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Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 11:22 PM
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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: Ecsenius midas Social Structure: pair Size of Individuals: male 3.5", female 3" Age of Individuals: unknown Date added to Tank: 3/14/13 Broodstock Tank Details Size of Tank: 75 gallon (QT tank) Substrate Details: no sand, a few pieces of live rock for cover, flower pots, and pvc pipes Filtration Details: ASM skimmer, live rock Water Changes: none since QT tank was established on 3/10/13 with 90% new water Water Temperature: 83 F Lighting: ambient room light supplied by shop lights Lighting Cycle: 14 hours on, 10 hours off; reverse photoperiod Other Tank Inhabitants: two A. frenatus, until spawning event. Now no other inhabitants. Broodstock Feeding Details Food Types: BSD Mariner Plus Flake, occasional Rod's Original Feeding Schedule: twice daily Spawning Details Date of First Spawn: 4/29/13 Spawn Time of Day: 11 pm (approximately 3 hours after lights went on) Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 4/29/13, 5/3/13, 5/6/13, 5/11/13, 5/18/13, 5/22/13, 5/26/13, 6/1/13, 6/5/13 6/10/13 Courtship Details: Male's head became almost black, very pronounced considering he is a canary yellow fish. Female darted back and forth between live rock and flower pot. Female turned upside down to lay eggs on the top inside surface of the flower pot (much like clownfish would). Male would dart back and forth between live rock and the flower pot to attempt to fertilize the eggs. There was lots of aggressive interaction between the two with the smaller female being chased sporadically. Egg Size: approximately 1 mm Egg Color: clear to beige Egg Count: approximately 100 Hatch Details Hatch Date: Hatch Time of Day: # Days after Spawn: Larvae Description: Consecutive Hatch Dates: 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: You will be required to provide photographic or video evidence in this thread of each event submitted for the MBI Program. If your thread does not contain these photos the MBI Committee will not be able to approve your reports. PHOTOS AND VIDEO S MUST BE PLACED IN ADDITIONAL POSTS, NEVER IN THE FIRST POST IN A JOURNAL.
<message edited by coralhead317 on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 12:02 AM>
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 11:50 PM
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Here is a picture of the male: Here is a picture of the female: And here are a few pictures of the two together: I had to cut a smaller video way down, but I think that this one gives a good indication of the behavior and display of the male. Here are the eggs Unfortunately, I don't think that the eggs were fertile and they were gone after 48 hours. I have started feeding them more of a conditioning diet rather than a QT diet since the spawning event. So hopefully there will be more to come. John
<message edited by coralhead317 on Sunday, May 5, 2013 1:33 AM>
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Saturday, May 4, 2013 1:34 AM
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Here is a picture from the second spawning event 5/3/13. I didn't witness the spawning this time, just the eggs afterwards. John
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Sunday, May 5, 2013 1:34 AM
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The second spawn is now gone from the pot, 24 hours later. From what I've seen, there has been no parental care so far from the pair. Perhaps that is the problem. John
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 8:05 AM
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 12:39 AM
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John, in your journal you noticed these were purchased from Live Aquaria - did you buy them as a "pair" (eg. out of the Diver's Den) or just off the regular site (eg. just purchasing 2 random blennies)?
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 8:28 AM
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Live Aquaria had small Midas blennies on sale so I purchased 5 hoping to get a couple of pairs, maybe a trio. Three died within 8 hours of receipt, the remaining two paired up. I've never seen a listing of a bonded pair for these before. There was some significant aggression at first but that has subsided now that they each know their role. John
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 7:01 PM
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Nice! Are you planning to raise them at this point? I've read that blennies can be a challenge.
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 9:21 PM
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So far none have been fertile. I am also without ritifers or any other zooplankton at this time. My next goal is to get fertile eggs through better feeding and giving the pair time to mature. Then find out the incubation period. My guess is that they are harder than the fang blennies, as they have surely been tried before yet the fang blennies have been on the market for years. I was thinking about trying to time a shipment of A. tonsa and/or other pelagic pods to coincide with a hatch. This is all s pipe dream, though, until the eggs start developing. John
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Thursday, May 16, 2013 10:07 PM
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I should have a rotifer culture up and running within the next couple of weeks for my percs, you can have a starter if you want. I'm hoping to start culturing Apocyclops panamensis this summer too. My pipe dream is to get Coral Beauties spawning (first have to get a successful pair or trio!). Ken
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Friday, May 17, 2013 8:36 PM
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Ken, I may take you up on that offer if I can get fertile eggs. Good luck with the coral beauties - I briefly tried flame angels but got nowhere. John
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Monday, May 27, 2013 6:22 PM
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They are still spawning regularly, but none have been fertile. I put a larger diameter PVC in their tank just in case there isn't room in the smaller one for him to fertilize the eggs. After all, their first spawn was in a rather large flower pot. John
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Tuesday, May 28, 2013 1:49 PM
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John, are you taking them out and looking at them under a scope to determine fertility? Losing clutch after clutch makes me wonder about 2 other possibilities (in addition to fertility problems in a heterosexual pair): 1. Pathology of the eggs (eg they're being attacked by bacteria / fungus and dying). 2. Sex of your pair - could you have 2 females?" If you can get one of those eggs out of the next to examine under a scope, you should be able to discern whether cell division is taking place. If it is, then you have a fertile male/female pair, and the problem lies in egg viability. If that's the case, you could try artificial incubation. From a production standpoint, I artificially incubate all my Angelfish (Pterophyllum sp.) eggs...and not every one makes it, but then again, most of the time if I leave a nest with the parents they do all die (broodstock water potentially too dirty) or get eaten by the parents or go free swimming and get eaten by other fish.
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Monday, June 3, 2013 12:04 AM
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Wednesday, June 5, 2013 11:29 PM
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Wednesday, June 5, 2013 11:36 PM
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Wednesday, June 5, 2013 11:39 PM
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Note to future Midas Blenny breeders: this pair definitely prefers 3/4" PVC pipes to 1" or 1.5" pipes. Start there. Also, from what I've seen they prefer that the pipes are laying horizontally on the bottom of the tank. Pipes at a 45 degree angle are ignored. Have not tried "suspending" pipes in water column as male seems happy with pipes on the bottom glass. John
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 12:06 AM
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I am starting my first attempt at artificial incubation. I put a new piece of 3/4 inch pipe in the tank on 6/9/13 and they spawned in it on 6/10/13. I am going to try a very simple incubation protocol of simply using newly made (but aged) SW instead of tank water. I am bubbling air through the pipe constantly (pipe is in a vertical position). If this fails, which I expect it to, I will try sterilizing the water with bleach and then de-chlorinating prior to putting the spawn/pipe in the culture water. John
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 5:52 PM
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Good luck. And let me know if you need rotifers. Mine are doing well, and no clownfish larvae right now!
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Ecsenius midas
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 10:25 PM
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Thanks Ken, once I get some viable larvae I will definitely take you up on that offer. John
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