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General
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| Name: |
Matt Pedersen ( mPedersen ) Site: Lake Superior Marine Aquarium Club |
| Status: |
Approved |
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Species: |
Oxymonacanthus longirostris
( Class:
D
, Points Awarded:
45
) 
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| Journal Thread: |
http://www.lsmac.org/smf/index.php?topic=140.0
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| Spawn Date: |
07/27/2008 |
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Time of Spawn: |
approximately 7-8 PM
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Tank Parameters
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Temperature: |
80-82F
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PH: |
not tested
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Salinity: |
1.025
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Size:
( Gallons) |
24 gallon (nanocube)
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Dimensions: |
18 X
18 X
18
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Lighting:
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stock twin 36 watt Power Compact Flourescents
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Lighting Shedule:
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on a timer, generally 12-13 hours per day
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Filtration:
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stock nanocube filtration (basically some sponges, ceramic media, and a bag of carbon, with some coral rubble in the back)
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Brood Stock Data
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Size of Female: |
3"
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Size of Male: |
3"
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Age of Female: |
unknown, wild caught
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Age of Male: |
unknown, wild caught
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Time Together:
(how long have you had the pair before this event)
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at least 5.5 months
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Feeding
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Food: |
The pair ate virtually anything offered, all types of frozen blends, mysis, brine shrimp, flake foods, pellets, grated squid etc.
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Feeding Schedule:
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at least 3 times per day, but often more like 5.
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Spawn Details
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Pre-Spawn Behavior: |
There is a very ritualized courtship before spawning. The male does a "flutter dive" display for the female. Female's behavior is mostly algae ramming, which seems to be picking out a spawning location. The female gets a white line from her mouth horizontally backwards, where the male's dorsal and anal fin become an opaque goldenrod coloration at the peak of his displays. As spawning becomes imminent, the pair engages in "nuzzling", where the male chatters his mouth along the underside of the female's jaw. Presumably, this nuzzling synchronizes the spawn.
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Spawning Behavior:
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The actual spawn lasts only a couple seconds, with the female thrusting her abdomen into the algae, and the male quickly coming in alongside to fertilize as the female ejects the eggs deep into the algae.
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Post Spawn Behavior:
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Once the spawn has completed, the male may do a few more "Flutter Dives" but that's about it. No care is given to the new spawn.
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Egg Details
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Size: |
0.8 mm
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Color: |
green with 20+ oil globules
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Quantity: |
estimated 200 per day
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Description:
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The eggs are small, bright green, and sticky. Despite their coloration, they are extremely well camouflaged and because they are sticky, detritus easily adheres to them, further obscuring them. The only way to collect them was to WATCH the actual spawn,
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Location:
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The eggs are deposited into algae. In my tank, it was generally red Gracillaria, but they also used hair algae.
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Other Details:
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Here are links to videos of the courtship behavior:
Algae Ramming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXMNTOXaT0I
The Male Flicker Display (per George Barlow, a "Flutter Dive" display)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTnPdrQVUWM
Female Flicker Display and Courtship Dress (per Barlow, the female's "Flutter Dive" display)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3AZBi0r0So
The Curtsey (Barlow makes no mention of this behavior)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlnfD1Q_HEQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o3iw8nZrVI
Intense Courtship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoL63_1JbLg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhSoOHc_hdk
Spawning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IbibAEwHNU
---and a direct link to eggs in algae---
http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/nanoreef08/DSCN3548.jpg
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