Male Bangaii has babies in mouth.. how do i get him out of the tank?

[Radioheadx14]

I posted this in the fish breeder forum, but i might not get an answer before he releases them.... so i posted it here to get more input

I can see babies in his mouth when he opens it. He's still in the DT with lots of rock. Whats the best way to get him out? I was thinking about turning the lights off so they come out in the tank more, but it hard to catch a fish in the dark.

Or would i be better off waiting until the babies are released and try to catch them?

[LobsterOfJustice]

Just keep an eye on the tank the next few days, net the babies out when he releases them. If you chase him around with a net he will spit them out prematurely.

[Radioheadx14]

Should i worry about any of these fish eating them?

2 A. Ocellaris Clowns
yellow tang
potter's angel
fairy wrasse
Sailfin blenny

I'm also worried about my candy canes and rock anemone

I do have a nocturnal urchin, so that might keep them protected.
http://12xudesign.com/CJReef/Images/urchin.jpg
looks like this. Not sure the exact species. Looks like a long spine, with out long spines.

[Sinistard]

I managed to catch a male holding eggs in his mouth several times without him spitting them out. They tend to be fairly docile at night and can be easy to catch. I think every time I netted one he the babies had already hatched he just had not released them yet. I'm not saying everyone would have the same luck but I had good results catching them.

[LobsterOfJustice]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14788929#post14788929 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Radioheadx14
Should i worry about any of these fish eating them?

2 A. Ocellaris Clowns
yellow tang
potter's angel
fairy wrasse
Sailfin blenny

I'm also worried about my candy canes and rock anemone

I do have a nocturnal urchin, so that might keep them protected.
http://12xudesign.com/CJReef/Images/urchin.jpg
looks like this. Not sure the exact species. Looks like a long spine, with out long spines.

Yes, some of them will be eaten, but you should still have a good recovery.

[Volkman]

I've been breeding them now for a while, and if you get a BIG net and slowly get him at night, they usually stay in his mouth. I usually take him out of the tank around day 23-26 depending on how the eggs/fry are doing. 28 days is about full term for the babies. Then I put him into a breeder tank in a separate tank so that when the babies come out of his mouth they can fall down below the grate. (My wife got this at PetSmart I believe) That's important, cause when daddy is done releasing the babies, he's hungry! And there's nothing like some fresh caviar babies for a snack! We then let the dad swim out into the other breeder tank for a few days and really fatten him up. Otherwise they don't get back to good health for a while. Make sure you have live brine shrimp eggs going pretty much right away. The babies will pretty much only eat that for the first couple weeks. We try to incorporate frozen brine eggs and some really chopped up mysis shrimp after a few days to try and ween them off the live stuff.

Good luck, the babies are cute as can be!

[Radioheadx14]

I've caught him once before when he was holding, but i have a different rock setup and there is more places to go. I might try at night again, but the stick real close to corals and he ducks down in a crack when ever i come close. I think a few babies were released because his mouth doesnt look as full. I can still see little eyes in there but yesterday, there was one baby practically sticking out. I dont think the two are even full grown yet, so he might not be able to hold a full clutch. I've had them for about 14 months or so.

[Volkman]

That stinks.... I use a big new (6-8" one) and also another scraper probe to kind of steer. It can take a while, but hopefully you can catch the little guy. If you want too. It does take a lot to care for the little guys, 4-5 feedings a day, live brine shrimp, constant water changes! But, you can sell the guys for $10-15 apiece if you find a decent fish store that will buy them! (which probably just about gets you back to even when all is said and done.)

Good luck though!

Here's a pic with 3 generations all together. Daddy-the big guy is on the right, then first generation(about the size of a nickel) are in the back left, and the newest(pencil eraser sized) are right up front. Hard to tell on the 1st and 2nd gen, but they are about triple the size.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i132/Volkman1977/CIMG3446.jpg