Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis

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shannpeach
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Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, February 10, 2014 9:33 AM
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:  Thor amboinensis
Social Structure:  Three females, one male
Size of Individuals:  ~1/2 inch
Age of Individuals:  Unknown
Date added to Tank:  January 2014

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  Mesh breeder basket, 6" x 5" x 5" in a 20 gallon 
Substrate Details:  None
Filtration Details:  Live sand, live rock, protein skimmer, bioballs
Water Changes:  As needed
Water Temperature:  ~80F
Lighting:  Fluorescent strip light
Lighting Cycle:  6AM to 9PM
Other Tank Inhabitants:  None in the breeder box

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  Pellets, frozen mash, frozen enriched artemia
Feeding Schedule:  At least twice daily

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  1-26-2014 (The first hatch is from a spawn that occurred before purchase, so this date is an ESTIMATE) 
Spawn Time of Day:  Assumed after lights out, but not witnessed so not known
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  4-1-2014
Courtship Details:  None noted/seen
Egg Size:  Small, less than 1mm
Egg Color:  Not seen since they are under the pleopods, but look dark
Egg Count:  ~50, maybe 100, although I don't usually get that many in the collector.  Not actually sure of the count, 50 is an estimate based on how many I end up with.

Hatch Details
Hatch Date:  2-9-2014, 3-31-2014, 4-13-2014        
Hatch Time of Day:  After lights out
# Days after Spawn:  ~14 days
Larvae Description:  brown, in a loose "V" shape, one pair of legs longer than the others


Larval Tank Details
Temperature:  ~80F
Size of Larval Tank:  3L water bottle, inverted
Substrate Details:  None
Other Tank Decor: None
Filtration Details:  Live phyto
Lighting:  Fluorescent strip light
Lighting Cycle:  6AM to 9PM
Water Changes:  Every two or three days

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:  nhbbs
Feeding Schedule:  constant

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start:  3-10-2014
Days after Hatch:  28
Date of Settlement End:  3-12-2014
Description of Fry:  Small shrimp with posture similar to adults, reddish-brown in color

Grow-Out Tank Details

Temperature:  ~80F
Size of Grow-Out Tank: Mesh breeder basket 5" x 6.75" x 5.25" in a 27 gallon           
Substrate Details:  None in the breeder basket, sand in the 27g 
Other Tank Decor:  Some macroalgae in the breeder basket
Filtration Details:  Live rock, live sand, protein skimmer
Lighting:  Reefbreeders LED
Lighting Cycle:  6AM to 8PM
Water Changes:  ~20% every two weeks
Size at Transfer:  ~4mm
Age at Transfer:  ~30 days post hatch, few days post settlement

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types:  Crushed flake and pellet, Golden Pearls
Feeding Schedule:  1-3 times per day

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



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<message edited by shannpeach on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 8:15 AM>

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, February 10, 2014 9:41 AM
I think this hatch is from a female that had eggs at purchase since the other female I have hasn't been with a male for a few weeks (he disappeared).  Some pics of the large female (the one with the eggs):



 
I will get pics of the other adults and also some larval pics tonight.  The snagger didn't catch very many larvae :/   Maybe next time  I will remove the female and put her in a hatching chamber.

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, February 10, 2014 10:39 PM
All three shrimp together:



shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Tuesday, February 11, 2014 8:27 AM
There was a molt in the breeder basket so I am hoping there was also a spawn.  I will have to check very closely with a flashlight sometime this week.  The eggs are super hard to see on these guys!
 
Day 1 larval pics:




 
When I got home yesterday several (most?) were floating on the surface, similar to how the A. armatus larvae sometimes do.  I pulled one and it had an air bubble stuck on it (the third pic) so I essentially just kept pushing the larvae down until they stopped floating.  I didn't see any floaters this morning.

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Friday, February 14, 2014 8:19 AM
Day 4, still look to be the same amount as when first collected, about 30.  Stalked eyes now, so Z2.


 

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, February 17, 2014 8:53 AM
Yesterday was day 7 for these:





 
The tail looks to be 5 parts now, so I'm thinking they are Z4...

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Tuesday, February 25, 2014 8:34 AM
Day 15 and they have pleopod buds



shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Friday, February 28, 2014 9:03 AM
Looks like one of them is into the more developed pleopod stage:



 
And the rest were like this:


shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, March 3, 2014 12:39 PM
Day 21 and two seem slightly larger than the others, have less than ten left.  The adults also disappeared, thinking perhaps the gobies I put in that breeder basket either killed them or chased them out.  But I haven't found them in the main tank, so I am guessing they were killed/eaten.  I will have to get a few new adults.
 
Anyway, here are the pics taken of one of the larger larvae:




 
I think the larger two are nearly ready to settle.  Perhaps anyday now...
 

dave w
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, March 3, 2014 1:25 PM
too bad the adults disappeared.  

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, March 3, 2014 1:26 PM
I know  I wouldn't have thought green banded gobies would mind them, but I guess I was wrong.  Now I know, at least

dave w
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, March 3, 2014 7:02 PM
How many of us have paid dearly for each lesson learned the hard way about reef fish?  Our failures could fill a volume.  I've made at least my share.

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Tuesday, March 11, 2014 3:09 PM
Settlement!


 
Just one as of last night...hoping the other five will follow shortly.  

dave w
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Tuesday, March 11, 2014 6:48 PM
Great news.  In a few months you won't miss the adults so much.  Especially when these guys breed.  

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Tuesday, March 11, 2014 10:05 PM
I may get some replacement adults still...haven't decided yet. it will likely depend on how many of these actually make it to adulthood

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Friday, March 14, 2014 8:00 AM
Four settled and one died.  Last night I moved them to a mesh net breeder basket (they looked big enough) but today I only saw one in there....crap.  I hope they are just hiding somewhere and didn't squeeze out!  If there were more of them I would have dedicated a 10 gallon tank to them for grow out for awhile, but with only four...
 
In any case, the four are starting to get adult patterning.  So cute!

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Saturday, March 15, 2014 7:05 PM
I got four replacement adults--three females and one male. They are in a breeder basket, but with no fish this time

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Saturday, March 22, 2014 5:27 PM
Good news!  I saw some of the babies alive and well in the breeder basket.  I thought they had escaped the basket and I lost them, but I saw three in there this morning so hooray!  They pretty much look like mini adults now.  I tried to get a pic, but wasn't able to get any good ones.  I will have to try again soon.

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Sunday, March 30, 2014 11:19 AM


Growing up so fast!

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Tuesday, April 1, 2014 8:48 AM
Had a hatch last night! 

There were 20 in the snagger.  I wish I was able to get a pic of the eggs, but I wasn't able to pull it off.  There are three females and I suspect two (at least) have eggs because of a darker look to their pleopods when they are backlit, so I will continue to try for egg pics.

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Thursday, April 10, 2014 9:58 AM
These are the best pictures of the eggs I was able to get last night.  
 
Here is the female:

Then here, when she is backlit, you can see a darker spot under her abdomen that are her eggs:



 
I'm guessing these are from the spawn after the last hatch (so around 4-1-2014), based on how big she is in the pleopod region

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, April 14, 2014 8:53 AM
I had another hatch last night.  Collected and set up the usual way (for me).  I also did a water change on the older batch; I had about 20 at day 13 and there was a very noticeable size difference between them.  Some are still quite tiny, and some seem huge in comparison to them.

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, April 21, 2014 8:23 AM
Another hatch last night and it looked to be more larvae than I have ever gotten with these before.  I still have the previous two batches going as well, but they are combined into one container.
 
The four juveniles I got from my first attempt are doing well and growing quickly.  I'll try to remember to get a pic this week

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Monday, May 5, 2014 8:42 AM
Had a hatch on Saturday night (5-3-2014) that seemed pretty large, but they don't seem to be in great shape.  I think the bubbles on the snagger were too strong because they were all really squashed against the mesh when I found them yesterday morning.  Regardless, I set them up as I usually do--in an inverted 3L bottle with nhbbs and rigid airline tubing.

mPedersen
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Tuesday, May 6, 2014 11:28 PM
How are you sexing these guys Shannon?

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Wednesday, May 7, 2014 12:05 AM
The females all seem to have a broken stripe near the tail, whereas the males stripe in the same location is intact. I can try to get better pics to show it. I don't know if they can change sexes though. I suspect they may. I have four juveniles that all showed the male stripe pattern, and then one of them got a broken/female stripe....I am waiting for more to settle from my latest attempts to see what happens.

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Sunday, May 11, 2014 11:13 AM
Here are 60DPS pics and also some pics showing how to sex them.


The largest shrimp is the female (bottom of the pic). Near her tail you can see she has a broken stripe, and all the males (the small ones) have a full stripe.

shannpeach
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Re: Breeding Journal, Species: Thor amboinensis - Sunday, May 11, 2014 11:31 AM
Here are pics of some that settled a week-ish ago: