Fishy Tales: from Lab to Aquarium to Ocean, Four Seasons Resorts Maldives, Marine Savers

Fish Breeding Project

During December, we saw three new spawns from our Maldivian Clownfish (Amphiprion nigripes) and four spawns of Clark’s Clownfish (Amphiprion clarkii).
By the end of the month we had 345 Clark’s Clownfish juveniles and 110 Maldivian Clownfish juveniles, with another three tanks of larvae, which we hope to display under glass during January. It will be the first time in eight months that we have reached this level of success, thanks to improvements in our Fish Lab protocols and developing expertise.

: Clownfish with eggs

: Seahorse (Hippocampus kuda)

: Fish Lab – Algal cultures

: Batfish juvenile (Platax Teira)

Main Marine Aquarium

We recently added four juvenile Teira batfish (Platax teira) to our large aquarium at Landaa Giraavaru. Also known as the ‘round-faced batfish’ or ‘longfin spadefish’, it grows up to 60cm in length and is sometimes traded as an ornamental aquarium fish. Viewed from the side, it has a characteristic circular body and is silver/grey/brown in colour, with a dark band through the eye and dark blotches near the pectoral and anal fins.
Platax teira is an omnivore, eating plankton, small invertebrates and marine algae in relatively shallow waters. They are a peaceful and social fish, and should not be kept with aggressive species in an aquarium.

Small Marine Aquaria

At Kuda Huraa, we have recently re-developed one of our tanks due to a problematic leak. We created some protected ‘cave’ areas for shelter, and once the environment stabilised began to introduce more fish species: Powder blue tang, Blue damsel fish, three-spot damsel fish, Maldivian anemone fish, Humbug dascyllus damselfish, White tail surgeonfish, a long fin fang blenny. Our Maldivian anemone fish recently laid a set of eggs, indicating they are happy with their new home !

Our second tank has more soft corals and anemones and fewer fish species: Clarks anemone fish, lined-bristletooth, 6-spot goby, 3-spot damselfish.

: Maldivian Clownfish with eggs

: Banded coral shrimp climbing up a leather soft coral

: Marine Aquarium – newly redesigned

: Second tank for soft corals

Excursions

During our various guest excursions and activities this month, the various megafauna sightings for December included:

Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Tawny Nurse Shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) and Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
Blacktip (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and Whitetip (Triaenodon obesus) Reef Sharks
White-spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari), Manta (Manta alfredii), Mobula Ray (Mobula sp.), Cowtail Stingray (Pastinachus sephen)
Napoleon Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), and a school of 32 Bumphead Parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) – an unusual sight
Long-snouted Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) and Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncates) – mother and young. A rare sight whilst snorkelling; the two dolphins were inquisitive and swam very close to our group, making for an unforgettable experience!