zebra gobys laid eggs, now what?

[Jay76]

I just noticed my zebra gobys laid eggs. I've never had fish breed before. Is it possible to raise the babies? How do I start? What do I do? Any advice would be great. Normally I'd research this before I tried it but I just found the eggs. I'll start researching while I wait for a response.

I wrote the above post on my local forum but once I started looking for more info I noticed that section doesn't get much attention. So, I thought I'd come here for my answers. Thanks in advance...

 

[ichthyogeek]

Possible to raise the babies? YES. Have I heard of anybody doing this with zebra gobies before...no.

How do you start? I suggest Wittenrich's Breeder's Guide to Saltwater fish to start as reference material. Also look into the possible fry food choices as well (personally, I think copepods are the best food, but they're harder to rear than rotifers and BBS). Finally, check out the net to see if anybody else has done it, MOFIB might have a few threads on there. You are talking about Ptereleotris zebra, the zebra barred dartfish, or zebra goby, correct?

You probably won't be able to rear this first batch of eggs, as you don't have the necessary food items or setup for the babies.

What do you do when you get the necessary stuff? Most of that will be covered in Wittenrich's book.

Here's my untested idea on how to raise P. zebra eggs to juvie stage: grab eggs, hatch in either a kreisel or round black tub, and stock water with copepods of the Parvocalanus/Acartia species, and also with Isochrysis galbana, Tetraselmis, and Nannochloropsis microalgaes. Maintain copepod and microalgae levels in acccordance with Wittenrich's book, and hope for the best. Also, constantly drip in new water slowly throughout the project. Try to get them on rotifers and BBS ASAP, approximately a week posthatch. Once you get them past metamorphosis, then your only job is to keep up water quality, and feeding.

Look into other dartfish and firefish breeding logs, you might find similar species, which will help you find the answers to your questions. Good luck!

 

[Jay76]

Possible to raise the babies? YES. Have I heard of anybody doing this with zebra gobies before...no.

How do you start? I suggest Wittenrich's Breeder's Guide to Saltwater fish to start as reference material. Also look into the possible fry food choices as well (personally, I think copepods are the best food, but they're harder to rear than rotifers and BBS). Finally, check out the net to see if anybody else has done it, MOFIB might have a few threads on there. You are talking about Ptereleotris zebra, the zebra barred dartfish, or zebra goby, correct?

You probably won't be able to rear this first batch of eggs, as you don't have the necessary food items or setup for the babies.

What do you do when you get the necessary stuff? Most of that will be covered in Wittenrich's book.

Here's my untested idea on how to raise P. zebra eggs to juvie stage: grab eggs, hatch in either a kreisel or round black tub, and stock water with copepods of the Parvocalanus/Acartia species, and also with Isochrysis galbana, Tetraselmis, and Nannochloropsis microalgaes. Maintain copepod and microalgae levels in acccordance with Wittenrich's book, and hope for the best. Also, constantly drip in new water slowly throughout the project. Try to get them on rotifers and BBS ASAP, approximately a week posthatch. Once you get them past metamorphosis, then your only job is to keep up water quality, and feeding.

Look into other dartfish and firefish breeding logs, you might find similar species, which will help you find the answers to your questions. Good luck!

Thank you for the reply and advice. Yes, I'm talking about the zedra dartfish. I have done a lot of research over the last few days. I can't find anyone that is breeding them. If they continue to spawn I might make an attempt. All this research has sparked an interest though. I'm considering purchasing a pair of adult clowns now. There is a ton of info on them so they might make an easier start. I'll definitely pick up that book.

 

[kizanne]

I am working on getting set up for more delicate fish. While I have no successful experience here is a few things that might be helpful.

Just my own experience and reading.

Parvocalanus copepods are good for breeding fish. I purchased mine from live aquaria and they reproduce well on tetraselmis (motile green algae). I can keep tetra alive fairly wello but have trouble with T-iso which is also another widely used algae. Much of my reading indicates that larva also eats motile algaes like T-iso and tetraselmis. If you want to get your parvocalanus population up right away you can order from reed mariculture. If you only want to do Clown fish you can skip the copepods and raise rotifers instead. You can order tetra off of ebay or you can get algal disks from Florida Aqua Farms.