Banggai babies found by accident!

[Smarkow]

I have a ~100 gallon sump (tank plus sump = 400 ~ gallons). I explained its complete layout in another post asking for advice a few days ago but nobody bothered to comment which, I have to admit, got me a little bummed out.

Here's the post link.
https://www.reef2reef.com/posts/5900595/

Looks promising. I would think that between the chaeto ball and the fuge section you should be fine

 

[Oldsalt]

Id guess it won't be long! I can see thier little faces! If you have a spare tank or breeders net to put him in it would be easier to catch the babies. And i like to use a fake urchin for them to hide in so dad dont eat them.

Great idea! Doing it asap.

 

[reef lover]

I love babies!! Wish mine would stop swallowing them.....

 

[Oldsalt]

Ok..At dusk the male let out the last of the babies and that makes a total of 7 healthy, safe babies eating freshly hatched BBS. They are amazing miniature replicas of the parents. What am I going to do with 7 more Banggai? They cost $45 each but doubt my LFS will pay that much. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

 

[reef lover]

45 each for wild caught...these will be captive bred . All kidding aside it will just be awesome to have some home bred babies going out to other reefers!

 

[WVfishguy]

My Banggais breed incessantly. I collect fry on a regular basis. Twice a day, I squirt newly hatched baby brine shrimp in the display to feed the youngest current batch of Banggais (and feather dusters, corals, clams, etc.). The pair are in a 90-gallon reefer. It only takes a 2-3 weeks for the fry to graduate to small mysis and adult brine. I have bred thousands of African cichlids over the years for my maintenance customers, but I believe Banggais are easier to breed than cichlids. The Banggai young are larger than newborn cichlids, small versions of their parents, and they grow rapidly. I have a huge Diadema urchin in the 75-gallon grow out tank, and the Banggais like to stay in the spines. But it's not really a big deal to them. Funny thing about the Banggais bred in my reef tank - they are unafraid of me. While the other fish hide during tank maintenance, the baby Banggai swim over to see what I'm doing. They also use the opportunity to explore the tank for food.

 

[Oldsalt]

Now I know why the male kept hovering over the Birdsnest coral, then over other ones - to let the babies out in a safe spot. My tank is 350 gallon mixed reef. No way could I grab the male without causing chaos. If I got a huge spiny urchin maybe I could let the babies stay in the tank. There's more to eat outside the frame with net covering breeder up in the corner. I gave them BBS last night and again this morning. I also put in fry/coral powder 100 micron and they're eating that too. They seem to have gotten larger overnight. Perhaps it's time to set up another, smaller tank. I have left over equipment that could furnish it. The other option would be to add an annex to the sump using a small pump. That way water is consistent, warm and already cycled. Flow doesn't need to be fast. There's enough room to pop a trough above the sump. I prefer a clear container though. I need to go check the gardening nurseries. They have a multitude of containers.
Lots to think about.

 

[w2inc]

Oops... That other is still the male Here's the female

Mine hatched within 24 hours of each other. Male spit some eggs out. I started watching. Let one fry go. Next day he looked so miserable I decided to pull the rest of the brood. I held him face down by the gills and he spit them out without thinking about it. Once they are alive I think you have about a day.

I fed mine fresh hatched brine. I wished I had some baby mollies at the time because every time I have tried to wean fish to powder food it works so well to have just one fish in the tank going for broke on the food. All of the others eventually follow. Fry food is way more nutrient dense than brine and if they are eating it then keep it up! I am still trying to wean mine over from frozen a month later.

I was really excited to see the hatch when I had it and had plans about what tank to put them in and how I was going to finally have a school of them, but now I am wondering what I will really do with them. I put one back in the main display and he hid. Was still the next day, so I put 2 more in. Male/dad ate them both within 1 minute. I thought he might be holding them. So I fed Mysis. He ate that too. Dont put them in the main display for a while.

Whenever I have had more than 6 of them, even in my 110 and 120 they seem to kill each other until I am at one or two pair of them. Which is what I have now. Does anyone know if they will live in a big school in a tank? I am trying to decide if I want to keep them a little longer or trade them in?

 

[reef lover]

They will not tolerate others once paired/ sexually mature.

 

[Oldsalt]

They will not tolerate others once paired/ sexually mature.

I had a breeder tell me that too. He reckons that you don't put them back in tank or they'll be eaten or killed. My LFS wants me to bring them in when they grow up a bit. It's a fluke having molly babies with these guys. Just happened that way. When the molly babies start to eat that powder the Banggais follow suite. Lucky break I guess. They still like the BBS but it's hardly necessary anymore.

Last night the male was still holding onto a baby. I could see it trying to get out. Now it's gone and his mouth returned to normal size and he's eating voraciously. If it's in the tank then I can't find it. I think he swallowed it. I wish I could have caught him but it is what it is.

 

[Oldsalt]

It seems that these babies are no longer dependent upon BBS. I started mixing powdered fry with the BBS but I really think that having a bunch of baby mollies was the trick. As soon as they see other fish going for the food, they join in the feeding frenzy. I'm surprised at how much the Banggais have grown in just 4 days. Today I called the 3 main LFS I visit and they're all very interested in giving me store credit for these when they reach the (body) size of a dime (here in Australia a 5¢ piece is almost the same size). They didn't give me an exact dollar amount but I paid $90 ($45 each) for the mated pair. Not what I'd call expensive but certainly not cheap. Tonight is the last night they will stay in the net trap. I added a 15 litre annex to the sump today. Tomorrow I'm fitting this simple and cheap translucent plastic garbage bin with an overflow (protected by a DIY fine comb weir to prevent losses). I have a small water pump with adjustable outlet pressure pumping in from the refugium so pods are available. Also have another fuge light just like this Aqua One (pop in LED modules of various spectrums) if needed. The fuge itself is too turbulent for fragile fry IMO. Besides, I'd rather keep tabs without having to hunt around the thick macroalgae. I have enough room to put another 2 just like the one in the photo (and 3 more 10 litre tubs above the sump if I finally do go insane). This one cost 5 bucks with the lid. I could easily daisy chain another 2 and simply up the flow on the pump outlet. I'd rather keep the current molly fry separate starting fairly soon because they will grow up fast. The female is going to drop another batch in just over 2 weeks. This trick to feed Banggais fry powder using molly decoys is really working. The food is much more nutritious than BBS - probably why these guys are growing so quickly. If I time things right, it's entirely feasible to bring up more on a regular basis. Mollies give birth every 30 days but
I don't know how often a pair of Banggais mate. Anyone have any idea?

 

[chowwil]

Congrats. I have a pair and always see the male carrying eggs in the mouth, but don't see babies.

 

[Oldsalt]

Congrats. I have a pair and always see the male carrying eggs in the mouth, but don't see babies.

When his mouth geometry changes markedly (it's so obvious - here's photo of him with babies showing and the female on her own), you're not far away from babies. I wasn't looking for them. It just happened while I was cleaning up. Then I started to study the male's behaviour. Not eating but mouth wide open to let morsels in for the babies (guessing here). He let 3 go then another 4 the next night, then another 2 around 7 hours later. There was another still in his mouth but that one disappeared. I have 9 total growing fast.
1st photo is male with babies. 2nd is female. As soon as all fry were gone, his mouth became very similar to the female, except for a small "double chin". His body size is slightly smaller than the female's. I also took note of his dot pattern.

 

[chowwil]

When his mouth geometry changes markedly (it's so obvious - here's photo of him with babies showing and the female on her own), you're not far away from babies. I wasn't looking for them. It just happened while I was cleaning up. Then I started to study the male's behaviour. Not eating but mouth wide open to let morsels in for the babies (guessing here). He let 3 go then another 4 the next night, then another 2 around 7 hours later. There was another still in his mouth but that one disappeared. I have 9 total growing fast.
1st photo is male with babies. 2nd is female. As soon as all fry were gone, his mouth became very similar to the female, except for a small "double chin". His body size is slightly smaller than the female's. I also took note of his dot pattern.

I got as far as seeing his mouth full of eggs. I also see his courtship dance with the female and seeing him swoop down from underneath her to see if she laid eggs.

 

[shred5]

PS. I just fed the molly babies with powdered fry food (can also be used as slurry to target feed coral) and the 3 Banggai are eating it. Go figure!

That is pretty lucky it is not easy to get them off live food.
BBS is what most feed them for a first food but if they are eating dry keep it that way.
Banggai are a easier first fish to raise. They are big enough after the male spits them to take larger food and you do not have to deal with the larval stage.

Congrats.

 

[jabberwock]

Cool thread!

 

[Victoria M]

This is such an exciting endeavor. I would have loved a pair from you then I saw you are in Australia. LOL. Too far.

 

[Wolf89]

That's so co! I once found 4 fish fry, but I dont even have that species in my tank before that, it was really weird.. I still have them!

 

[Almondkc]

Congratulations on your fry! It is a very exciting time and I think it is so incredible that they are exact duplicates of the parents - don't have to wait to see them grow into their breed. You will want to introduce the fry to another food source. I fed mine on BBS too long and had some losses due to the sudden fright syndrome which is a side effect of just feeding BBS. I used TDO Chromaboost Size B1 and they loved it. Just need to get the right size. Good luck.

Here is a link for my TDO size comparisons https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/f...t-figuring-out-the-right-size-for-fry.540437/

 

[James Hopkins]

They also make TDO A. Its like a powder. I use it for clownfish babies after day 4.