This is just way cool. 3 stripe damselfish

[ac7av]

I think I have a pair of 3 stripe damselfish that have laid eggs. They are very protective of the underside of a rock. They sped a lot of time swimming upside down and fluttering there fins on the ceiling of a rock overhang. I know that one of the two have been acting strangely lately, doing this strange dipping swimming motion always in front of the other ono. Almost what you could describe as a saw tooth swimming pattern. Very quick shot down then up again. This would go on for hours at a time. Unfortunately the place I thing the eggs are is just out of view and I would need an inspection merrier to see it clearly. I can just see what I think is a layer of eggs on a point of the rock where I’m looking at the profile of the eggs and they look to be about .25mm or less in size and laying like a carpet on the rock not piled up in a bunch. I will try and get the best picture of it later when the sun goes down. I have so much glare on the front of my tank in the afternoon its impossible to take a picture or video of the way they are acting.

Has anyone bread these successfully in there tanks that can give me an idea of what they are doing and what to look for? The rock the eggs are on is not very big, like 3lb but it is glued into place with silicone. I think I can remove it with out disturbing it much if you think it would be best to set it into a 10 gallon tank I have available with heater and powersweep power head.

 

[returnofsid]

What you're describing definitely does sound like spawning behavior or maybe even egg tending behavior, though I don't know if they're egg tenders or not.

I just don't know if removing the eggs would work. Most Marine fish, and I'm assuming Damsels, don't hatch out as a fish, but as a planktonic critter. I think you'd want something like a Sponge filter or 2. I wouldn't recommend any pumps, power heads, skimmers or anything.

Maybe Lee with pop in, with advice much more useful than mine!!

You're right though, This is just way cool!!

 

[tat2z_21]

I have had my yellow tailed blue damsels breed. Quite a few times to be exact and they have came out looking like little tadpoles. I wath them for a few hours as thousand of them flood the water coloumn. Then they are eaten. The corals and fish love them. My Mandarin gets so fat that he can not move and floats around the surface shortly after the event. The first time I seen this I thought he was dead because he was riding the current. However the next morning he was good to go and roaming the tank again. I have not had any make it even though half of them end up in my refugium area. So it is cool too see such a thing. The kids are getting tired of me calling them over to see the water come to life with so many tadpole's.

 

[dragoneggs]

Awesome... I wish I could see it and I suppose pics or video just wouldn't do it justice!

 

[tat2z_21]

I will check to see if I have any video of it.

 

[ac7av]

Okay
So it looks like fish food then for the first batch.
I tried researching it online but I am not finding much other then because they are similar to clowns that the process is about the same. I will plan for this to happen again and will have the 10 up and running for the little ones and have the appropriate food ready for them to survive and grow. I don’t think I will have time to get it all together for this bunch but after looking into it and learning a thing or two about them this evening it seems that my yellow tail has also been protecting a nest of eggs too. I took a flashlight and looked into the hole it had been protection and sure enough there are eggs in that hole too. And I can see them much better. Looked like diamonds covering the walls with the led flashlight. Unfortunately that rock can not be moved from its location.

From what I’ve learned Damsel fish pair up like clowns and would you know it, I got two of each at the pet store when I started the tank back up. The larger is usually the female and the male will protect the eggs. When they are small the too hang out in anemones but as the grow they will abandon the anemone for a rock cave or hole.


Hay tat
How long to you think that egg period was for yours?
I have found little to no info on the subject other then maybe 3 day. 3 days seem awfully short.

 

[tat2z_21]

I noticed the weeks and they stayed there for from when I noticed them about 2 weeks. Then it was a chaotic whirlwind of larvae. IT always happened right after the lights went out. Probably around an hour after lights out

 

[ac7av]

Well It happened last night. I had a bunch of the eggs hatch. Just like tat2z 21 said, it happened just about 1 hour after lights out and they do look like little white tadpoles. I turned the pumps off so I could take a video of them that is being uploaded as the moment and I will get it posted later today after Vimeo gets done converting it for the web. I think the ones that hatched are the yellow tail but I don’t know. The yellow tail and 3 stripe are still guarding eggs so maybe there are more going on then I even know of.

 

[ac7av]

Damselfish hatch video
Home this link works out.

<object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10206182&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10206182&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10206182">P1110121</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3321973">Erik M</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

 

[ac7av]

Okay that didn’t work out so well.
Try this one.

http://vimeo.com/10206182

 

[TJL]

Very cool vid, did you try and save any??? In the past I have syphoned off baby clowns into sump and had an occasional survivor or two. Keep us posted on what you do.

Todd

 

[ac7av]

No I don’t have a fuge that could support them. I think after watching the fish closely that I may have 3 different nests going on at the same time. I have what I know is a yellow tail on a nest I have a possible second yellow tail on a nest but it is in a place I can not see at all and I have the 3 line with a nest that I know was started 2 days ago. I did some reading up about it and it seems that only limited activity of captive breeding is even being done in the world with India being the only country even sited as doing so with a few breeds of damselfish. This is mostly do to the low resale value for the little fish. I visited melevsreef to read up on his phytoplankton propagation. Looks like after I get some started I could have an endless supply and with very little invested to do so which it great since if I am going to try and raise some of these little guys It’s certainly not for the money. I really like them they sure do color up the tank and ad some activity.