Latest Updates from our Fish Lab here at Landaa Giraavaru
Clown Fish Breeding
During the month of July there were six spawns from Maldivian Clownfish – all the larvae were collected and are in very good condition. In each of our larval rearing tanks there are more than 100 larvae, with many of them going through metamorphosis (changing from ‘larvae’ to ‘juveniles’). This is our best result to date.
Seahorses
After several months of waiting for baby seahorses, on 10 July a male gave birth to 88 babies. Rearing seahorses in captivity is difficult due to ‘gas bubble disease’ and, unfortunately, by day four, the juveniles had begun to die one-by-one, leaving just a single survivor (that actually looked surprisingly healthy!)
On 20 July, there was a second birthing event of 187 baby seahorses. We are keeping these in a specially adapted tank, and today we have more than 50 babies still alive. Our fingers are crossed for a better result this time!
[S]eahorses are members of the Syngnathidae family, and along with pipefishes and sea dragons are the only animal species in which the male bears the unborn young. Male seahorses are equipped with a brood pouch on their front, and when mating, the female deposits her eggs into his pouch for the male to fertilize them internally. He carries the eggs in his pouch until they hatch, then releases miniature seahorses fully formed into the water. Source: adapted from Wikipedia & NatGeo.
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