I had a few back & forth's over email with Gary, and asked if I could post our conversation here:
Hi My name is Gary Wilbee, i am based in Ireland
I am going to start a breeding program with Cherub Argi but i am trying to do some research.
Good Afternoon Gary,
There was an earlier thread (aka "Take 1") on Reef Central, but basically, I can sum it up. They all got along OK, but died within a week from a bad infection. If you have multiples of these fish on hand, you can literally put them together in a specimen cup and withing a few seconds you'll likely know if they're going to get along or not. Best way to establish a trio is to simply get the largest, and 2 very smallest, you can possibly find.
Feel free to ask any questions you don't have answered after reading that thread on MOFIB! Good luck!
Hi Matt
Thanks for getting back so quickly,.
Please could you tell me if.................
1. Could you tell approx how eggs they release is it around the 50 to 70?
2. Were you able to feed larvae with nauplii copepods and then they died ?
Regards
Gary
Gary, egg releases were a couple hundred if I recall correctly. At one point, I had 3 females and a male....so all 3 females would spawn and I could get several hundred eggs each night.
I don't know that I ever got them to feed on anything as larvae. You might want to look at how I reared Oxymonacanthus longirostris - with that species, it seems that proper FLOW seemed to substantially increase early larval survival. Of course, it's known that even a calanoid species such as Acartia tonsa may not work for Centropyge...finding a feeding protocol will be a big accomplishment, especially if you are an inland-bound breeder who is limited to the few things we can culture routinely (such as Tigriops and rotifers).
Hi MATT
THANKS FOR GETTING BACK IN TOUCH.
THANKS FOR THE INFO .
Would you know Centropyge fisheri ? ( as far as i know they have been bred and raised ,would you know any more info on that? ).
Also what lighting did you use with the eggs before and after they hatched ,not trying to get to many secrets only a few.
Thanks
Gary.
Gary, during incubation I've found I've had the best success with normal light cycles. Centropyge fisheri was actually the first species to be reared in captivity if I'm not mistaken, and it is probably extremely similar to C. argi when it comes to establishing a spawning group. In theory, it is possible that what might work to rear C. fisheri won't work for C. argi, but until it's tried, we can't say, and we should assume they're very similar.
---and this is where we are. Gary, I'd love it if you could post your followups here on MASNA's forums - thanks!
Matt