Images of Bangaii Cardinals spawning

[bobz]

I rarely get to just sit and look at my tanks any more. Tonight, I sat down and just watched for awhile. I happened to notice that my Bangaii Cardinals were getting ready to spawn so I grabbed my camera and took some images. The first one shows the female with the eggs sac protruding behind her pelvic fin. The pair swam together for about 15 minutes, then in a matter of a split seconf the male took the egg sac in to his mouth. I tried my best to capture it in the series of images but it happened much too quickly. Here are the images I captured. The first shows the egg sac on the female and the next three were taken in rapid succession when the male snatched the eggs and begins to brood. I'm always amazed at the beauty of nature and how lucky we are to able to view it up close.
<fieldset class="gc-fieldset">
<legend> Attached files </legend>

>

class="gc-images" title="bangaii pair spawning 00-.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>

>

class="gc-images" title="bangaii pair spawning 001.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>

>

class="gc-images" title="bangaii pair spawning 002.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>

>

class="gc-images" title="bangaii pair spawning 003.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a> </fieldset>

 

[curtismaximus]

Ewww get a room you two!

Really cool stuff bobz!

 

[glxtrix]

Great catch!

 

[jennm]

Nice!

This is a dumb question (I have one occasionally...)... but how/when does fertilization occur? Does the male fertilize them as the female releases them, then he scoops them up, or...?

Jenn &lt;--- still learning. Never actually caught my pair in the act, back in the day.

 

[bobz]

Thanks folks! Jenn, Prior to the male scooping them up, they swam together serveral times nearly embracing. I believe that the male was fertilizing the eggs during that time. I've watched my mandarin dragonets do the same thing when she was releasing eggs. This is the COOLEST hobby ever!
Bob

 

[jennm]

Thanks! That's sort of what I figured, he'd have to do his thing before scooping up the eggs. So the eggs, presumably, were fertilized as they exited the female, while they did the dance.

Do the eggs ever hit the bottom of the tank, or does he pretty much get them before that? You mentioned an egg sac... do they stay in the sac, or does the sac burst?

Fascinating...

I remember seeing my pair, after the eggs hatched, and the male trying to hang on to the live babies in his mouth for as long as he could, and we'd see eyes and tails trying to burst out. So comical - I wondered if they were like kids squabbling in there, all trying to make their big escape.

Nature is amazing.

Jenn

 

[bobz]

This is the first time I ever saw them transfer the eggs too. In this instance, the male snatched the eggs and that was it. I have read that sometimes they will exchange them back and forth but I have not witnessed it either. I have watched the male move the eggs in his mouth as they develop and grow, and they still appear to be a "mass" of eggs although I don't think they stay in a "sac" as they grow. I am guessing that the membrane or sac dissolves as the eggs develop. And yes, nature is amazing!

 

[joseayes]

Cool! thanks for sharing! I would ask something else, after the period of the egg evolving to fry what would be the chances for you to catch and separate them from the tank? I meant if they were hatched on a full reef. Then for feeding the fry? I know I could do some research but here is the thread and why not ask LOL! Time ago when I was into freshwater setups I had a pair of cichlids that mate on the tank full of another same family of cichlids, I have no chance to save the babys and it happens on a 150 gallon so I had no chance to remove them, saw them for a week or less then I believe they were eaten

 

[merkywater]

Nice Job Bob!

 

[bobz]

joseayes;900331 wrote: Cool! thanks for sharing! I would ask something else, after the period of the egg evolving to fry what would be the chances for you to catch and separate them from the tank? I meant if they were hatched on a full reef. Then for feeding the fry? I know I could do some research but here is the thread and why not ask LOL! Time ago when I was into freshwater setups I had a pair of cichlids that mate on the tank full of another same family of cichlids, I have no chance to save the babys and it happens on a 150 gallon so I had no chance to remove them, saw them for a week or less then I believe they were eaten

I have actually had the most success keeping my pairs in my display tank. The males have held the full term and I was able to catch them by netting them when I new it was around day 26 or so ... they would spit out the babies and then I would transfer them to a 5G tank where I would feed and raise them. It worked well and I raised over 200 Cardinals that way. SO, yes, you can absolutely do this. Here is a trick I used when I was ready to catch the male. These fish are basically nocturnal so I would wait until dark, turn off all the lights and when the fish became active and started swimming in the open, I would quickly turn on the light and it would freeze them for a moment, enough time to net the male and collect the babies in the net. Then I would keep the male separated from the female (I had extra tanks) so I could hammer him with food. Otherwise, the female will attempt to spawn again and the male will not get enough food in between to sustain him and the fry leading to an aborted attempt. Hope that helps and maybe motivates you to try the species. They need all the help they can get and we need to leave as many in the wild as possible!
thanks,
Bob

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

bobz;900279 wrote: Thanks folks! Jenn, Prior to the male scooping them up, they swam together serveral times nearly embracing. I believe that the male was fertilizing the eggs during that time. I've watched my mandarin dragonets do the same thing when she was releasing eggs. This is the COOLEST hobby ever!
Bob

Hey Bob:

Are you selling captive bred mandarin dragonets now? If so, what's the going rate for one?

Wannabee

 

[bobz]

no. I haven't got that far yet. maybe when I finally retire I'll have the time to try.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

bobz;900840 wrote: no. I haven't got that far yet. maybe when I finally retire I'll have the time to try.

Can I "officially" be placed on the Wanted List for a captive bred mandarin, preferably near the top. That is; once you have retired :yes: .


Wannabee

 

[bobz]

that's going to be a really long wait! :fish:

 

[joseayes]

Thank you for the time, tips and response Bob! You are absolutely right about giving a try to breeding instead of pluked fish from the wild, not many captive species taken have success and they live only short life in our aquariums, but normally everything depends on the market. Being a reef lover myself I'm still have the compromise to follow the rules for endangered species and forms of capture, but that's another history. Again thanks for sharing!