The 4 with what I think are swim bladder issues aren't showing any change. All of them are eating BBS. I make sure that the BBS that I feed them are less than 48 hours old so that they haven't developed their exoskeleton yet and are much more nutritious.

Very cool. Yes, they are cute. This makes me want to get a couple of cardinals and see what would happen.

Well, eventually you'll get a pair, and then the female will pump the male full of eggs repeatedly. If you don't intervene he will end up starving to death because she won't let him fatten up between batches!! Poor little dude...

pair
 

How can you tell if you have a male and female I just got two today and from what I
could see at the lfs there was three in one tank one on one side and two together I tryed
to push them togethere but the one was chased away about four times. do you think I may have a par I hope so.

It's possible. Time will tell. If they are siblings, then it's tough to tell.

It seems like the four with swim bladder issues are getting better. One of them is doing very poorly, and is much smaller than the rest of the batch, and lays on the bottom. I don't think this one will live. The other three are the same size as the rest of the batch and are doing well. So far I haven't lost any, and all are growing well. I have rigged up a good little BBS hatchery chain. :lol: They are starting to eat Cyclopeeze and Coral Frenzy now too.

I never had any problem with surviving babies that were left in the tank. Sure there were 30, then 20, then I scooped out 10 and they were all good to go at their size. Maybe you could just segregate them with some mesh or something?

Only one I ever left tanked was the one Christy took home and he had a homemade urchin...:lol:

I want ALL of them to survive! :lol:

Very cool thread...I'm not sure I'm cut out for breeding like this though because I can't imagine being able to hold onto any of my fish while prying their mouths open...I have enough trouble holding onto my 10lb baby and prying her mouth open...lol.

:lol: He's getting used to the routine. He's easier to catch, and after I just pry a little bit he gives up and spits them out for me. Poor lil guy...