Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius Melarchus

General
Species:  Ecsenius Melarchus
Social Structure:  Male / Female Pair
Size of Individuals: 
Age of Individuals:  Unknown (Wild Caught)
Date added to Tank:  9/30/2011

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  In a 12"x15"x12" section of a ~350 gallon system. (Began spawning in a 5 Gallon QT Tank)
Substrate Details:  None
Filtration Details:  Large system with sump based mechanical, biological filters and protein skimmer  
Water Changes:  Infrequently done.  Maybe 5% every other month.
Water Temperature:  80 F
Lighting:  4 48" T5 Florescent bulbs  
Lighting Cycle:  12 on off split
Other Tank Inhabitants:  2 peppermint shrimp.  (Were with Baby Percula Clownfish in the QT tank)

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  These guys are mainly algae eaters.  They are also fed Otohime Marine Diet (C2).
Feeding Schedule:  2x per day

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  Not sure of exact Date.  Around 11/02/2011
Spawn Time of Day:  First thing in the mornings 
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 
Courtship Details:  At lights on, male makes marked color change. Bottom half of body turns white, top half gets darker brown.  Blue of face becomes much more pronounced.  Male dives and flashes around the female and in and out of the PVC pipe.  If female is gravid, she follows him into the pipe.
Egg Size: 
Egg Color:  Start out orange, then darken and then turn silver as the fry develop.
Egg Count:  around 200

Hatch Details
Hatch Date: 
Hatch Time of Day: 
# Days after Spawn: 
Larvae Description: 


Larval Tank Details
Temperature: 
Size of Larval Tank: 
Substrate Details: 
Other Tank Decor: 
Filtration Details: 
Lighting: 
Lighting Cycle: 
Water Changes: 

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

(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 



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We have eggs! Happened a lot faster that I thought...
 

Another batch of eggs was laid yesterday. Interesting to note that the eggs from the first batch has still not hatched.

Another batch of eggs today.  Note batch #2 has not yet hatched.

Where did you get this pair? How did you pair them up?

-Adam

I bought 3 of them from one of the LFS.  I watched all three of them at the store for a while.  I noticed that they way they were interacting with each other.  One of them seemed to be flashing his fins to the other two.  That one turned out to be the male.

Ahh very cool!!  Can you get any macro shots of the eggs? How small are they?

-Adam

Have not really been able to get any good shots.  Our digital camera will not auto-focus through the tank well either.  I do have a new phone coming with a pretty good camera, so maybe that will work better.
 
Not sure on the exact size of the eggs, but they are small.  Probably about 1/3 the size of standard clownfish eggs.

Another shot that shows the mixture of different batches...
 

Had another batch of eggs laid yesterday.  I had tried to get these guys to lay the eggs in some pvc pipes, but they will only lay them in the pvc 90 degree elbows.
 
The pair is also in a tank with some peppermint shrimp who have been eating the eggs at night.  The eggs are not really guarded by the pair.  I have pulled this batch of eggs and will see if I can get them to hatch.

I've heard really good things about artificial incubation on Blenny eggs.  Good luck!

Look like nice big eggs for such a small fish!
 

Sorry for the lack of followup and information in my journal.  Life has thrown many curve balls over the last couple of months...  I will once again try and gather together better notes on the spawning and hatching dates.
 
My attempt at artificial incubation was a bust, but I believe it was because I did not have enough direct contact with the eggs by the air bubbles.  I am wondering if they need more agitation to hatch out.
 
I was able to gather about 8 fry on 2/16/2012 from another spawn.  They seem to be doing OK, and appear to be feeding on rotifiers.  I am beginning to see a couple of silver belly's. I really need to get a manual focus camera as I have not been able to get ANY pictures of the fry.