The Reef Aquarium TV is almost here…

Footage from Reef Aquarium TV

Children that give the gift of Life…

Daddy Bangi Cardinal

My older son, Jordan,

who appeared in The Reef Aquarium DVD, A Set Up and Maintenance Guide, noticed that our Daddy Bangi Cardinal had babies in his mouth.  The pair of  Cardinal Fish have lived and bred happily in our demo tank for well over a year.  The first time they mated, I was able to catch the male and he spit out the babies as I caught him.  Of these nine I was able to raise only one to full maturity.   There were  two other times that I caught the male to soon (I was keeping the pair in my quarantine tank for breeding) as he spit out eggs which didn’t hatch outside of the father’s mouth. The reason I never waited for the father to spit them out was because as soon as the daddy would deem them big enough to leave his protection of his mouth, he was so hungry after not eating for days he would eat his own young right away! This behavior always puzzled me but I hear is much more common in captivity than it is in the wild.

The only time I ever did catch a male Bangi Cardinal from The Reef Aquarium DVD, A Set Up & Maintenance Guide Demo Tank I had to pull apart the live rock from my tank and it took well over an hour. This male was actually the only remaining son from the first brood.  Jordan said that if I don’t catch the male this morning, that the male Bangi would eat the babies.  So I decided to give it a try with two nets.  I set myself in for the long haul and was surprised I almost caught the male on my second swipe.  On my fifth try without pulling any rocks out of the tank, I got really lucky and hit the jackpot.  I caught the male and dumped him into a small holding container that you see above. I immediately dumped the male back in the main tank right after he spit out all his Frye – about 30.

Seconds Old Baby Bangi Cardinals

At first the Frye were very funny in that they did everything together. Their whole lives had been spent inside a little fishes mouth and they were not ready for a much bigger space. Both my boys had made fake Sea Urchins: they used toothpicks and 2 part epoxy. I put one of them in the breeder net and the Frye loved it. Bangi Cardinals have a strong natural instinct to gather around the protective spines of the Black Pin Cushin Urchin.

Now that I have them, what should I feed them? The last time I had my nine Frye I made a pail of rotifers. This was a big pain, expensive and the babies quickly grew out of it. This time I fed them Roto-Feast from Next Nutrition which they ate. At least I think they ate, as they looked like they were eating but every thing is so small and I am looking though this white net, so I don’t really know. They also ate hatched San Francisco Brine shrimp which I mixed with vitamines.

One of the difficulties of the first batch was that the breeding net would get very dirty. At a certain age, the changing of the net severely stressed out 7 of the 9 fish and that is when they died. So now I have moved them all into the quarantine tank. I emptied out all the water from quarantine tank and refilled it with water from the main tank. This way there would be no need at all to acclimate the Frye as it was the exact same water they had always been in.

Baby Bangi Cardinals

Baby Bangi Cardinals

I am quite amazed how healthy and happy they appear. I really had given up on breeding my Bangi’s but thanks to the insistence of my older son Jordan, we now have our second brood. This is all that I could hope for out of this wonderful hobby, and the fact that my sons are contributing to the success of the tank makes it all the better. Wish us and the babies luck!

Three Year Fun

Cleaning your pipes

Congratulations! You have had a tank up and running for three years and if you are lucky, guess what you get to do? That is right, clean the pipes!

Over time, the insides of your pipes get more and more mineral deposits from your tanks water flow. These deposits are hard and stubborn and they like being there. They don’t want to come off. Not for you, not for me, not for anyone. They have become very attached to your pipes and they are not about to let go without a fight.

Buckets of Fun!

What is the easiest way to clean a pipe? I have found if you can replace it – do it. Pipes are the cheap part of the plumbing. The unions and valves cost more money, but usually you can get to them with a file.

A good tip is to get  help, as the host of The Reef Aquarium DVD, A Set Up & Maintenance Guide, Bob Wiatrowski, helped me this time. Two hands make this big job go much easier. Make sure you budget enough time as many things with a fish tank often take longer than you would think.

So if you are wondering why your water flow isn’t what it used to be, check your pipes. That might be the propblem.