Banggai Cardinalfish Breeding Reference

Seems like a lot of folks have interests in breeding Banggai Cardinal Fish (Pterapogon kauderni). A couple years back, I put together the breeding overview for this species @ MOFIB. There are MANY links to additional references on their care and husbandry, so for anyone interested in breeding this fish, I'd strongly suggest starting with the overview and checking out those references.

http://www.marinebreeder.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=166&t=1851

FWIW,

Matt

Thanks Matt I was talking to Phil and I think we might try this at the science center. It wouldbe a great learning tool for not only us but others that visit the center too.

Thanks Again for speaking.It was awsome!!

I would suggest this for everyone in the "middle of nowhere Minnesota" - if you start producing Captive Bred Banggais, be sure you can find them all homes. In a large metro area like Chicago, there's no shortage of new hobbyists and local fish stores to supply, but up here, I think ANY fish breeding venture needs a good plan for selling the babies in advance

I will tell you this, there are SEVERAL really cool things that could be done at the HSC, similar to the baby quails and such, when it comes to fish and inverts. Frankly, I'd be surprised if the Convict Cichlids upstairs weren't spawning periodically. As a kid, the display at the Shedd that caught my attention was a familial group of Neolamprologys brichardi...what's cool is you have the pair which care for babies, and as the babies grow up, they are allowed to remain in the parent's territory. Then, the older babies in turn move outward but help defend their younger siblings. Such a display could easily be set up in a tank as small as a 20 long.

If, at any point, the folks at HSC want to set up a little Banggai Cardinalfish breeding program for educational purposes, I can tell you now that Baby Banggais are extremely cute and will garner a lot of attention. I'd especially suggest these two references as good starts on how to create long term, somewhat self-sustaining exhibits.

http://www.breedersregistry.org/Articles/v4_i4_marini/marini.htm
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/seagrant/communication/pdf/Banggai%20Cardinalfish-Final.pdf

Finally, I will also point out that in time, the Clownfish in the reef may start spawning. Baby clownfish are just as pretty as Baby Banggais, and years later, kids still know "NEMO". A small scale clownfish breeding program can be done with only a few tanks and not that much work, and again, could make a really exciting educational display.

I'm happy to offer my experiences to anyone who needs to pick my brain

FWIW,

Matt