Blue Assessor with eggs

[Jens Kallmeyer]

HI

One of my blue Assessors has a mouthful of eggs. My main problem now is to get this guy out of a 110 g tank or to catch the larvae when they are released
Has anyone ever bred these guys in a home aquarium environment (I do not have a facility like ORA) and can give me some helpful informations, like duration of breeding, hatching time (evening, night, morning), size of larvae, food etc.
Thanks in advance

Jens

 

[clownfish75]

Do a search on here there was some info about assessors but it also included that they are not mouth brooders, so this is getting very confusing.

Christian

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

Howdy Christian

I did that search already, wasn't very informative. Assessors ARE mouthbreeders, there are pictures in books (e.g. the new Kuiter book about basslets) and I can see it in my tank. Believe me, I know how a mouthful of eggs looks like, having bred cichlids for several years and also bangai Cardinals.

My trouble is that I find different numbers for incubation time, ranging from 15 to 23 days, this difference is too much to be explained by temperature differences. Plus the published information about the size of the larvae, ranging from 3 to 6 mm. A 6 mm larvae could handle completely different food than a 3 mm one.

Best wishes

Jens

 

[clownfish75]

I wasnt saying you were wrong about the mouth brooding, its just that the information doesnt seem so clear on these few species, i suspect that is the reason the info is so poor because no one knows or no one is telling.

I would imagine that the shorter egg durations ar ein order, only bangaiis hold eggs for a long period and they arent what i would call normal fish, a PJ cardinal is lucky to hold for much more than 5-6 days as are all other cardinals, i would be guessing on the shorter end of the egg duration and the pics i have seen there is no way a fish that small can have that many 6mm eggs in its mouth.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Christian

 

[roverhere]

Any updates on your A. mcneill? Did you get larvae, or where they like banggai babies?

So, are the blues indeed mouth brooders?

 

[clownfish75]

was there any developments on the assessors?

Christian

 

[David M]

FWIW I have often looked at the conflicting reports on these fish and wondered why we seem to think it has to be one way or the other? Isn't it entirely possible that the fish has evolved with two reproductive strategies, able to either mouthbrood or lay a dermersal nest? This might just come in handy as environmental conditions change. Just a thought, there seems to be evidence to support the fish breeding both ways.

 

[clownfish75]

sounds quite possible david, prehaps they move their eggs in a mouth brooding fashion and it is a temporary event.

Christian