Top 3 Questions You Have About Captive Breeding

[fishtal]

What are the top 3 general questions about captive breeding that you would like answered? If you choose Other, please post that question in the thread.

[thefishgirl]

Hey Tal, My questions are centered on feeding the fry that have resulted from captive breeding.

How many options are there for feeding different types of fry? (And how do you grow it, or can you grow it?)
How do you know when it's time to move up to the next type of food?

My personal interest is from a clown fish and banggai perspective, however I know there are many other types of breeders out there, or people considering getting into this side of the hobby, so feel free to expand or (un-expand) on this topic.

[fishtal]

Hey Becky,

The topic of larval feeding is huge and very important.

From a clown and Banggai perspective it's fairly easy... I start my clowns on rotifers and move them to Otohime A around day 5. As they get bigger I move up to finely crushed flake foods and frozen Cyclopeeze.

I start my Banggai on newly hatched brine shrimp for a couple of weeks and wean them onto the dry and frozen foods mentioned above. (No Otohime A though)

When to change foods is determined by the size of the larvae, or fry. Keep in mind the size of the food and the size of the fish's mouth.

It gets complicated with fish that have smaller larvae and longer larval phases. Copepods are a natural food source for larval fishes. Obtaining and culturing them is a bit more difficult.

[Chris]

I just picked up a pair of Bangaii the other day, and thinking about maybe trying to breed them in the future if they decide they like eachother enough.... is it possible to keep them in my reef and pull the babies after the male releases them/ catch the male and wait for him to release them into another tank?


I wish Angel breeding was easier/ more possible as that's where my real desire to captive breed would really kick in!!!!

[fishtal]

Chris,

With Banggai it is possible to do that, depending on your set up, but the best thing to do would be to pull the male around 21-23 days before he releases the juveniles. Juvenile Banggai are pretty fragile and it's best to move them while the male is still holding them. Mine usually spits them out as soon as I net him and put him in the rearing tank. After that I just put him back and start feeding the juveniles.

As far as angels go, there has been some success with the dwarfs such as flame angels. Larval feeding is the key here as with so many species.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by fishtal

Chris,

With Banggai it is possible to do that, depending on your set up, but the best thing to do would be to pull the male around 21-23 days before he releases the juveniles. Juvenile Banggai are pretty fragile and it's best to move them while the male is still holding them. Mine usually spits them out as soon as I net him and put him in the rearing tank. After that I just put him back and start feeding the juveniles.

As far as angels go, there has been some success with the dwarfs such as flame angels. Larval feeding is the key here as with so many species.

Ok cool, maybe I will give it a try. I know Banggai dont do it as frequently as clowns and if I remember reading a while back their #s are taking a big hit from wild collection because of their more infrequent spawnings. Be a good way to help out IMO

Yeah I know the dwarfs have been successfully done, not easily or often tho unfortunately, and I know they are much more difficult then clowns/ banggai because of the larval stage being longer and requiring a different food as well if I remember right. Maybe someday I will be able to get to that level tho... don't suppose you have come across any good "how to" stuff on breeding angels, ive seen some stuff but most of it just talked about how hard it was to do and low success rates not so much what you need/ how to actually do it!

[FlynnFish]

i would like to know more about the foods available to feed the fry of different species and at the different times. i have a pair of firefish, a mated pair of coral banded shrimp, pair velvet damsels, and lots of different pairs of clowns but i know different things eat different foods. i've raised clarkii clowns but would like to move on to other things.
shannon
reef solutions

[fishtal]

Originally Posted by chort55

Ok cool, maybe I will give it a try. I know Banggai dont do it as frequently as clowns and if I remember reading a while back their #s are taking a big hit from wild collection because of their more infrequent spawnings. Be a good way to help out IMO

Yeah I know the dwarfs have been successfully done, not easily or often tho unfortunately, and I know they are much more difficult then clowns/ banggai because of the larval stage being longer and requiring a different food as well if I remember right. Maybe someday I will be able to get to that level tho... don't suppose you have come across any good "how to" stuff on breeding angels, ive seen some stuff but most of it just talked about how hard it was to do and low success rates not so much what you need/ how to actually do it!

Banggai are always good to work with. Captive bred Banggai are much healthier and will live longer than wild caught ones. There is always a market for them too.

There isn't a lot of angel breeding info out there but there is a bit of info here: MBI Species Classification List

There is also an article in the most recent Reef Hobbyist magazine written by a friend of mine: Reef Hobbyist Magazine Quarter 1 2011

[fishtal]

Originally Posted by I8Nemo

i would like to know more about the foods available to feed the fry of different species and at the different times. i have a pair of firefish, a mated pair of coral banded shrimp, pair velvet damsels, and lots of different pairs of clowns but i know different things eat different foods. i've raised clarkii clowns but would like to move on to other things.
shannon
reef solutions

Shannon,

You can find more info on different foods here: Culturing and Feeding

[fishtal]

Anyone else care to chime in?