Bangaii Cardinal Breeding
Having said that, lucky THEY know what's what because *I* sure as hell don't :-/
Had no ph credit til today so couldn't post my observations as they occurred but here they are:
Last week i noticed my Bangaiis indulging in apparent breeding behavior. This was in the 26L with the clown fish and i filmed the action.
Then, after moving them into their new tank on Tuesday this week, i noticed them doing the same breeding behavior within an hour or so of being moved. I filmed this also.
My notes:
"Bangaii Cardinals have been dubbed "the guppies of the marine world" and, I've found, with good reason.
All they seem to require is water, food and a member of the opposite sex and they're good to go. They haven't gone so far as emualting my male guppies yet (who insist on trying to rape my male sword tail and sail fin) by sexually assaulting my clown fish. This is probably a wise move on their part since my clown thinks it's a fucking shark and i dread to think of the consequences.
At present they haven't extended their interest to any other tank inhabitants and that's a good start, i feel :)
I first noticed one of the Bangaiis avidly following the other about the tank, about a week ago. "Hello!", i thought, "Are we thinking about breeding?" and promptly forgot all dinner preparation-related activity, in favor of watching proceedings. My kids, being a) used to me and b) capable of making their own dinner, sighed and began scavenging through the fridge.
An article about the commercial breeding of Bangaiis said that warm water prompts breeding behavior and that this behavior occurs at night - which makes sense since Bangaiis are nocturnal. It would also account for the number of people who have woken one morning to discover they owned several more Bangaiis than they did the night before - the action all happens after lights out. However my pair of Bangaiis are tank raised and so are more relaxed about lighting - the male does his mating dance during the day and night hours. I had hoped the article would detail the actual mating behavior but, irritatingly, it stated that as the behavior had been related in other works, it wouldn't be repeated.
Luckily i am familiar with African cichlids and their paternal mouth-brooding habits so when i saw the Bangaiis indulging in similar behavior, i realized what was afoot.
First, the male diligently followed the female about the tank, rather like a dog following a bitch on heat. He does this day and night. Almost non-stop. His attention didn't seem to impress her one way or the other and occasionally she appeared to become irritated and dart off to another area away from him. He would either patiently follow or become distracted by something food-like but quickly remember his goal and return to following her once more. He would then sidle up beside her so his flanks are almost touching hers then shìmmy rapidly, in a manner he felt to be sexy. This is very similar to the African cichlid shimmy behavior. He would shiver himself for 10-20 seconds then drop under her and look up at her vent area. He is clearly expecting her to release eggs, which he will quickly gulp into his mouth. So far no eggs have been forthcoming and i have to say, each time he looks a tad disappointed. But he's a trooper and he immediately returns to her side and starts his sexy dance again. I'm not sure, and the article author was also unsure, when exactly the eggs are fertilized - the author felt the male released sperm slightly up-current from the female so she released her eggs into a cloud of sperm for fertilization, before the male collected the eggs. I haven't seen my male do this - he just does his shimmy dance beside her then looks for eggs. I sincerely hope he's not releasing sperm EVERY time he does his dance because if he continues at his current rate, he'll do himself an injury. I'm guessing the corals probably don't mind so much, though. It also makes me reluctant to put my hand in the tank. I mean EEEWWWW!!! "
Then on Wednesday:
"Well, within hours of me typing that first missive, my Bangaiis, in what i can only assume is an attempt to undermine me, promptly produced eggs and when i next looked in the tank, one had a decidedly full mouth, reminiscent of a bad case of mumps. The part that has me baffled is that the one with the full mouth is the one i had thought was the female "
Had no ph credit til today so couldn't post my observations as they occurred but here they are:
Last week i noticed my Bangaiis indulging in apparent breeding behavior. This was in the 26L with the clown fish and i filmed the action.
Then, after moving them into their new tank on Tuesday this week, i noticed them doing the same breeding behavior within an hour or so of being moved. I filmed this also.
My notes:
"Bangaii Cardinals have been dubbed "the guppies of the marine world" and, I've found, with good reason.
All they seem to require is water, food and a member of the opposite sex and they're good to go. They haven't gone so far as emualting my male guppies yet (who insist on trying to rape my male sword tail and sail fin) by sexually assaulting my clown fish. This is probably a wise move on their part since my clown thinks it's a fucking shark and i dread to think of the consequences.
At present they haven't extended their interest to any other tank inhabitants and that's a good start, i feel :)
I first noticed one of the Bangaiis avidly following the other about the tank, about a week ago. "Hello!", i thought, "Are we thinking about breeding?" and promptly forgot all dinner preparation-related activity, in favor of watching proceedings. My kids, being a) used to me and b) capable of making their own dinner, sighed and began scavenging through the fridge.
An article about the commercial breeding of Bangaiis said that warm water prompts breeding behavior and that this behavior occurs at night - which makes sense since Bangaiis are nocturnal. It would also account for the number of people who have woken one morning to discover they owned several more Bangaiis than they did the night before - the action all happens after lights out. However my pair of Bangaiis are tank raised and so are more relaxed about lighting - the male does his mating dance during the day and night hours. I had hoped the article would detail the actual mating behavior but, irritatingly, it stated that as the behavior had been related in other works, it wouldn't be repeated.
Luckily i am familiar with African cichlids and their paternal mouth-brooding habits so when i saw the Bangaiis indulging in similar behavior, i realized what was afoot.
First, the male diligently followed the female about the tank, rather like a dog following a bitch on heat. He does this day and night. Almost non-stop. His attention didn't seem to impress her one way or the other and occasionally she appeared to become irritated and dart off to another area away from him. He would either patiently follow or become distracted by something food-like but quickly remember his goal and return to following her once more. He would then sidle up beside her so his flanks are almost touching hers then shìmmy rapidly, in a manner he felt to be sexy. This is very similar to the African cichlid shimmy behavior. He would shiver himself for 10-20 seconds then drop under her and look up at her vent area. He is clearly expecting her to release eggs, which he will quickly gulp into his mouth. So far no eggs have been forthcoming and i have to say, each time he looks a tad disappointed. But he's a trooper and he immediately returns to her side and starts his sexy dance again. I'm not sure, and the article author was also unsure, when exactly the eggs are fertilized - the author felt the male released sperm slightly up-current from the female so she released her eggs into a cloud of sperm for fertilization, before the male collected the eggs. I haven't seen my male do this - he just does his shimmy dance beside her then looks for eggs. I sincerely hope he's not releasing sperm EVERY time he does his dance because if he continues at his current rate, he'll do himself an injury. I'm guessing the corals probably don't mind so much, though. It also makes me reluctant to put my hand in the tank. I mean EEEWWWW!!! "
Then on Wednesday:
"Well, within hours of me typing that first missive, my Bangaiis, in what i can only assume is an attempt to undermine me, promptly produced eggs and when i next looked in the tank, one had a decidedly full mouth, reminiscent of a bad case of mumps. The part that has me baffled is that the one with the full mouth is the one i had thought was the female "
