admin posted on July 30, 2008 08:44
Mating
The hardest thing about breeding Banggais is actually obtaining a pair and getting them to breed. First of all, male and female Banggais appear almost exactly the same, despite all the attempts to try to identify the differences in dorsal fins and mouth size, so it is very difficult to tell them apart. Furthermore, although Banggais school in the wild, they are aggressive toward each other in most home aquariums due to limited space. Therefore, the only way to keep two of them is to have a male and a female.
So, how do you get a pair? Most hobbyists buy three Banggais at a time. When mature, two of them will pair up and you’ll have to remove the third one from the tank before it gets killed. Once you obtain a male and a female, they will pair up instantly. However, to get them to breed, they’ll need a good environment. By that, I mean a large enough tank, at least 15 gallons, but larger the better. If the tank is too small, the male may end up swallowing the eggs or produce very small batches. With good water quality and a ton of feeding of nutritional meaty foods such as shrimp, they should be ready to breed.
They begin with a mating dance, and then the female will lay eggs while the male puts them in his mouth. This process is extremely fast so most people don’t get to see it.
Male carrying eggs above, female below. Note the jaw difference.
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After transferring the eggs, the male Banggai’s jaw bulges and stops eating. He will open and close his mouth constantly to get some water circulation in his mouth. If you notice all these, then congratulations, your Banggai is pregnant!
When a young pair breeds, the male Banggai may not be able to hold all the eggs, and you’ll see some eggs left on the female (see photo below).
Capturing Fry
The male Banggai holds the eggs in his mouth without eating for 18~25 days. Towards the end, you will start seeing the babies poking their heads out of his mouth. This is about time to try to get them out. If you let the male release the babies in the tank, most of them will get eaten up, yes, the starving daddy will chase after them for a good meal too!
Premature eggs, about 8 ~ 10 days old
Some advanced breeders such as Dr. Frank Marini retrieve the eggs prematurely and hatch them in a hatchery, which can be purchased from Florida Aqua Farms. Coral Dynamics has a cool video of this method:
- http://www.reefobsession.com/movies/The%20Dance.wmv
- http://www.reefobsession.com/movies/bangaii_2006.wmv
- http://www.reefobsession.com/movies/baby_bangaii_0001.wmv
The best way I found is late night or early morning, when it’s pitch black. Turn on the lights, and the Banggais will be temporarily blinded. You might need to move some rocks, and then get a net to scoop up the male Banggai, he will release all the babies. If he is one of those stubborn fish and won’t release the babies, you might need to hold him in your hands and pry open his mouth to dump out the babies. Otherwise, you’ll have to just wait for him to release the babies and try to scoop them up one by one. You’ll get a smaller batch this way.
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Newborns just released from daddy's mouth
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Close-up of a newborn
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A large batch of babies, around 50
NOTE: you can see more of Michelle's photos here.