Let me start off by saying that I am new to raising fish and have only one pair of cardinalfish. These have chosen, on their own, to breed. I am unsure where they originally came from - I purchased them from someone who had gotten them from an LFS, as far as I know. They live in my 90 gallon main saltwater reef tank with 3 tangs, and assorted other fish, anemones and coral.
The first sign that my cardinalfish were brooding was that one of them refused to eat. I read online that this may be a sign of the male mouth brooding, and so started to pay attention. A week or two later, I noticed the fish that wouldn't eat had his mouth open a little bit. I was able to see very small eyes and fins. I then knew for sure that that was why the fish wasn't eating (what a relief!). I caught my cardinalfish and placed him in a breeder net (a square plastic frame covered on all sides and bottom with fine mesh netting) hanging over the edge of my main tank. I kept him in there for a week or so and noticed a baby fish in with him. Not knowing much about them, I left him in with the baby for a few days. After a few days, I noticed a total of three babies. I decided he probably wasn't going to have anymore, because his mouth looked empty. I released him into my main tank.
He has brooded 3 more times since then. I still haven't perfected my capture of my cardinalfish. If I stress him out too much when I capture him, he spits out all of the babies immediately. I have a net on hand to take them out of the main tank. If I catch him too early in his brooding and stress him out, he spits out eggs. The last time I caught him (the day before yesterday), it was too early and he spit out the babies all curled up into balls. They still have the yolks attached, and are not colored yet. They don't seem to eat until their yolks are gone, so I haven't fed them yet. We'll see if they survive. The male holds them in his mouth to protect them from predators until they can swim. There aren't any predators in the baby tank, so maybe they will survive.
SETUP:
My baby setup is very simple. I have a 10 gallon, bare-bottom tank set up with a sponge filter. The sponge filter cured (floated) in the refugium of the reef tank for a week before I put it in the 10 gallon tank. This is an example of what my sponge filter looks like (I don't have a clue of the brand of mine): http://www.shopjebo.com/images/ProductImages/Oxygen_Plus_bio-filter_2.jpg
I have 2 plastic plants floating in the tank, and a piece of rock for the babies to hide behind. I have read on Aquaria Central that the babies like to hide in an urchin shell, but have never had one to try. There are no lights on the tank. It is lit well enough by sunlight and my house lighting so that I can see the babies. If it wasn't I would have put something on it so that I could see them. I also have a heater and maintain the temperature at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I initially filled the tank only about 2/3 full with water directly from my main tank. I do weekly 10% water changes. Sometimes I use water from my main tank, sometimes freshly made saltwater. When I am siphoning water out, I make sure to suck up all the accumulated gunk on the bottom of the tank.
FEEDING:
Feeding the babies is pretty straightforward. I read online how to set up and raise baby brine shrimp. Once you get started, it is really easy. I have two brine shrimp cultures. I start a fresh batch (one culture) every other day. I feed the babies the freshly hatched brine shrimp enriched with Selcon. I add Selcon (a 1/2 a dropperful) to my brine shrimp 24 hours after putting the brine shrimp eggs in the water. Once the shrimp hatch, I use a syringe and siphon some out of the culture and into the baby tank. I don't rinse or anything. I feed newborn fish 3 to 5 times a day. After a few weeks, I feed 2 to 3 times a day.
The first sign that my cardinalfish were brooding was that one of them refused to eat. I read online that this may be a sign of the male mouth brooding, and so started to pay attention. A week or two later, I noticed the fish that wouldn't eat had his mouth open a little bit. I was able to see very small eyes and fins. I then knew for sure that that was why the fish wasn't eating (what a relief!). I caught my cardinalfish and placed him in a breeder net (a square plastic frame covered on all sides and bottom with fine mesh netting) hanging over the edge of my main tank. I kept him in there for a week or so and noticed a baby fish in with him. Not knowing much about them, I left him in with the baby for a few days. After a few days, I noticed a total of three babies. I decided he probably wasn't going to have anymore, because his mouth looked empty. I released him into my main tank.
He has brooded 3 more times since then. I still haven't perfected my capture of my cardinalfish. If I stress him out too much when I capture him, he spits out all of the babies immediately. I have a net on hand to take them out of the main tank. If I catch him too early in his brooding and stress him out, he spits out eggs. The last time I caught him (the day before yesterday), it was too early and he spit out the babies all curled up into balls. They still have the yolks attached, and are not colored yet. They don't seem to eat until their yolks are gone, so I haven't fed them yet. We'll see if they survive. The male holds them in his mouth to protect them from predators until they can swim. There aren't any predators in the baby tank, so maybe they will survive.
SETUP:
My baby setup is very simple. I have a 10 gallon, bare-bottom tank set up with a sponge filter. The sponge filter cured (floated) in the refugium of the reef tank for a week before I put it in the 10 gallon tank. This is an example of what my sponge filter looks like (I don't have a clue of the brand of mine): http://www.shopjebo.com/images/ProductImages/Oxygen_Plus_bio-filter_2.jpg
I have 2 plastic plants floating in the tank, and a piece of rock for the babies to hide behind. I have read on Aquaria Central that the babies like to hide in an urchin shell, but have never had one to try. There are no lights on the tank. It is lit well enough by sunlight and my house lighting so that I can see the babies. If it wasn't I would have put something on it so that I could see them. I also have a heater and maintain the temperature at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I initially filled the tank only about 2/3 full with water directly from my main tank. I do weekly 10% water changes. Sometimes I use water from my main tank, sometimes freshly made saltwater. When I am siphoning water out, I make sure to suck up all the accumulated gunk on the bottom of the tank.
FEEDING:
Feeding the babies is pretty straightforward. I read online how to set up and raise baby brine shrimp. Once you get started, it is really easy. I have two brine shrimp cultures. I start a fresh batch (one culture) every other day. I feed the babies the freshly hatched brine shrimp enriched with Selcon. I add Selcon (a 1/2 a dropperful) to my brine shrimp 24 hours after putting the brine shrimp eggs in the water. Once the shrimp hatch, I use a syringe and siphon some out of the culture and into the baby tank. I don't rinse or anything. I feed newborn fish 3 to 5 times a day. After a few weeks, I feed 2 to 3 times a day.
