Bangaii Breeding Journal

[Myka]

Stupid plumbing...I have a leak between the sump and the pump that I've fiddled with for the last 2 hours. I give up for today! I'm also waiting on RO/DI water...

I haven't done anything in the sump, I'm just going to put a noodle strainer in there with a sheet of filter media to catch detritus and act like a filter sock. There are no baffles in the sump yet. I will drain the sump down the road and fix it up right. I'm going to fit the tank with a Herbie overflow at the same I do the Herbie on my 75g. It's just a strainer on a bulkhead right now. For now, I just need to slap this together ASAP for the baby Bangers.

[Myka]

So it's quite a tight fit for the pump and the sump under the tank. I should have figured it out better. I couldn't get in there good enough to tighten it up where the leak is. I hard plumbed between the sump and the pump with threaded pipe. Bad idea!!! Stupid leaks!

So I ripped it all apart and decided to hard plumb with PVC and glue, and installed a union between the sump and the pump as well as between the pump and the 40g. I thought I had it figured out, but when I tried to fit the pump in the stand I couldn't shut the door!!! Ack! Back to the hardware store!

So...third try is a charm? I hope so!! I should get it all plumbed up tonight...hopefully.

In the meantime, mama Banger is getting pretty fat with eggs again. She probably has another 10-14 days to go though.

[Myka]

Oh ya...I think I made a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig mistake by not introducing frozen foods to the babies right away.

I took some PE Mysis, blended it up, put some Selcon and a couple drops of Garlic Extreme in it, then refroze it in a thin little sheet for the baby Bangers. Some of them are taking to it, but most of them seem to have no clue that it is edible!!

This next batch...I'm gonna have it all figured out!! (hoping)

[Myka]

Ok, so Mr Banger is pregnant this afternoon - exactly 30 days after the last batch. This is odd because he wasn't pregnant ths morning, so that means they got nookie during the day. They've never done that before. I think Mrs Banger was just so fat with eggs she couldn't keep her fins crossed anymore! Mr Banger's mouth is so full he can't even close his mouth all the way.

I just noticed ths morning how big the Bangers are getting, they're almost full size now I think.

The babies on the other hand grow soooooooooooooooooo slow!!! Including all finnage, they are about the size of dimes, and they're 10 weeks old now.

[Myka]

Well I have a mere two left from the March 21st batch. They are now four months old, and stunted little runts. I have to get a serious system set up here. There's no way you can raise these guys to sale size flying by the seat of your pants that's for sure!! I'm starting to plan a 5-6 tank system that will be about 70 gallons total to grow them out.

I was away for the weekend, and I came back to find Mr Banger full of eggs - 52 days after the last batch. Or rather half-full of eggs. I think I caught it too late, and he's already eaten a bunch. I caught him and stripped him. I figured I will give my egg tumbler a go again, but this time I put it in my display tank in hopes that the better water quality will help get the eggs to maturity without fungus! Not many eggs in this batch...maybe 15-18?

[Myka]

Well that didn't last long! Something must have sucked the eggs through the screen of the egg tumbler. I'm blaming the Nassarius since there was one hanging around there this morning. >(

[BC Mosaic]

I thought Benagaii didn't eat flake at all. My two certainly don't. Mysis is what they seem to prefer. They don't go for frozen bloodworms either (had some in the freezer from my FW days) although the rest of the population in my tank enjoyed those blood worms.
Great thread. Keep it coming