Breeding Journal DataSheet
This first post should be updated regularly to include new information as events take place or changes are made to your system
General Species: Dunckerocampus baldwini
Social Structure: Group of 7 to start -- eventually two pairs, plus two extra fish of uncertain gender.
Size of Individuals: 5" - 7"
Age of Individuals: Unknown
Date added to Tank: 11/29/2012
Broodstock Tank Details Size of Tank: 40 Gallons
Substrate Details: Bare Bottom
Filtration Details: Penguin Emperor 400 HOB filter, plus some live rock in the tank.
Water Changes: As necessary to keep water quality high. As much as 50% twice weekly, while trying to wean onto frozen foods (lots of uneaten food can accumulate).
Water Temperature: 74-76 F
Lighting: Low light levels from 16" strip fluorescent light on top of eggcrate on top of tank.
Lighting Cycle: Manual, usually 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM or so.
Other Tank Inhabitants: Tisbe on the glass and rocks, Amphipods & Mysids hiding in the live rock.
Broodstock Feeding Details Food Types: Primarily enriched few-day-old BBS. Also live Tigriopus. Still trying to wean them onto frozen with various frozen cyclops brands, Spirulina brine, Hikari Mysis, Nutramar Ova, etc. as of 13 December 2012. By 31 December 2012, all of them are taking Ocean Nutrition brand frozen cyclops, some more enthusiastically than others. I still give them occasional treats of enriched several day old Artemia and/or Tigriopus and/or Moina.
Feeding Schedule: Several small meals per day.
Spawning Details Date of First Spawn: (Pair in Tank #1) 13 December 2012
Spawn Time of Day: Unknown. Update: The spawns always happen in the morning, shortly after lights on.
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: (Pair in Tank #1): 21 December 2012 30 December 2012, 9 January 2013, 19 January 2013, 29 January 2013, 8 February 2013, 17 February 2013, 26 February 2013, 7 March 2013, 16 March 2013, 25 March 2013, 19 April 2013, 5 May 2013
(Pair in Tank #2): 22 December 2012, 1 January 2013, 11&12 January 2013, 5 February 2013, 24 April 2013, 3 May 2013
Courtship Details: Males spend a lot of time being aggressive towards and in generally trying to dominate each other. Females tend to lurk quietly in the caves. During egg transfer, female and male align their bodies, and both swim on their sides together, undersides touching, sometimes doing barrel rolls, and/or forming an "X" shape as the female deposits the eggs into the male's pouch flaps.
Egg Size: Appx. 2 mm
Egg Color: Light Orange
Egg Count: Unknown -- first spawn, probably just a dozen or so. Later spawns are 25-30 pairs of eggs in two rows, for a total count of 50-60 eggs.
Hatch Details Hatch Date: (Pair in Tank #2) 31 December 2012
Hatch Time of Day: Night, after lights out
# Days after Spawn: 9
Larvae Description: Appx. 1 cm (3/8") long, fully developed eyes and tail fins and tiny snouts like parents, able to take copepods of various life stages.
Consecutive Hatch Dates: (Pair in Tank #1): 8 January 2013, 6 February 2013, 27 April 2013
(Pair in Tank #2): 10&11 January 2013, 2 May 2013
Larval Tank Details Temperature: Ambient room temp. - appx. 72-74 degrees.
Size of Larval Tank: 2 Gallon drum shaped glass fishbowl.
Substrate Details: None
Other Tank Decor: Rigid airline with opening at 3 o'clock position.
Filtration Details: Live phytoplankton - appx. 250 ml of dense Isochrysis culture.
Lighting: Small fluorescent strip light over eggcrate and a few layers of paper towels to diffuse the light.
Lighting Cycle: 24 hours for the first day, then appx. 18 H on / 8 H off thereafter.
Water Changes: None for the first two weeks or so -- top off for evap. as necessary. Might remove a very small amount (100 ml or so) to replace some Isochrysis as necessary.
Larval Feeding Details Food Types: Apocyclops panamensis, Parvocalanus sp. As they grow, I have added Nitrokra, Tigriopus, and Moina.
Feeding Schedule: Constant
Metamorphosis/Settlement Date of Settlement Start: Hard to say, but I'll call it 21 January 2013
Days after Hatch: 13
Date of Settlement End: Hard to say, but I'll call it 28 January 2013
Description of Fry: Miniatures of parents, but still with some transverse banding.
Grow-Out Tank Details Temperature: Appx. 74-76 F
Size of Grow-Out Tank: Initially, still a 2 gallon fishbowl, but on 16 March 2013, I moved the two juveniles I had into an 8 1/2 gallon kreisel with a 10 gallon sump.
Substrate Details: None
Other Tank Decor: None. I added a couple of lengths of 1/2" PVC pipe to the kreisel.
Filtration Details: Live microalgae, a sponge filter and ceramic media in the sump of the kreisel.
Lighting: Ambient room lighting.
Lighting Cycle: Variable. Generally, lights are off from somewhere between 10:00 PM and Midnight until sunrise at appx. 6:00 AM.
Water Changes: In the 2 gallon fishbowl, appx. 1/2 gallon per day or every other day.
Size at Transfer: For the 2 gallon firshbowl, there was no transfer so N/A. For the kreisel, the larger, older juvenile was 4 cm, and the smaller one is about 3.5 cm.
Age at Transfer: The larger one is about 9 weeks old. The smaller one is about 7 weeks old.
Grow-Out Feeding Details Food Types: Various copepods. I provide them Tigriopus californicus, Nitokra lacustris, Apocyclops panamensis, Acartia tonsa, some Arctodiaptomus salinus, occasional Moina salina, too.
Feeding Schedule: Continuous.
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<message edited by JimWelsh on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 12:59 PM>