Spotted Cardinalfish spit eggs out

[dlou87]

Hi everyone.

I have 3 adult spotted cardinalfish in my reef tank.

Noticed the male with swollen mouth about 7-10 days ago. After some reading I thought the right thing to do would be to try and catch him and put him in a small holding tank. I tried to net him this morning and he "spit" a clump of small grey eggs out.

I caught the eggs and put them in the holding tank. Is it a total lost cause now, or should I keep them in the holding tank or put them back in the main tank for the male to grab again or other fish to eat?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Codeman]

Maybe he spit them out cause he knew they were no good?

 

[dlou87]

Well it was when I was trying to net him, so he was provoked do it under stress. Can anyone lend some advice?

 

[Kiah]

In my experience, if the eggs are relatively newly laid or close to release time, Banggai's will spit the batch if stressed. Typical hold time is 26 - 29 days. I usually wait until they've been holding for 2 weeks prior to netting.

 

[jayman10134]

you could put them in an egg tumbler