Any one's baby bangaii's have one or both gills open?

[Radioheadx14]

I have 5 3 month old baby bangaii's that are doing very well. The have been on mysis for 2 or 3 weeks now and are growing fast. The only problem is, 2 have one open gill and the other has both open.... by open, I mean the gill flaps are flaring out to the side, so you could see the gills if you are looking at them from behind. Other then that, all seems fine. They swim around normally and eat like crazy... no signs of 'panting' or gasping. And, they are all growing fast.


Also, is it common to have a runt? I have 4 that are all a similar size, with one that is obviously the biggest, but i have one that is significantly smaller than the other 4. its a little more than half the size of the others... but it eats a lot and seems just as health as the others. I feed until all 5 have bloated bellies and my corals usually swipe any remaining mysis.

[rcypert]

I have always had runts. No idea about the gills though.

[oceanarus]

I have always had runts as well. If you can move the smaller babies away from the larger ones it will help them to grow faster. At least this has been my experience. But I have never had gill problems with my bangaii. Are the parents tank raised?

Amy Drehmel

[Radioheadx14]

The parents are wild caught. They guy i bought them from runs a coral farm green house and he bought a bunch of wild caught bangaiis and was going to see if they would breed in his systems on their own. He sold some of the extras that didn't go into his system. I was thinking that if they were tank raised, they could have some sort of inbreeding thing, but i'm doubting they are related since they were wild caught.

[oceanarus]

The only other things that I can think of that might cause this is low oxygen or high nitrates. But if both of these things are good in your tank then I have no idea. I wonder if Frank Marini had ever seen this gill thing. He raised many bangaii and could be some help. He used to be on RC a lot.

Amy

[Radioheadx14]

I dont think its either of those because they are not breathing heavy or anything and all my corals are doing great and my cheato is growing. plus only 2 or 3 have the problem and the other 2 or 3 are perfectly normal.

[oceanarus]

Yep I would think your water is good if the corals are good. And like you said they are not breathing heavy. I sent Frank a message about this. I hope he has some idea. I'm clueless on this.

Amy

[Radioheadx14]

thanks. I can post a picture if it helps but i think its quite easy to imagine what it looks like. and FWIW, the parents don't have this problem but it took 4 tries to get some viable babies out of these guys. The first two were aborted and the 3rd try produced 4 babies that looked waaay to little and helpless... so maybe they have some sort of infertility problems. Since these guys hatched, they have held eggs 3 more times, 2 aborted and the male is still holding some after 15 days, so i guess we'll see in the next week or so.

BTW, out of curiosity, what fish species have you bread?

[oceanarus]

Hey don't beat yourself up. It is normal for Bangaii not to hold full term.....very normal. I breed many types of freshwater and saltwater fish. And you don't need to post a pic. I just wish Frank was on here. He was the first to breed these fish years ago and produced many.

Amy

[FMarini]

In my 13yrs of banggai breeding, I've had many runts and pipsqueeks in my breeding efforts. I suspect the flared gills are another birth defect of some type. I've had lower jaw deformities, missing caudal fins, and curved spines.
I never experienced flared gill covers, but i dont know what the parents were fed, if its backbreeding or recessive genes popping up. Potentially a litany of issues could have caused it

Is the fish laboring? do you think its pathology (infection, disease, etc)

[oceanarus]

Thanks buches Mr. Marini !!!!!!

Amy

[Radioheadx14]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15446094#post15446094 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FMarini
In my 13yrs of banggai breeding, I've had many runts and pipsqueeks in my breeding efforts. I suspect the flared gills are another birth defect of some type. I've had lower jaw deformities, missing caudal fins, and curved spines.
I never experienced flared gill covers, but i dont know what the parents were fed, if its backbreeding or recessive genes popping up. Potentially a litany of issues could have caused it

Is the fish laboring? do you think its pathology (infection, disease, etc)

Now that you mention it, 2 also have a bent back, from what it seems. It looks like there is a slight bend where the body and tail meets. they dont seem to act any different than the others that do not have any "deformities." All are very calm and swimming very gracefully. All eat in the same manner. As far as I can see, they are just as healthy as the others.

The parents are fed either frozen PE mysis or freeze dried mysis daily. They wont eat flake foods. Should i add something different to their diet? I dont think its infection/disease since they had it since birth and the ones that were born with it still have it and the others do not.

It seems like something that would come from genetics. Maybe they are closely related even though the parents are wild caught. If it is something like genetics, should I stop raising the fry? I can post a video or some pics if you think it would help

[Radioheadx14]

bump...

[oceanarus]

I wouldn't stop raising your banggai yet. If this was just your first babies see if it happens again. I have no idea why it happened but I would wait and see if it happens again. And I have a friend who only feeds his adults mysis and their babies are fine. Hope this helps.

Amy

[Radioheadx14]

I should find out any day now if more have the same problem... I can see little eyes poking out of the males mouth. It also looks like this clutch is going to be small too. I can see anymore than 5 or 6 again...