Banggai Cardinals
(Pterapogon kauderni)
Click on the links for photos and info regarding the adults.
BC1 BC2 BC3
BC6
BC5
BC4
BC8
BC7
Mar 22/99
This is how banggai cardinal begin their lives: as red eggs about 2mm in diameter. Here, the female is seen carrying the egg sac. Normally she releases the eggs, the male fertilizes them and then he scoops them up and incubates them in his mouth for approximately 18 days. The eggs hatch in his mouth and he continues to carry live fry in his mouth for another 4 or more days before releasing the fully formed fry. In this instance the female's timing was off. The male still had a mouthful of fry so she had nowhere to put the eggs. They were likely reabsorbed by the female or became food for other reef inhabitants.
Fourteen fry were released on Feb 24. They are only 1cm long (SL), but near exact duplicates of the parents. Immediately after release by the male into my coral reef aquarium the fry were netted and and placed in a breeder net. Diet consists of fresh hatched brine nauplii cultured in a phytoplankton rich brine solution. Feedings are three times daily, but will increase to five times as nauplii production increases.
Day old Banggai Cardinal fry
Feb 24/99
Below is a photograph of five day old fry safe and secure in their artificial urchin (design compliments of Keith and Lisa). As a scale reference, the shishkabob skewers are 2mm wide.

Mar 1/99
The male banggai is once again carrying a brood of eggs in his mouth as evidenced by his abstinence from food. At best, he enjoyed three days of heavy feedings of frozen brine shrimp before he was in the family way again.
Here are the fry at 14 days. All 15 are doing well. I found another in the sump to raise the total. They are devouring nauplii from Sally's Hatch mix. The fry range in size from 10 to 15mm now.
The larger juvenilles, released Feb 24/99 are on average 2 cm long at the 32 day old mark. They are beginning to take on some adult markings. The smaller fry seen to the right of the juvis were released on Mar 22/99. They are approximately 1 cm in length.

The male was rested in the fry tank for a week after releasing the second batch. This required keeping the smallest fry in a breeders net to prevent losses to the male. He has since been returned to the reef tank with the female. I expect he will be carrying eggs any day now.
Mar 27/99