Fish Lab, Aquaria, and Marine Life in the Maldives
Plankton Production
Our plankton and algae cultures are used as the main food source for the residents of our Fish Lab.
– Algae – 1000L have been produced this month to feed the juvenile fish and shrimps. For one 100L bucket of algae, 10% of the daily brine shrimp culture is added once every week.
– Rotifers – population decreased to 580 individuals/mL (last month’s 670 individuals/mL) possibly due to the decrease in volume of Nannochloropsis sp. algae given to each session (from 9mL to 7.5mL per day and per bucket).
– Artemia – remains steady at 7.5g of cysts a day due to the large populations of jellyfish and marine life in our Lab.
Groupers (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus)
- 2023 batch – This month, the first of the groupers were supplied to the kitchen. Ten groupers were used in Blu as part of the set menu created by chef Nino di Constanzo for his week-long visit in the middle of the month. The ten fish weighed an average of 1.25kg and measured 36-39cm in length. The remaining 20 fish average 880g / 32cm, and are consuming 140g of baitfish/day (14/fish/day).
- 2024 batch – the 109 fish weight an average of 78g (range 16-193g) and measure an average of 15.7cm (range 9-21cm), separated by size into 2 tanks. Over the month of February, both tanks were fed twice daily with smaller fish consuming 119g/baitfish/day, and the larger tank consuming 202g per day.
Ornamental Fish & Shrimp Breeding
- Clark’s anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii) – our breeding pairs in tanks 3 & 5 produced 2-3 clutches of eggs; 2 of the larval batches were collected, with a further two due to hatch at the beginning of next month. [Lifecycle graphic]
- Maldivian Anemonefish (Amphiprion nigripes) – one individual died.
- Boxer shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) – the female carried two batches of eggs under her belly, but no larvae have been collected this month. Unfortunately, the female shrimp passed away at the end of the month leaving her partner behind.
- Dancing shrimp (Thor amboinensis) – all individuals from our September and October batches are still thriving and growing.
- Black-blotched porcupinefish (Diodon liturosus) – One of the porcupinefish passed away during the month from unknown causes. The remaining two fish are in good health.
- Pipe fish – Two of our resident pipefish were noticed to be pregnant this month. Although no larvae have been successfully collected to date, the tank will continue to be monitored and efforts to successfully breed this species continue.
Guest Excursions
At Landaa this month, we conducted 11 tours of our Marine Discovery Centre, enjoyed by 125 Guests. We held 12 Dolphin Cruises for 151 guests, sighting mainly spinners along with 2 pods of bottlenose. Our snorkel excursions included 13 Guided Adventures, 11 Turtle Safaris, 3 Night-times, and 6 Parrot Reefs, enjoyed by ~200 guests. Megafauna sightings included hawksbill turtles on the reef, along with blacktip reef sharks, spotted eagle rays, and a rare encounter with an electric ray on our House Reef during a night snorkel!
We had a very busy month at Kuda Huraa, with 498 guest places on 42 different excursions, above and below the waves. Our snorkelling excursions visited 5 different sites, and we recorded 12 megafauna species. Ten Junior Marine Savers participated in snorkel trips and educational modules on dolphins, sea turtles, and corals (in English, Mandarin, and Italian languages).
Maldives Sea Turtle Rescue & Rehabilitation
Turtle Nesting
Exciting news … Our first turtle nest of 2025 ! At Landaa, a female hawksbill turtle was spotted by the groundskeeping team, laying her eggs in the early morning near villa 225. Despite being laid under overhanging vegetation, the nest was less a meter above the high tide mark and therefore required relocation to slightly higher ground to reduce risk of water inundation and low hatching success (standard nest conservation procedure). We excavated the new nest chamber to the same depth as the original, and all 124 eggs were successfully relocated. We will setup our remote monitoring camera by 10 April, as we estimate hatching will occur between 15 April – 5 May.
Excavating the turtle nest that was in danger of being flooded by high tide – all eggs were very carefully removed and relocated …
… higher up the beach, beyond the high tide mark and close to vegetation. We fenced off the area for protection.
Maldivian Sea Turtle Identification Program
Our ID project is currently on hold as we have been busy with record numbers of rescued turtle patients.
REEFSCAPERS Coral Propagation & Reef Restoration in the Maldives
At Kuda Huraa during February, our coral experts monitored 74 growing coral frames, and transplanted 10 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (6), the Resort (3), and online (1).
At Landaa during this month, we transplanted 24 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (12), and the Resort (8 Build-a-Reefs and 4 Managers’ Cocktails). In total, we added ~1200 new coral fragments to the reef. The new frames were planted either at the Whale Tail site, or added to a new patch by Charlie’s Head, where they will be frequently seen by divers.
To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Reefscapers Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.
Be sure to read our complete Team Four Seasons Diaries over on our Reefscapers website, and then browse our Global Research pages where we curate the latest marine science research (open access) alongside news on how the oceans are being changed by climate change.
Further News & Updates
You might also be interested in:
– our ongoing Dolphin ID Project, our specialised Sea Turtle Lagoon Enclosure, and our Zooplankton Monitoring Project.
Looking for details of our Reefscapers coral propagation and reef restoration program ? Then head over to our Reefscapers Diaries for all the latest updates.
You can sponsor your own frame and see photographs (updated every 6 months) in our Coral Frame Collection.
Junior Marine Savers activities: (1) Reefscapers corals, (2) turtle care.
