Ecsenius Midas (midas blenny) spawn
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 4:26 PM
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Spawning in this pair of midas blennies has occurred 3 times in approximately a 1-1/2 month period, within my 120 gal. display tank. The fish were aquired at different times, the larger fish app. 3-1/2", I bought at a LFS app. 1 year ago. The smaller fish app. 3" I bought at same LFS app. 8 months ago. Until the first spawning event was noticed the fish did not spend much time together, with the exception of an occasional chasing. Each one had its own lair within different corals. The larger fish retreats to a crevase in the base rock of a huge 18yo bubble pearl coral. It is in this crevase that the eggs are laid. The smaller fish retreats to a hole in a porites coral, distant from the other fish. The smaller fish(male) has been seen in the crevase with the larger female, but very seldom, and usually after the lights go out. Color changes have been noted in both fish but mainly the larger fish. Its head gets dark and dark bars on body. The first spawn, I wasn't sure if what I was looking at were actually eggs. I have had perculas spawn on this same coral in the past, however, these eggs were smaller, rounder, and more affixed to the rock. The eggs would not sway in current as the clown fish eggs do. After app. 7 days the eggs were gone. At this point, I realized that a spawn had occurred. There was no involvement of the smaller(male) fish in tending to the eggs. The larger fish is observed tail fanning the eggs occasionally,but other than that, no blowing as clowns do. The egg nest is left unattended by the larger fish very frequently, during feedings but also sporadically. On approximately, the seventh day of second spawn, I came home about 2 hrs after the lights went out and noted larvae swimming around the front glass of the aquarium, the eggs in the crevase were depleted. I got a fine net and flashlight and managed to scoop some larvae out. Being unprepared and having no experience in rearing fish, I placed them in a larger fine net in my refugium(I did expose them to air). I could see they were still alive and swimming within the net in the refugium. The next morning, I had to work, and before leaving I noted many were still alive in the net, some were dead on the bottom. After returning from work(24hrs), all but a few were dead, and at that point I gave up on it. The third spawn, I must have miscalculated the day of the spawn by a day. The eggs hatched overnight on the night before I was expecting them to hatch.   <img src="http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/IMG_4555.JPG" />
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