiniowa
You would think at 35 I wouldn't act 12.

Interesting thought.

I, too, pee in Iowa.

Good luck with the cardinals! This is the perfect opportunity to build a fake sea urchin!

Torpus · #4 01/09/2008, 10:25 PM

ive been looking for a reason to build a fake urchin...............

when will the parents start to eat them? we dont have anything that would eat them other than them, a brittle star, and a cleaner shrimp, and a firefish... do i really need to give them alot of hiding spots?

ive bread cichlids before and they eat their young but a few always made it out alive, should i expect the same from these guys or will they all die if i dont help them out

musty baby · #5 01/09/2008, 10:30 PM

This is where you want to be:

http://www.marinebreeder.org/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=11

phishcrazee · #6 01/09/2008, 10:35 PM

Not sure what to tell ya, but I found this and boy are they cute little buggars!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn8-_PuwT4g

Torpus · #7 01/09/2008, 10:59 PM

anybody know where to buy good brine shrimp eggs?

leeweber85 · #8 01/09/2008, 11:05 PM

congrats!

saltwater6900 · #9 01/09/2008, 11:19 PM

ebay you can get them there for cheap

Atticus · #10 01/09/2008, 11:31 PM

I have raised bangaii and have a couple pics in my gallery. They are not very hard to growout, but I would definatly remove the male to a seperate tank when he gets close to releasing. I used to strip my male of fry to ensure no cannibalism occured. Make sure to do a few practice runs with your brine eggs to ensure your set up will hatch them when and as expected. If I were you I would also buy the decapsulated hatching brine eggs. That way even the unhatched eggs are edible.

Also the male must be removed from the fry tank as soon as he releases them. He has enough fatherly instinct to hold them without eating for 25 days, but his hunger will take over when they get into eye sight. I always kept my male seperate from the female for at least a week to fatten him back up a little also as the female could have eggs ready and he will readily take the new eggs in without regaining any fat stores. This can lead to him eating the eggs before the reach maturity or in many cases he will become sickly and weak trying to carry to term.

Torpus · #11 01/09/2008, 11:59 PM

Okay a bunch of accumulated questions!

If I don't seperate any of them apart, what are the chances that any of the babies live?

The only urchin we have lives permanently in a cave during the day and then comes out at night usually, its an albino urchin rock boring not a diadema, so the spines aren't super long....would the fry somehow find the urchin? and if so would the spines be long enough? they are about an inch or so long

will the male bengai sacrifice himself to carry eggs? He will eat the eggs if he is starving right? Cause I don't really feed the tank that frequently, its already been probably almost a week since I fed last, and if hes not gonna eat until the fry leave his month, he wouldn't have eaten for about a month....

also, what type of phyto should i enrich the brine shrimp with?
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/Algae-Pastes-c6.html

We have a breeder plastic cube deal http://www.fish.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=710224
the holes in the breeder aren't even a millimeter wide so im assuming they couldn't escape the clear box. Should I seperate the male and put him in here? Or make a toothpick urchin and somehow get the fry into the box later?

Torpus · #12 01/10/2008, 01:18 AM

found a good thread in the breeding forum

if anyones thinking about adding a bengai to their tank, might think about holding out for a bit, might have some tank raised ones in about a month and a half

thanks for the good links guys! Ill keep you all posted

xroads · #13 01/10/2008, 09:01 AM

Best breeding site I have found is MOFIB.com

Atticus · #14 01/10/2008, 11:36 AM

The RC breeders forum was moderated by one of the leading bangaii breeders and authors. If you are able to search this site you will find everything you need. I also learned everything I know from him (Frank Marini).

I also answered your questions in my previous post. The male may sacrifice himself, the odds of fry living with the parents in a small area even with a false urchin are slim.

As for phyto it doesn't really matter are baby brine do not ingest phytoplankton in their first few life stages. I fed rotifers enriched with Nanno and Tet to combat this issue, but frequent feedings of quality bbs will do just fine.

RobynT · #15 01/10/2008, 04:52 PM

Those cardinals have really neat little habits. Following along!

heartben · #16 01/10/2008, 09:45 PM

if they make it, send me a PM

i saw some pretty big cardinals at petco and i really really liked them.

i wouldnt mind a pair so, let me know.

thanks
-ben

Atticus · #17 01/10/2008, 10:23 PM

Before this starts a huge "I just bought my new bangaiis and they are not eating" thread, I want to warn everyone to buy captive bred. Wild caught are now on the endangered species list, they are also typically full of internal parasites that are resistant to our typical medications. These parasites increase with the stress of capture and relocation. Healthy looking fish then only last in a retailer or home tank for 1-3 weeks before they starve to death.

Captive bred will not have the internal parasites and are typically trained to eat dead foods. This makes them a much better choice and they will live for years and produce many fry for you.

Also to head off the how do I tell a male from female, in short you can't. You have to just place them together until you get a pair that hangs out together or buy a pair that hangs out together at your LFS.

ReefFreak3652 · #18 01/11/2008, 02:54 AM

Thanks for chiming in atticus, although it seems harsh, your advise is spot on.

tibbs2 · #19 01/11/2008, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Torpus
Okay a bunch of accumulated questions!

If I don't seperate any of them apart, what are the chances that any of the babies live?

The only urchin we have lives permanently in a cave during the day and then comes out at night usually, its an albino urchin rock boring not a diadema, so the spines aren't super long....would the fry somehow find the urchin? and if so would the spines be long enough? they are about an inch or so long

will the male bengai sacrifice himself to carry eggs? He will eat the eggs if he is starving right? Cause I don't really feed the tank that frequently, its already been probably almost a week since I fed last, and if hes not gonna eat until the fry leave his month, he wouldn't have eaten for about a month....

also, what type of phyto should i enrich the brine shrimp with?
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/Algae-Pastes-c6.html

We have a breeder plastic cube deal http://www.fish.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=710224
the holes in the breeder aren't even a millimeter wide so im assuming they couldn't escape the clear box. Should I seperate the male and put him in here? Or make a toothpick urchin and somehow get the fry into the box later?

How about using bamboo skewers for your homemade urchin. They are just about the right length of a real diadema.