Third time my Banggai can´t hold the eggs successfully

[apawiper]

hello! This is mi first post. I´m from Spain so don´t expect a good english :wink:

I have a reef of 170 liters (40 gallons more or less) with a mated pair of Pterapogon kauderni, two Perculas, a bicolor blenie and an hexatenia wrasse. The Banggais have been 6 months in my aquarium (they were from another aquarium, not from shop) and the 9th of April (at 5 months) I saw that the male didn´t want to eat (I give them food at night (frozen shrimp and mussel). The male was incubating the eggs. We were very excited but in a week, the male wasn´t incubing the eggs. I don´t know if the male eated the eggs or if he spited out them. In that time I was trying to catch 2 damisels, so maby the stress was the cause...

Then, I caught the damisels and my aquarium turned more calm. And the 3th of May I noticed that the male was incubating again. But this time the incubation lenght was only 3 days! Why?? Not a good feeding? Stress?

And the third time came the last 27th of May. The male was holding eggs again, but two days after, he wasn´t incubating them. He has held them for only two days, like the previous time. I don´t know why. I have readed the same problems in other people but no solutions.

Do you know why this happens?? I need solutions! I want to breed them!

Thanks a lot.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to RDO!

I can't really answer your question, since I have issue of my own.... not a fish person, and I have a tough time to get my Banggaii to eat!

(they were eating like pigs in the LFS, but they never get their appetite back :? )

 

[apawiper]

Thank´s for welcome!

Mines are pretty big, so I guess is not a feeding problem. They eat two times a day, one smaller with brine shrimp and mysis that I give to the other fishes (they prefer mysys and red mosquito larvae), and the other one at night with pieces of frozen shrip or mussel, one or two each other.

Also I have noticed that my male doesn´t feed the next day/2 days of losing the eggs, he seems not to have his mouth in good conditions for eat.

And some strange thing is that sometimes I heard some sound that comes from them. I think that one of them, probably the male, makes some sound when he feels frightened or stressed... I don´t know why this sound... and I don´t have a pistol shrimp :wink:
Something similar is documented here: http://members.chello.nl/hp.huber/after%20breeding.htm

As you can see, I have a few interesting doubts :lol:
thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

I can't help you, I have only had Cardinals breed in my tank by accident. But I sent a private message to one of our members named Guy who breeds them regularly hoping he can help you.

 

[apawiper]

Ok hope he could help. I´m talking with another "Guy" (banggai guy) in saltwaterfish forums, maby it´s the same :wink:

All I have readed and all that the people have said to me is that the problem is a poor nutrition of the male or maby a stress situation (it´s known that if you try to catch the male carring the eggs, the male will eat or spit out them).

In my case, I feed them individually at early night (they are active at night, not as frightened as day) by pieces of brine shrimp or mussel (two per banggai more or less) and they eat something more during the feeding of the other fishes one time a day (mysis, brine shrimp and sometimes red larvae). So they eat one smaller time at day, and one bigger time at night. Maby I´m going to give them another bigger night time, at the end of the night (my mornings) to see if it does better.

But I think it´s more a stress problem than a feeding problem. I think that by eating 2 times a day, the male should hold the eggs more than two or three days. It´s very strange to lose them so soon. I have a lysmata that i´m going to get out my tank because she was usually going to the favourite cave of the banggais. That´s the only thing I can do to reduce possible stress. I will also don´t touch anything in the aquarium during the holding period.

Any suggestion could be good.
thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Ok hope he could help. I´m talking with another "Guy" (banggai guy) in saltwaterfish forums, maby it´s the same :wink:

All I have readed and all that the people have said to me is that the problem is a poor nutrition of the male or maby a stress situation (it´s known that if you try to catch the male carring the eggs, the male will eat or spit out them).

In my case, I feed them individually at early night (they are active at night, not as frightened as day) by pieces of brine shrimp or mussel (two per banggai more or less) and they eat something more during the feeding of the other fishes one time a day (mysis, brine shrimp and sometimes red larvae). So they eat one smaller time at day, and one bigger time at night. Maby I´m going to give them another bigger night time, at the end of the night (my mornings) to see if it does better.

But I think it´s more a stress problem than a feeding problem. I think that by eating 2 times a day, the male should hold the eggs more than two or three days. It´s very strange to lose them so soon. I have a lysmata that i´m going to get out my tank because she was usually going to the favourite cave of the banggais. That´s the only thing I can do to reduce possible stress. I will also don´t touch anything in the aquarium during the holding period.

Any suggestion could be good.
thanks!

Yep, I'm the same Guy. The pattern of eating the eggs in less than a week points to nutrition. However, you are correct that it could be stress. My guess is still nutrition though. This can be from the female as well because if the eggs are not well developed then they won't survive long and the male will just eat them.

My advice would be to completely stop feeding Brine Shrimp and feed Mysis shrimp instead if you can find them. If not then Scallops make a good substitute.

When feeding the male keep feeding pieces to him until he actually stops eating. Feeding twice a day is perfect, dawn and dusk.

If you use a turkey baster to feed them every time then they will eventually associate the turkey baster with food and will stay nearby until they are completely full.

For now, if you can isolate the male for a month and saturation feed him away from the female it will give him a chance to gain weight before they mate again.

 

[apawiper]

Ok thanks for the info.

I don´t feed them with brine shrimp (they don´t like ver much). Sometimes I feed the other fishes with brine shrimp, but not always. I usually mix mysis, brine shrimp and red larvae mosquito for fishes at day (with lights) and they pick something. But for the banggais, at night, I give them pieces of frozen shrimp and mussel until they don´t want more.

I will try to find scallops. And what about clam??

About the turkey baster, is something like this, isn´t it:

I will try to find one. But you put the tip of it into the water?? At day (with lights) too??

Thanks very much. At this time I can´t isolate the male, but in one month I will have another tank for trying to breed them there.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, that's a turkey baster. At first the fish will be afraid of it when it goes into the water, soon the Banggai will begin to worship it as the great source of food from the sky.

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: Guy!

 

[apawiper]

Ok thanks! I will post results.