My Banggai loses the eggs! What´s wrong?

[apañero]

hello! I have a problem with my banggai male.

I have a reef of 170 liters (40 gallons more or less) with a mated pair of Pterapogon kauderni, two Perculas, a bicolor blenie and an hexatenia wrasse. The Banggais have been 6 months in my aquarium (they were from another aquarium, not from shop) and the 9th of April (at 5 months) I saw that the male didn´t want to eat (I give them food at night (frozen shrimp and mussel). The male was incubating the eggs. We were very excited but in a week, the male wasn´t incubing the eggs. I don´t know if the male eated the eggs or if he spited out them. In that time I was trying to catch 2 damisels, so maby the stress was the cause...

Then, I caught the damisels and my aquarium turned more calm. And the 3th of May I noticed that the male was incubating again. But this time the incubation lenght was only 3 days! Why?? Not a good feeding? Stress?

And the third time came the last 27th of May. The male was holding eggs again, but two days after, he wasn´t incubating them. He has held them for only two days, like the previous time. I don´t know why. I have readed the same problems in other people but no solutions.

Do you know why this happens?? I need solutions! I want to breed them!

Thanks very much

[GregDoug]

I would suggest two things, first if you can, place them in their own tank, maybe a 20 gallon if you can swing it.
Second, and probably the most important, saturate feed them a variety of foods including mysis shrimp, spirulina, formula 1 and 2 frozen foods, ect and as many times a day as you can... 5-6 would be great.

[apañero]

male and female are pretty big, so I guess is not a feeding problem. They eat one or two times a day: one smaller with brine shrimp or mysis or red larvae that I give to the other fishes (they prefer mysys and red mosquito larvae) and the other one at night with pieces of frozen shrip or mussel, one or two each other.

Also I have noticed that my male doesn´t feed the next 2 days of losing the eggs, he seems not to have his mouth in good conditions for eat.

And some strange thing is that sometimes I heard some sound that comes from them. I think that one of them, probably the male, makes some sound when he feels frightened or stressed... I don´t know sure why this sound... and I don´t have a pistol shrimp ;)
Something similar is documented here: http://members.chello.nl/hp.huber/after%20breeding.htm

I will try one or two times more, trying not to touch anything in the acuarium during this time and If I don´t get sucess, I will buy an small aquarium and I will conect it to the main one to see if they can breed good there. I will try to feed them more, but I think it´s not the main problem because two, three, four, a week should be resist without eating, not only 2 or three days... it´s too soon for losing eggs.

thanks!

[RonD]

And some strange thing is that sometimes I heard some sound that comes from them. I think that one of them, probably the male, makes some sound when he feels frightened or stressed... I don´t know sure why this sound

My adults do this clicking all the time. It is surpring how loud it really is. It is usually directing the other to do something or pushing it in a particular direction.

Be patient in regards to the breeding end. Feed them well and make make sure your water conditions are good. They will take so long as no one else in the tank is bothering them.

[apañero]

How many times per day should i feed them?? Maby from now I´m going to give them another food period to see if the next time holding goes better... The one during the day with the other fishes, at the begining of night and maby I add one more at end of night. (the last two times are without lights, with all food going only for them, they eat better at this times).

I agree with you in why they do the sound. Sometimes when they feel frightened, they go to their cave and make the sound when they are very close situations... It´s interesting because is not documented.

thanks!

[bangaii man]

I think some males are just better at the brooding deal than others. I have 6 bangaii in my 180 along with about 20 other fish and one daddy always carry them to term about 30 days, lets me scoop him out and put him in another tank, then he spits them out over the next few days. A 2nd daddy always spits out when I am making the transfer if not earlier.

[shred5]

I have never bred Banggai but Feeding one or two times a day is not enough in my opinion... I is possible the reason the male stops carrying is because the eggs are not making it. The female needs good nutrition and a varied diet.. The better the diet the better the eggs.

Also possible they are young parents and need some time.

Dave

[papagimp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10124883#post10124883 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bangaii man
I think some males are just better at the brooding deal than others.

Couldn't agree more, some just need "practice" before they get the feel for it. Also, prior to my bangaii's spawning, I make darn sure to overstuff the male, since I know he'll be going awhile without food. When I do not do this, the egg mass lasts at most a week before he aborts it. Any form of stress can cause them to abort their egg masses, so just be attentive and keep trying.