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Couple questions; Pterapogon fdg., Scler. stings
1/2/13 Help with Banggai Cardinal and what
he eats 8/12/11 Mysis+Selcon Okay For Banggai Cardinals
Long Term? -- 04/12/11 Hungry new Banggai Cardinal too
buoyant? 4/5/11 Banggai not eating
2/15/11 Quarantine tank Questions - 02/09/2007 Good afternoon crew, We have a 90G display tank, a 29g QT and a 10G 'pod breeder. The 90's current denizens are a Coral Beauty Angel, 2 Sebae Clownfish, a Lawnmower Blenny, 2 Lysmata cleaner shrimp, a serpent star, a dozen or so zebra hermit crabs and a large assortment of snails, an umbrella mushroom coral, 2 small Fungias and a small Ricordea. In the attached 3.5G 'fuge there are some snails, small feather dusters and 3 cleaner clams. <Neat> NH3, NO2, Phosphate are 0. NO3 is less than 5ppm. We have a 30X turnover of water every hour. In the QT (above chem. numbers apply there too) we have a golden damsel as a permanent resident and a soon to be moved Kole Tang and Royal Gramma. It has bare glass for a bottom and some 4" PVC pipe for hiding places. Nobody in the QT has shown any signs of sickness or required any treatment since arriving 2 weeks ago. Assuming that stays the same for 2 more weeks (when the Tang and Rocket Propelled Gramma are moved), how long should I wait before adding new fish to the QT (after a 10G water change)? <Mmm, no time really> Our next occupants (for 4 weeks) will likely be a Copperband Butterfly and Six Line Wrasse with an egg crate divider if you think that's a good idea. <Likely not necessary> Following them will be 50# of uncured LR (for 4 weeks followed by a complete WC) <Likely a few during as well> to augment the display tank and lastly either 2 or 4 Banggai Cardinalfish (for 4 weeks). In Bob's CMA (my bible) he talks about needing a mature tank with LR to supplement the BC's feeding. Should I bring LR from the main tank for them (the only light on the QT is ambient room light)? <Mmm, not a bad idea> Will weekly additions of 'pods be sufficient? <Should be yes... as long as the fish don't start "too thin"> Also, given the bioload for the main, can we get away with 4 BC's or should we just do 2? Thanks for your terrific support, -Ed <I would go with four here... enough room, and will give you much more to enjoy behavior-wise. Cheers, Bob Fenner> Banggai On A Hunger Strike? - 10/24/06 Hi there I wrote a couple of months ago asking about whether I could get a Banggai Cardinalfish, it turns out my LFS had a captive bred one so I bought and it has settled in fine. <Good to hear...Captive-bred is always a great choice.> I have had him/her don't know which sex yet but I think it is a male) for about 3 months now. He was eating perfectly for the last 3 month (I was feeding him frozen brine shrimp) and now he has stopped!!!!!! :( <Hmm...> I have tried lettuce, flake food, flake Spirulina, and marine tucker (a mix of meaty and vegetarian foods! <I'd stick to the "meatier" foods.> I don't know what is wrong the water is fine... PLEASE HELP ME it would be very much appreciated! from Viv <Well, Viv- it was good that the little guy was eating for a while. I think that you should take into account the fish's natural diet of copepods and small crustaceans. I'd try purchasing/growing some live copepods, Mysid shrimp, or amphipods. Tempt the fish with some of it's natural food items (some are available frozen, by the way) and you may see it come around. Keep a really close eye on the water conditions and I'll bet that this fish will eat again! Good luck! Regards, Scott F.> Banquet For A Banggai? (Feeding Competition) Guys, <Scott F. your guy tonight!> My Banggai is healthy again! His eyes are crystal clear -knock on wood. Thanks for your advice and support. Also the false percula clown is doing fine in spite of the abbreviated 2 week quarantine -I need my QT for an Orchid Dottyback that needed some TLC. The Dottyback's fins have grown back in a mere 5 days!!!! The new growth is clear now... hopefully the color will return soon. Three more weeks before I tear down my unsightly QT!!! Can't wait! <I'm thrilled to hear that things a re going well...And, how cool it is to hear that your quarantine system is working well! Congrats!> My only problem is feeding. Currently the fish get Sweetwater Plankton and Mysis shrimp as their staple. <Two fine foods...> With the Mysis, I am unable to prevent the Banggai from eating too much and at the same time, the clown doesn't seem to get more than just one Mysis shrimp before they are all gone! <Go figure- an aggressive Cardinal!> They are on a more even footing with the daphnia. The Banggai has been in the display for about 4 weeks, and the clown for 6 days. Will the clown be able to compete with time? <I think that eventually, the clown will become more assertive, and he'll compete more effectively once he settles in.> My observation is that while the 3" Banggai swallows everything whole, the 2" clown prefers to bite little chunks off. It amazes me that with this strategy, the clown would actually aim for the largest piece of Mysis near him, rather than all the bite size pieces floating by him. The cardinal does not discriminate... <Interesting observations!> Based on observing the Dottyback in QT, his feeding style is more like the clowns. Target feeding isn't always an option, because I feed the fish 3 or 4 days a week and an automatic feeder is used for the rest -I travel a lot. I use freeze dried Mysis and plankton with the feeder. <As long as the food is dispersed well, then everyone should get a crack at it!> Thank You, Narayan <Well, Narayan, I'd just keep doing what you're doing...The clown will eventually get his share of food. Of course, in the mean time, be sure to continue to observe carefully, and get a little extra food in there if you can. Good luck! Regards, Scott F.> Banggai eating up all the pods! - 4/12/04 Hello crew! I do not have a problem, just an observation and I want to double check with one of you. Great!> I have had a Banggai for about 10 months. He is healthy and happy. Before I purchased him, I had a nice size population of pods. I really never gave much thought about it but now that I look back, I realize that my pod population has lessened. <Well, populations do go through growth gains and losses through a cycle. Predation also seems to cull quite a few out. Banggais will eat amphipods and copepods to supplement their diet for sure. What other potential predators do you have?> Could it be?! <Absolutely> Am I actually supplying him natural food? <Sure. For how long will be determined by a refugium (place for these creatures to grow without predation) or depending on how bug the tank is> Do Banggais eat pods? <Sure> I know they are nocturnal just like the pods. <Sort of> I had worried that he only ate Mysis (which is every fourth feeding) but he has always been the fattest booger in the tank. <They love Mysis and Cyclop-eeze> That's my guess anyway. Oh, and for those that think they are slow and boring, let me tell ya, when the Mysis hit the water, he swims circles around my blue tang and Foxface. <Yeah, they can hang in most cases> He looks like a silver bullet streaking across the tank. <What type of Mysis (brand) do you feed?> They are quite fast when they want to be. <I agree> Anyway, take care guys and gals, <Thanks for the update. A valuable observation! ~Paul> Jason Feeding a Banggai cardinal - 11/10/03 Hello, I hope all is well. I have a question. A friend of mine asked me to adopt a Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kaudneri ). He purchased him but was getting picked on in his tank. Obviously, I accepted him so he would not die. But it does put me at a crossroad. My current list of fish are: Ocellaris Clown (Amphiprion ocellaris ) Pacific Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus ) Foxface (Siganus (Lo) vulpinus ) My problem is feeding. <Well, the Banggai Cardinal would never cross paths with any of its fellow inhabitants.> I use flake food with Nori two to three times a week. I have researched this species and have concluded that they do not fair well on flake food and will essentially starve. <Well, most likely anyway.> It looks like he needs meat baby! <More or less. He needs mysids more aptly. Brine is not a suitable alternative unless gut loaded (and I mean gut loaded) with phyto foodstuffs> I have been thinking of trying other foods but I have not due to everything has been doing fine on flake for so long and as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! <Well I believe it is broke as you have a fish that will not accept flake, right?> Well, with my new addition, I think it broke. <Ahhhhh. Right you are!!> Do you have any suggestions on what to feed all my fish? <Have looked on our information and FAQs regarding this fish? http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cardinal.htm and do search with your favorite search engine for information regarding this animal. Take a look at the various forums for acclimating this fish to new foods.> I'm kind of lost now and am in need of your guidance. Should I mix it up with different foods?? <Absolutely. Should be doing that anyway. Banggai's will often take frozen mysids.> If so, what or how often? <Mysids would be a good start maybe brine just to get the feeding response. Thaw them slowly in a bit of the tank water. Feed your other fish first with whatever it is they eat, then try to feed the Banggai. He is a slow eater and not aggressive so be sure he is not scared away from the feeding process by the other fishes aggressive behavior. Try to get these guys to eat at least once a day but it is preferable to have them eating twice a day. You're well on your way. Good luck. -Paul> Just trying to give a fish a happy and healthy home, <This is hopefully what we all are striving for> Jason P.S. I'm not smart enough to know those fancy scientific names (I'm just a simple Alabama boy), I just copied and pasted off of your website. <Well, good enough, Jason. You are making the attempt and that is what counts!!> Cardinal not eating (02/25/03) Dear Friends <Hello! Ananda here today....> I recently purchased a Banggai cardinal to complete my aquarium stock- 5 fish -yellow tang, royal Gramma, percula clown, coral beauty, the tank is 35 gall. <You'll need a larger tank for that yellow tang...they do like to have quite a bit of swimming space. So does the coral beauty, for that matter, even though it is a smaller fish.> All fish are healthy and eating well but the cardinal, I have tried tiny pellets, flakes, chopped shrimp but it does not seem interested in any, please help. <I would try chopped marine fish and other crustaceans. If none of those work, you might try live brine to get him to eat. It is possible he is stressed in this somewhat-crowded tank.> Thanks Roy Halford <You're welcome. --Ananda> More Questions about Feeding <<JasonC here...>> I just got a small Banggai Cardinal and on WetWebMedia it said they need more meaty foods. What do you recommend? Pygmy Angel Formula goes in there for my Flame and so do Brine Shrimp. Anything else that would be good to buy? <<Mysis shrimp. Mix that up with those two and your cardinal will be fine. Cheers, J -- >> Re: more feeding <<Hello, JasonC here...>> I read on the FAQ's that Male Banggai Cardinals are the ones with white spots on their dorsal fin. But I have noticed that they have two dorsal fins. My Banggai has spots on the second dorsal fin in succession, but nothing on the first dorsal fin. Is it male or female. Thanks <<It's my understanding that this means for sexing the Banggai is not that precise, so half the time you would be wrong based on this ID. Were you thinking of breeding or just curious. If your cardinal is old enough, you can do a non-scientific sexing by dropping a second cardinal... if your first one tries to kill the second one, they are the same sex. How's that? Cheers, J -- >> Banggai cardinal Dear Mr. Fenner, I'm still in a state of total flabbergast! About a month ago I had a nice Banggai cardinal (Big Daddy) that took a gulp of food, did three seconds of somersaults and died!!!! I could think of no other reason except my home made food (your recipe), which was a long shot. I threw the rest of that batch out and started over. I reported this on a web forum and nobody had a clue. Well, this morning about 30 seconds after I fed (Brine shrimp plus and pellets), another Banggai did the same thing. Only this time it recovered after a few minutes and seems fine now. WHAT'S GOING ON? Thanks, Linda <Bizarre! Maybe they're choking? Perhaps your tank has some other "eager eaters" that are conditioning your Banggai Cardinals to gulp their rations? Try smaller food items... less competitive tankmates? Bob Fenner> Banggai cardinals death Dear Mr. Fenner, I wrote to you last week concerning my Banggais that would take a bite of food, then apparently choke and spiral out of control to the bottom of the tank. Here's my experience that I'd like to share with you. When this occurred the first time a couple of months ago, it really looked like the fish choked. It took a bite of food and spiraled out of control and died. The second time (that I wrote you about), it happened shortly after feeding and I assumed the same thing happened. Three days later I find a dead cardinal in the tank--not the one that had previously "choked". My husband and I had decided to buy another cardinal since they look so pretty as a pair. But this morning when I got up, I checked the hospital tank first, then turned around in time to see the remaining cardinal spiraling to the bottom. I tried to revive him without success. I had not fed any of the tanks yet. Since I had planned to try raising these fish, I have a few web pages bookmarked. A couple of articles on breeding mention this phenomenon occurring in the fry, particularly after feeding. If the fish is squirted with the turkey baster it will (usually) recover. If left alone it will die. I have lost four adult Banggai cardinals in the past 3 months; one because it was "odd man out" and I didn't remove it soon enough, and three from terminal seizures. These fish have come from different sources, 2 locally, and 2 internet (Aquacon). If others are having this experience, it might be a problem to address. In the meantime, no more Banggais for us, even though they are really cool fish. Sincerely, Linda Kuehn <Interesting, and still frightening... I wonder if a lack of dissolved oxygen could be at play here... since you mention the revival with a turkey baster... Do you have sufficient aeration, circulation in this system. Anyone with a D.O. meter, test kit you could use? Bob Fenner> Re: Banggai cardinals death Dear Mr. Fenner, Thank you for your quick reply. Oxygen saturation is something to consider. Using the turkey baster, I mostly prodded the fish rather than blew water onto it, however, even reviving it that way suggests it might not be getting enough O2. <Agreed> Here's my set up in this tank. It's a 40 gallon, 36 " long, 15 " tall. I have two Penguin bio-wheel filters, one at each end, and a protein skimmer (not great, but adequate). One medium size live rock and several not live, and lots of Caulerpa. (I grow it for my tangs in the big tank). Here's something I was wondering about. There are large bubbles on one of the rocks on the left hand side. I can knock the bubbles off, but more just form. Could this be an indication of lack of O2 due to poor circulation? <Yes, perhaps... the available low oxygen and possibly related higher carbon dioxide may be fostering enhanced photosynthesis...> Can you suggest a remedy? Thanks, Linda Kuehn <Yes, certainly. Do add a long airstone (with pump, tubing, check valve) along the inside edge of the tank... and/or powerheads with intake lines to blow air and water together... Mix your water up in all directions... practically speaking, there cannot be too much water circulation. Bob Fenner> Banggai Cardinalfish Hi Bob, Is it ok to add a small school of Banggai Cardinalfish to my 180 gal FOWLR setup which contains large, non-predatory-yet-aggressive eaters such as tangs? I'm worried that the shy nature of the cardinals might put them at serious disadvantage when feeding time rolls around. Thanks in advance, Dan <Due to the size, shape of your 180, and the fact that, though they look like "creampuffs", these Cardinals are far from this, I give you good odds in housing a small group here. As long as their food offerings include sinking, zooplanktonic food items they should be able to get their share. A proviso to have plenty of cover, and not too-small fish to start with (3/4" or larger). Bob Fenner> Banggai cardinals I mail ordered 2 Banggai Cardinals 3 weeks ago and I can't get them to eat my water quality is good I have tried live brine shrimp black worms (live) and frozen food can you give me any suggestions. >> Hmmm, need more clues. What do you have that IS eating? Do you have live rock, live sand? Do the cardinals look like they're getting thin? I'll bet they're eating stuff at night when you can't see them. Try feeding after the lights are out. Do you have access to baby livebearers? These fishes mainly eat small crustaceans (like the brine you've been offering) and small fishes... at night. Bob Fenner Finicky Banggai Cardinal 12/13/05 I have a Banggai Cardinal that will only eat Cyclop-eeze (twice a week I soak it in Selcon). I've tried Sweetwater plankton, enriched brine shrimp, baby daphnia, and all kinds of frozen & flake foods, and he always sucks these foods into his mouth, but then spits them out (no matter how small the piece of food). The only food he'll swallow is the Cyclop-eeze, and he's voracious with that, so I don't think his selectivity is a matter of not being hungry. I'm worried that eating only Cyclop-eeze will not sustain him. Any suggestions? <Steve, the Cyclop-eeze is a pretty good diet high in protein. You don't mention how long you've had the cardinal so all you can do is to continue to offer other foods and maybe he start eating it in time. I never liked pizza when I first tried it. Mmmm now. James (Salty Dog)> Steve |
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