Fish
- -Recently-
-
-
-
-
Tag Archives: breeding
Latest Posts
A Modern Guide to Buying Seahorses
Are you considering purchasing seahorses but are unsure of where to start or afraid they are too difficult? Seahorses do need a specialized setup, but are not nearly as hard to keep as they once were. Advances in breeding have given us seahorses that are fully adapted to life in the aquarium. This buying guide covers what every aquarist needs to know about purchasing healthy seahorses before making that leap. More: A Modern Guide to Buying Seahorses… More:
Help! My Seahorse Just Had Babies!
Or, what to expect when you didn’t know you were expecting. Seahorses are known for their proclivity of having hundreds of babies when you least expect it. Photo by CARSTEN SCHÖNIJAHN You just walked by your tank to discover dozens, if not hundreds of tiny seahorses drifting around your aquarium. These miniature copies of the adults caught you off guard, and now you’re not sure what to do. This guide will walk you through what you need to do within the first few hours to try and save the young seahorses. In the immortal words of Douglas Adams; Don’t Panic! The absolute first thing you must do is decide if you really want to try to raise these babies. Raising baby seahorses is a time, space, and money consuming task. And there is no guarantee that you’ll be successful; very few seahorse fry survive in the wild. Being unprepared means that you’ll be starting from a disadvantage as well. However, thanks to their yolk sack when born, baby seahorses can go 24 – 48 hours without. . . More: Help! My Seahorse Just Had Babies!… More:
Posted in Seahorses, Uncategorized
Tagged breeding, browser, browser-privacy, food and nutrition, please-contact, problem, proxy-server, request, server, technical
Leave a comment
Vossen larval catchers put to the test with Lipogramma klayi
It’s been several months since I raised my first Lipogramma klayi at the Long Island Aquarium. Sadly, I’ve only had two more reach settlement since then. One of the bottlenecks to the mass production of this beautiful deepwater basslet, as well as other grammatids, is that they are what we sometimes refer to as “trickle” spawners because although they spawn often, they lay only a few eggs at a time.… More:
Posted in DIY, Equipment, Fish, Science, Uncategorized
Tagged Aquaculture, breeding, Chad Vossen, fish, larvae, MBI
Leave a comment
Captive-bred Lipogramma klayi
You can now add the high-priced bicolor basslet, Lipogramma klayi, to the list of marine species that have been raised for the first time at the Long Island Aquarium. Thanks to another generous donation from one of my biggest supporters, Forrest Young at Dynasty Marine Associates, I have had the privilege of conditioning a small broodstock (2 pairs) of L. klayi for the last couple of months. Last week we were rewarded with our first glimpse of a newly settled bicolor basslet in one of our rearing tanks. 
Now that we’ve seen their price plummet from… More:
Mystery larvae from pelagic egg collectors at the Long Island Aquarium
For me, the most exciting part of collecting pelagic eggs and larvae from a large community tank like the 20,000-gallon reef tank at the Long Island Aquarium, is watching the larvae grow and trying to figure out what they are before they reach settlement. Recently we got a great haul of eggs that hatched into some very interesting larvae. As we watched them grow – unusually fast, our excitement grew proportionately. Their relatively deep bodies and large, heavily pigmented pelvic fins really set them apart from the rest of the larvae in the tank. I could tell by their morphology that they weren’t angelfishes or tangs, but there are so many species from so many families in that tank, that that didn’t help to narrow it down much. They reminded me of damselfish larvae, but I knew that was unlikely because these larvae came from pelagic eggs and as far as I know, all damselfishes are benthic spawners.
Well, luckily we didn’t have to wait too long. After a couple of more weeks, these things were overwhelming the 250-gallon rearing tank and had outcompeted all of the other species for available food. I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t disappointed when I finally figured out what they were, but of all the species in this tank – one of the most impressive reef tanks in the world…did it have to be the monos (Monodactylusargenteus)?Really – who puts monos in a reef tank. … More:
It’s settled! First captive bred candy bass, Liopropoma carmabi
After a staggering larval period of 126-143 days, three of the candy bass larvae at the Long Island Aquarium have finally reached settlement. … More:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Aquaculture, basslet, breeding, candy bass, MBI workshop, rearing, Todd Gardner
7 Comments
The Pygmy Pipehorses of Cozumel
Close up of a pygmy pipehorse – Cozumel, Mexico. Photo Courtesy of Jim Lyle Diving in Cozumel, is by all accounts, is an amazing experience. Cozumel is considered one of the best diving locations in the world, with reefs and shallow coral formations teaming with sea life. Divers flock from around the world to see such amazing animals as sharks, sea turtles, stingrays, and of course, seahorses. But one surprising animal exists there going mostly unnoticed. It’s the West Atlantic Pygmy Pipehorse, Amphelikturus dendriticus, a diminutive relative of seahorses. Most people know what a seahorse is, and many have some awareness of pipefish, the seahorse’s straightened, snake-like cousin, but few are aware of the in-between fish called the pygmy pipehorse. They are, as you would expect, a middle ground between seahorses and pipefish. They hitch like seahorses, and while they have a slightly bent neck, its no where to the extreme that gives seahorses their moniker. Females tend to rest. . . More: The Pygmy Pipehorses of Cozumel… More:
Posted in Seahorses
Tagged breeding, browser-privacy, food and nutrition, key-shown, please-contact, problem, proxy-server, request, server, technical
Leave a comment
Syngnathid Symposium 2011
The the second Syngnathid Symposium was held the first week in November in Chicago at the Shedd aquarium. 92 delegates from all over the world gathered to discuss current issues with seahorses, sea dragons, pipefish and other syngnathids. Topics discussed were husbandry, challenges in breeding, keeping and obtaining these unique animals as well as conservation and research initiatives. Most attendees were from public aquariums, along with researchers, conservationists, a couple commercial interests, and me, a syngnathid nut. I had the privilege to attend as an observer, blogger and general enthusiast and to learn more about the challenges those who work closely with seahorse, sea dragons, and the much forgotten pipefish. Topics ranged from the difficulties in sea dragon breeding to population dynamics of seahorses to at times loathing these difficult animals (even if in a loving way). There were more topics covered than I could possibly share in a summary, but I want to share. . . More: Syngnathid Symposium 2011… More:
Posted in Seahorses
Tagged breeding, food and nutrition, invalid-request, key-shown, please-contact, problem, request, server
Leave a comment
