New Bangai's

[buck27]

I have recently lost my male bangai but in finding him I also saved 3 babies from the pump. I had no idea he was going to release let alone die. I think he carried eggs back to back and that he basically starved to death. Any how, I have the 3 babies in a breeder net holding tank in my refugium and doing well. They are currently eating hatched artemia.

[buck27]

Since the loss of Bruce (male) I have gotten my hands on a new male (I think) mamma hasn't killed him so I think Im ok but I won't put all my eggs in one basket yet. I will be starting a 20L soon that I can section off for the babies and get them eating some frozen food soon. I plan to breed these fish regulary and see what happens from there. By the end of summer I am hoping to have my garage finally converted into a full blown fish room. So far the babies are doing quite well in a breeder basket in my fuge area and I have finally noticed the development of spots on the fins. Just really sucked when I lost the male. I will be sectioning off one portion of the 20L for an area to fatten the male up after breeding and get him healthy so that this does not happen again. I plan to start a list for purchase if there is anyone interested in tank bred and tank raised bangais.

[buck27]

I just realized that the sticky at the top of the forum says plain as day --NO SALES-- I didn't see it before so I appologize for the last post. I will repost in the for sale forum in a month or two. sorry guys newbie mistake

[Europhyllia]

Sorry you lost Bruce. Of course we totally want to see pics of your babies! Post some :)

[buck27]

deffinetly, I will try to get some up this saturday. I was hoping someone would finally respond to the thread. I think I may have read a thread or two of yours actually too :)

[Europhyllia]

It's the first time I saw your thread and was surprised nobody else has chimed in yet!
Then I realized: no pics. Pics are crucial. ;)

[buck27]

Ok, as promised. photos of the three babies I was able to save. I noticed today that they are starting to get spots on their fins now. I wonder if I should try to feed mysis by now or not?

[buck27]

sorry for the crumy photos but I was trying to get a decent shot from the top down since they are in a breeder basket in my fuge. I will update accordingly and all input is apprciated.

[Europhyllia]

I am always amazed how they can be such perfect miniatures of their parents even at their tiny size!

[BSJF]

Sorry for your loss. It must be heartbreaking. Glad to see some babies made it.

[buck27]

me too, sadly i think the rest became pump food :(

[buck27]

I have a new bangai in the tank with the female but he is pretty young yet but I can't tell if it is a male for sure other than the female hasn't killed it.

[CoryDude]

If my wife reads your first post, she's gonna cry. Your story sounds like a Pixar movie. First off, just the fact that you can raise these little guys is amazing. I never had the time and patience to breed fish.

What's most amazing about your story, is I can remember when bangai's were first intruduced in the mid 90's (ok, it was the first time I ever saw them) and all the sw magazines were saying breeding marine fish was impossible. Now, it's such a common thing that no one pays it any mind.

You've got me hooked. Please keep us updated on your progress. Unfortunately, you may have sparked my passion for these fish, so I may have to setup another tank to give it a try.

[Mike]

Very cool, thanks for posting the photos of the babies. I think bangaiis are cool, we just have a lone 4 year old pajama. Please keep us updated on their progress.

[buck27]

will do guys. just to give you guys some background on myself.
I started a 100 gallon saltwater tank last summer and after a month I realized that this was a hobby that I could really get into. So, after that month I upgraded to a 125 gallon flat back hex that I found a friends garage. Now, none of these tanks were reef ready or anything and I didn't really know what I was doing so I lost alot of livestock and corals in the begining but I learned extremly fast. After about 7 or 8 months of having the 125 I decided to go for it. I purchased a 210 reef ready from Shelly at GC Reef here in Corpus and built my own sump/fuge from a design I got from Melevs reef. my total volume is 290 gallons. I love this hobby and I love being able to give back by performing captive breeding or aquaculture of some sort. I also have a pair of black and white clowns, and a pair of picasso's in my fuge. I hope to see them breed by the end of summer if not sooner. I plan to give mandarins, neon gobies, jawfish, and maybe a few others a shot too. my ultmate goal is to have my garage converted by the end of summer to full scale breeder/aquaculture setup.

As for you CoryDude, give it a shot man. It can never hurt to try and give something back to something that is deminishing everyday.

HAPPY REEFING EVERYONE!
A

[buck27]

I gess I should mention that this is the second batch of babies actually. The first batch I was able to save 6 but none of them made it to maturity because my large mystery wrasse chased a six line wrasse I was holding for friend and the six line jumped into the breeder net and ate the babies. This was when I had my 125 flat back hex and I had no room in my sump for the breeder net or they would have probably made it. I guess this hobby is more trial and error than anything I have ever done in my life!!! Well, thats the background on myself just everyone has a little story to along with everything and make it a little more interesting.

[Mike]

Why are we blaming the mystery? He is being framed! The evil 6 line jumped in there by himself.

[justahobby]

Great thread. Love seeing people quickly advance in this hobby. As you said it can be a lot of trial and error. Fortunately we have a great bunch on here and between the lot of us we can occasionally spout off a great idea or two. Look forward to your progress (more pics please)

[hobogato]

i love your plans, it is the future of this hobby.

[SoLiD]

Ahh, A Fellow Chucker Aye!!!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/W7v7avqqzh0

So there's another Corpus Christian raising Bangaii Cardinals. Too cool! Bangaii's are some of the coolest little guys to raise. So far I have still have 10 from my first batch. I'm also rearing them inside the exact same breeder net you are using. I took out the fake plants though. Good luck and let me know if you need anything. :)

[buck27]

haha, sweet. I only left the fake plants to give them some cover but also because there was only 3 babies. If I would have had a good hatch or caught the rest of the little guys before the pump caught them I probably would have left the plants out too. I have considered taking them all out except one now since they are starting to get a little size on them now. Its nice to see them develop along the way. SoLiD, have your accepted any prepared foods yet?

[buck27]

Ahhhh, A Fellow chucker aye?

RFLMAO, I haven't seen that movie since it probably came out but forgot how funny and cheesy that particular part was lol.

[SoLiD]

You know it's weird that I've never seen this thread before. Glad I found it ;-). I gives me some encouragement.

[buck27]

I hope to take my little operation full scale. I just hope the folks over at GC Reef don't mind another breeder in town. I love those guys and I shop there all the time but I figure this hobby needs more proactive reefers than there are now but that's just my opinion. I really want to breed fish for the LFS's and san antonio, houston,DFW area but right now its just a dream because its a ton of work and start up isn't cheap so that's where the garage conversion comes in. you guys can give me some input at this point because it would be much appreciated.

[buck27]

Ok, update quick before bed. I ground up some Aqueon Marine Flakes into a fine powder and tried to feed the babies before bed without the BBS. To my surprise they seemd to like the flakes!!! I belive they are almost a month old, have devloped spots on the pectoral fins and now started to accept some form of prepared foods. This could be a happy day for me I suppose. good night and happy reefing all.

Buck

[Europhyllia]

Good night! Will the flakes have all the nutrition they need? Would be a bummer if something went amiss now!

[SoLiD]

Will the flakes have enough nutrition? :confused: Almost certainly not. Stick with newly hatched baby brine shrimp or enriched adult brine shrimp. It's a little more work but that's what good parents do. :wink_smile:

[Europhyllia]

Will the flakes have enough nutrition? :confused: Almost certainly not. Stick with newly hatched baby brine shrimp or enriched adult brine shrimp. It's a little more work but that's what good parents do. :wink_smile:
Ah see I almost felt like a party pooper for even asking that but now I am glad I did! :)

[buck27]

I an still feeding the bbs, just added the flake and frozen mysis to the mix. They don't care for the mysis however and barely touch the flakes. Anyway, thee whole idea is to get them to just try prepared food. One step closer to weening them off live food is always good, I don't want to be a slave to fish that only eat live food lol. All about patients.

[buck27]

decided to clean out the breeder net that was holding the lil guys so I had a chance to a couple decent photos while I was at it. Enjoy everyone.

[buck27]

I think they are looking pretty good really? Just wish I had more mouths to feed lol

[justahobby]

Thanks for the pics. They are looking great. Have they established a pecking order? I had success w/ gel cyclopeeze before getting baby bangaiis to take mysis.

[buck27]

I was going to try the gel cyclopeeze since i have some laying around and none of the other fish seem to care for it much. I haven't really noticed a pecking order par say but in the 2nd photo the one in the back bottom of the group is always in that position. just seems real docile ya know?

[justahobby]

I lost a couple babies to that manner. There would be a smaller/ docile one. If I rearranged the group and put the more docile in a different tank, another would take it's place as the one in the back. Not sure how to overcome that, except maybe more hiding places. Hopefully my experience was isolated, but something to keep an eye out for.

[SoLiD]

I feed small amounts very very often. Something like 5-10 times a day. I'm sure there's a pecking order but when food is very plentiful I'm thinking aggression is kept at a minimal.

[Europhyllia]

I feed small amounts very very often. Something like 5-10 times a day. I'm sure there's a pecking order but when food is very plentiful I'm thinking aggression is kept at a minimal.
Totally makes sense!

[buck27]

I load the net with bbs and watch them chow down! I feed 3 to 4 times a day and durning the week only 3 times a day. they seem to do very well.

[SoLiD]

Totally makes sense!

Think of it like this. We all remember being 13 and growing, seemingly always hungry and always eating. Back then, if someone were to ask you if you were hungry; depending on how long it had been since you'd last eaten, your response would have gone a little like this:

30 minutes since your last meal: Hmmm sure, I could eat!
2-4 hours since you last meal: Yeah!!! I'm Hungry!!!!
8-12 hours since your last meal: I'm so hungry I could eat a horse... nom nom nom!!! LAY OFF ME I'M STARVING!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YfvBbxE1vU

[buck27]

frickin awesome lol

[buck27]

ok, update. The bangai's have gained considerable size since they were released and I need to start a ween diet and I realized I no longer have cyclopees so I need to go buy some for that little plan. other than that the three of them are doing well and I noticed the female in my display chased the smaller bangai I added in hopes of another male so this leads me to think it could be a female. I will have to watch a little closer this evening and see what happens. happy reefing everyone.

[Europhyllia]

Sounds great. Happy Reefing!

[BSJF]

They are looking good, hopefully your girl will find her new male. Too bad you are so far away. I bought cyclopeeze and it is too big for my babies.

[buck27]

yeah, that is a bummer, I hate not being in San Antonio. you guys have everything up there. I have to order alot of stuff and it can be difficult at times.

[SoLiD]

I've been able to grow out Brine Shrimp to adulthood. With that, I've been able to mix in half live and half enriched frozen in a turkey baster and feed with some success. It all depends how hungry they are. But most are eating some frozen now, but the live are always attacked the moment they hit the water.

[buck27]

Update. I will be trying cyclopees starting today. On another note I noticed my female (harriet) this morning was hanging out right next to what I am hoping is a male! He is considerably smaller so I want sure and she was chasing him the other day so I thought that the smaller one may have been a female but after seeing them this morning I am sure that he is in fact a he. Looks to be 6 to 8 months old where I have reward that they can reach sexual maturity at around 8 months. I may pull him out at fatten him up good.

[hobogato]

that sounds like a good idea. i know the folks at gc reef separate them after each clutch to bring the male back up to health.

[buck27]

I tried the cyclopeez mixed with live and garlic guard but had no luck, they just sort through and pick out the live ones lol. Smart little maastards huh? anyhow back to the drawing board. happy reefing.

[buck27]

tonight mixing frozen brine with live.

[buck27]

Well, it was good to be on the tank tour and have a few members see the babies. Thanks guys for checking them and my tank out.

[Kristy]

Great to meet you Josh. Thanks so much for opening your home to let us see your awesome tank - and meet that beast of a dog!

[buck27]

Lol, no problem. I enjoyed the company. Here is the latest update on the bangai babies. They are over 1 month old now so I would guess that the rough part is over. I started trying to mix frozen baby brine with live brine and have had what I would call considerably good luck. They tend to eat quite a bit of frozen before I put the live in now. By next week I hope to have them fully weened and I'll be trying the cyclopeez again and possibly some flake. I figure at about 4 months or so they should be ready for new homes. I also managed to pick up a pair of mandarins! I hope they too will spawn. Happy reefing everyone!!!

[buck27]

Newest update.

This morning the baby bangai's ate an entire cube of frozen baby brine! finally I think I am making progress. Now to get the mandarin pair back out of my display and into a breeder net to get them on frozen.

[hobogato]

that is great news, good job!

[BSJF]

Congrats on the babies!

How are you going to get the mandarins out?

[buck27]

Lol, new update. After getting the bangai's to eat frozen brine I thought what the heck I'll try to feed then done of my homemade food. I use octopus, clams, shrimp, scallops, crab, mysis,bloodworms, nori, selcon, isochysis, garlic and phyto. They ate that too! I also got them to eat cyclopeez. I have now set up a 10 gallon with a hob fuge I made out of a pro clear filter and I cut a hole in the fuge part for a light.I plan to move the bangai's to this tank. As for the mandarins, I haven't caught them yet and I don't feel like taking my rock out. I may use a mug or bottle with pods in it. Otherwise they seem fine and never leave the rock they are under so I'm assuming they are eating enough. I have attached an updated photo of the babies, the male mandarin, and the fuge I made. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[BSJF]

That 10 gallons put you over the top, no more room for the table! Better buy a new house.

[buck27]

lol for sure, but the 10 gallon is in the bedroom on a night stand lol

[buck27]

ok, so the baby bangai's are coming up on a little over two months or so. I figure at 4 months they will be ready for new homes. as for the mandarins, I have seen them partake in the frozen food feeding a couple times now so I don't believe I have any worries. The new male bangai has grown considerably from when I bought him 2 months ago and the female seems to be taking to him well. I just hope that she doesn't try to breed him too early as I have a real hard time catching either of them now. I think I will build a fish trap for them possibly. Well thats about it for now but more to come. (think my picasso clowns are cleaning an area on a pot right now). happy reefing all!!!

[hobogato]

sounds like a bunch of happy fish :)

[BSJF]

With a tank like that to live it, why wouldn't they be! Even a fish tank for a nightstand. When I do that for my baby picassos, you need to check me in someplace (are at least check that I am still alive).

[buck27]

lol. I am going to start planning my next tank soon. I want to go over 400 gallons if I can. but where to put it????? hmmmm?