Breeding Journal, Species: Oxymonocanthus longirostris

I'm planning a new push with these for the new year.

General
Species: Oxymonocanthus longirostris
Social Structure: monogamous
Size of Individuals: 3.5-4"    
Age of Individuals: unknown
Date added to Tank: 12-31-08

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank: 40XL (4 x 1 x 1)
Substrate Details: ~1" sand
Filtration Details: connected to ~1,400 gal. system
Water Changes: ~100 gals. about every 2 weeks
Water Temperature: 81
Lighting: T5s
Lighting Cycle: 14on 
Other Tank Inhabitants: a pair of banggai 

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types: A seafood medley, blendered beyond recognition and frozen. Also (frozen): Mysis, Nutramar Ova, SF Cyclops, Daphnia, and pretty much anything else I can find gets introduced to them.
Feeding Schedule: 3-5x/day

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn: First verified spawn 5/6/09
Spawn Time of Day: usually ~8:00pm
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: spawns usually 3-4 days apart    
CourtShip Details: This can go on for hours. Female gets agitated, swims the tank sampling various algae beds. Male follows closely. Male often displays "flutter dive" behavior with movements of anal vent (exposing orange color) and opening and closing tail fin like a fan very quickly. Female occasionally also show "flutter dive" behavior. When things are close, male "chatters" at females cheek as she thrusts into algae. At spawn, female presses genital opening to substrate, male quickly joins her. Post-spawn, both look stunned for a few seconds and float away from the spawning site on the current. Male then displays wildly as female swims quickly away.
Egg Size: Sorry. I didn't measure them.
Egg Color: Mine were orange-ish. I think this may be diet-related, as Matt's were green.
Egg Count: 30-40.

Hatch Details
Hatch Date: My successful collection was decimated by a couple of sneaky amphipods.
Hatch Time of Day:
# Days after Spawn:
Larve Description:


Larval Tank Details
Temperature: 79F
Size of Larval Tank: 17 gal. round (feed bucket)     
Substrate Details: Black krylon
Other Tank Decor: none
Filtration Details: connected to system, 30 gal. brute trash can with bioballs in a strainer at top for a wet/dry, plus half-full 20H sump
Lighting: Small CF fixture
Lighting Cycle: on when I do first feeding, off at last night feeding
Water Changes: as needed

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:
Feeding Schedule:

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start:
Days after Hatch:
Date of Settlement End:
Description of Fry:

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature:
Size of Grow-Out Tank:
Substrate Details:
Other Tank Decor:
Filtration Details:
Lighting:
Lighting Cycle:
Water Changes:
Size at Transfer:
Age at Transfer

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types:
Feeding Schedule:

Additional Information
Miscellaneous Information:

My pair:



Eggs:

Here are some photos of my larval rearing system where I'll be trying these guys if I can ever get eggs. (I watched courtship for an hour the other night, ready to steal eggs, and the male forgot to join in. Sigh.)







The strainer is now full of bioballs for a little wet/dry action.

Can you explain the plumbing there in the blue bucket a bit?

Actually can you explain it all? What are the other two contraptions on the right of the blue bucket?

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

Sure. The black thing on the far right is an old water bath I got at a university auction from the school in town. It's basically a hot plate attached under a small pot for water. The hot plate has a thermostat and holds the water at a constant temp. I will eventually have a second blue tub in that space.

The middle thing is essentially the same thing as the water bath. I can put a container in there and it's constantly surrounded by fresh larval system water, keeping whatever's in the container at the same temp as the larval system.

As far as the larval tank itself goes, water from the system is pumped down the vertical pipe in the center to just above the bottom of the tub. The incoming water gets forced towards the sides of the tank. In theory, this will create a doughnut of kreisel-type water flow all the way around the tank. The Y-shaped thing is the overflow. Both of the arms can be pulled up and down. They are each removable for cleaning, and I have different sized mesh on them. So, most of the time the 50 micron screen is down, retaining rotifers in the tank while allowing water to pass. The other has something like 150 micron screen and I lower that into the water to flow the rots out and to go clean the 50 micron screen.

Well, the momentous day is upon us, fortunately with no drama. The filefish have now been in my care exactly one year and it fortunately seems like its just another day, hopefully with many more to come. Tomorrow marks another milestone of sorts: it'll be exactly 10 months since either of the fish have seen a coral. So, without further ado, the couple from today: 

 

For more about these fish and the past year, you are invited to my website where I've written a short article to commemorate the occasion. (For those of you that have seen it already, the only things new are two more photos from today.) http://www.ummfish.com/index.php

Great story
Congrats on the anniversary!
Deb

Great job!  They look super happy.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Your overflow idea is genius!

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

Thanks y'all! It's not my overflow idea, though. I got it from here: http://www.amazon.com/Marine-Ornamental-Shrimp-Aquaculture-Conservation/dp/1405170867/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262412652&sr=8-1

 $168.76!  Holy %&*%$#

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

Yes, but any library in the country can get you a copy of that book for free. Interlibrary loan is a wonderful thing. Fortunately for me, I live in a university town and the library there has an adequate aquaculture section (despite us being smack in the middle of the country).

I'll have to see if I can get it through my local library.

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

Dang it. _Another_ spawn that was just out of camera range and I could not find the eggs.

You'll get them!

Chad Penney - MBI Council
Agis quod Adis

I added a large clump of gracillaria where I can see it well and remove it easily if they give me eggs there. Hopefully it'll help guide them there.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

Have you tried a "spawning mop" yet Andy?

No, not yet. There's still random algae around the tank, hair on the powerheads, etc.. I think they spawned into some bubble algae the other day. I'm trying to give them a really good alternative (better than what they are using now) that I can still remove at will, rather than going with something that would be a last resort to them.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

hrmm...

it'll happen man!  you going to tumble the eggs or whats the plan? Gonna be trickier once you do get the eggs... one of those... "hrmm now what" feelings...

Pelagically yours,
~J      

Well, my plan at this point was to treat them like the sixlines: Peroxide dip and then still water. But I need to go back and look at Matt's thread to see what he did. I'm fairly sure that he tumbled them. I have an old globe funnel (good volume) that I can set up as a tumbler.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886