Breeding Journal, Species: [Synchiropus picturatus]

General
Species:  Synchiropus picturatus
Social Structure:  1:1 pair
Size of Individuals:  Male: 1.5" Female: 1.25"
Age of Individuals:  Unknown
Date added to Tank:  Female: 1/05/13, Male: 4/24/13

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  15 gallon column
Substrate Details:  crushed coral
Filtration Details:  powerhead with weekly water changes
Water Changes:  2gal weekly 
Water Temperature:  79*F
Lighting:  LED 15 watts (6 10000K, 6 6700K 3 actinic
Lighting Cycle:  12 on 12 off
Other Tank Inhabitants:  1 pair Synchiropus splendidus, 1 pair Pterapogon kauderni, 1 pair Centropyge argi

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  hikari mysis, frozen enriched (Dan's Feed) Artemia, blackworms
Feeding Schedule:  1st meal Artemia, Second and third meal mysis, fourth meal blackworms

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  05/04/13
Spawn Time of Day:  2200
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  unknown but likely nightly as I am not home every night to watch
Courtship Details:  flaring begins before lights out and intensifies after lights out; one rise was all that was needed for the first spawn witnessed 
Egg Size:  n/a
Egg Color:  clear
Egg Count:  ~50

Hatch Details
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Larval Tank Details
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Larval Feeding Details
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Metamorphosis/Settlement
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Days after Hatch: 
Date of Settlement End: 
Description of Fry: 

Grow-Out Tank Details
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Additional Information

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

As of right now I am unprepared to hatch/raise larvae but plan to have a rearing setup including prey cultures running within a month

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.

I will try to get a photo/video of a spawning and/or eggs tomorrow night. my blackworm culture crashed on me when I fed it spectrum pellets yesterday so I am currently out of those but I'm considering them my magic ingredient so I'll be getting more tomorrow as well. 
 
Prey cultures in mind are a combination of S Strain rots and A tonsa enriched with RGComplete. Id  also like to try to factor in Otohime A early on to avoid having to culture tisbe as a post settlement prey.  

So I was feeding the picturatus tank dinner tonight and doing a small water change while everyone ate. Suddenly the pair stopped eating and did one quick rise resulting in a string of what I estimate to be around 200 eggs. Stupid procrastinating me hasn't ordered the Parvocalanus yet so I have no way of rearing these guys but I figured I'd try to get spawn points for the species while I had eggs to photograph:

Once they start spawning, they usually keep spawning quite regularly -- sometimes every night.

That's pretty much how it goes... As Jim points out though they should start getting n the habit now.
 
When you get pics you can use them for a spawn report. Try getting a video of them in action as well as pics of the pair for documentation purposes.

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

The reason I haven't gotten started on cultures yet is that until this week I was unsure of whether or not I'd be moving within the next couple of months. Now that I've gotten confirmation that I'll be staying for at least another year, I have started renovating my storage closet into a larval rearing room.

This pair spawns about 4 times a week or more but I've refrained from collecting and documenting because I've got no means to move forward currently. That will be changing shortly however. Once I find a way to post the photo of the eggs, will that be enough for spawn credit or would I need video of the act? I can get video, just easier said than done when they prefer to do it after lights out lol

Thank you, Tal.

Isn't it odd how they came as a long chain like that? I mean, I watched her lay them so I know they are hers, but I've never seen photos of mandarin eggs like this and she has never laid so many attached together. Is it possible this may become a problem if it continues?

We need some photos of the tank and parents!

Duh! Should have known that lol here they are:

regarding the "Chain"...I suspect the low flow, and perhaps a really laid back spawning, is all that's keeping these eggs together.  My Synchiropus eggs were all sticky, but remained in one long string, always broke up into smaller fragments.  Seems like the stickier the eggs, the better....

I was worried it would reduce fertilization by causing eggs not to be exposed.

Also, out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on larval prey? I am currently trying to get Parvocalanus going in culture but I've hit a few roadblocks already. I know Acartia has a larger nauplii but I've also gathered that its easier to culture. I am pretty sure my T-Iso cultures are healthy and growing but I've already had one Parvo culture die on me the day of arrival and the second one just arrived two days ago but does not seem to be clearing the slight tiny of Iso I fed it. I've not fed since that first feeding for this reason and I'm a bit nervous.

I'd like to avoid rotifers completely if possible.