mr.x-ray February 5, 2013 Share February 5, 2013 I'm sure my male is about to spit some babies out in the next day or two. Can see them in his mouth now. I'm not able to catch him, so I'm hopeing that I will be able to catch a few if at all possible. Either in the DT or by sump. Question is is there any perticular time range during the day to expect this to happen? Like at lights out, light on, mid day or when I'm zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 February 5, 2013 Share February 5, 2013 Definitely at night.... lights out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants February 6, 2013 Share February 6, 2013 It will not happen all at once either. He'll probably be spitting them out a few at a time over a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 February 6, 2013 Share February 6, 2013 Mine always released his over a few hours. Never took more than a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oprah Wrangler February 8, 2013 Share February 8, 2013 (edited) Are there noticeable differences in the male and female of this species? Also, I thought that someone mentioned once that they are aggressive toward one another? Edited February 8, 2013 by Oprah Wrangler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 February 8, 2013 Share February 8, 2013 There is no easy way to distinguish them apart. The two most reliable methods are physical and behavioral. I have always found behavior to be the best. Physically they differ in the number of vents they have on the underside of their abdomen. One gender has one vent the other has two. I forget which is which but I think the male has two. The only way I have been able to do this is by taking a high quality photo of the lateral side of a fish and then zooming in with a good photo editor. Even then I can only identify about 50%. More reliable is behavior. If you have several ADULT fish together, eventually some of them will pair up. You can tell this by observing that one fish will follow the other fish around quite reliably and will often be behind, just below and a few degrees to the right or left of the fish in front. In addition, you may see the behind fish ( usually the male) poking at the underside of the forward fish, usually the female. This swimming configuration and behavior is a sure sign of a mated pair. His poking at her is his way of trying to get her to produce eggs and breed with him. If two fish are chasing each other around the tank they are probably the same gender. Probably males. They are aggressive toward each other once they are adults. People often make the mistake of seeing them"schooling" at the lfs and assume they will get schooling fish. Not so. Most of the schooling is because they are juveniles. Once they mature they will either pair up or fight, especially if there is more than one male. Sometimes females can be kept together successfully, but they still don't school. They just ignore each other. Many of the other cardinal fish do much better in groups than the Bangaiis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 February 8, 2013 Share February 8, 2013 Any word on the babies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x-ray February 9, 2013 Author Share February 9, 2013 Well it didn't work out. I got called out of town for one night and that is the one night he released. Had baby brine going and a remote tank plugged into the main system. The GF kept an eye out but never saw anything. Was hopeing I would come home and find them in the filter socks or overflows. But nothing. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oprah Wrangler February 11, 2013 Share February 11, 2013 There is no easy way to distinguish them apart. The two most reliable methods are physical and behavioral. I have always found behavior to be the best. Physically they differ in the number of vents they have on the underside of their abdomen. One gender has one vent the other has two. I forget which is which but I think the male has two. The only way I have been able to do this is by taking a high quality photo of the lateral side of a fish and then zooming in with a good photo editor. Even then I can only identify about 50%. More reliable is behavior. If you have several ADULT fish together, eventually some of them will pair up. You can tell this by observing that one fish will follow the other fish around quite reliably and will often be behind, just below and a few degrees to the right or left of the fish in front. In addition, you may see the behind fish ( usually the male) poking at the underside of the forward fish, usually the female. This swimming configuration and behavior is a sure sign of a mated pair. His poking at her is his way of trying to get her to produce eggs and breed with him. If two fish are chasing each other around the tank they are probably the same gender. Probably males. They are aggressive toward each other once they are adults. People often make the mistake of seeing them"schooling" at the lfs and assume they will get schooling fish. Not so. Most of the schooling is because they are juveniles. Once they mature they will either pair up or fight, especially if there is more than one male. Sometimes females can be kept together successfully, but they still don't school. They just ignore each other. Many of the other cardinal fish do much better in groups than the Bangaiis. thanks for the information. Sounds like they are best purchased as singles if you do not have a very large system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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