YWG pairing attempt

[NicoleC]

No babies; the eggs I tried to raise at the last minute did not survive, and there haven't been any eggs since.

[NicoleC]

I was wondering where my male has been lately, and so I peered in their flowerpot den this morning. I am happy to report that they have spawned again! Papa was curled around the next with mama guarding the front door from me and the camera. Once paired little seems to shake these guys up for long. Last weekend I removed some of the crushed coral from their tank and made a back door for them. I wonder if the improved circulation in the den helped?

Also, Reed Mariculture tells me they are setting up a S/SS rotifer production facility in Los Angeles, and hope to be shipping by the end of the year. Ths is is great news for me, since I crashed my rotifer culture again, this time beyond repair.

I'm not going to raise babies for a little while. My display tank is leaking along the top and I am downsizing for now, plus all my zoanthids are in the hospital for nudibranch erradication. My hands are a bit full right now! Once all of that is settled I will think about hatching and grow-out tanks. I already have distributors who want some, so that hard part will really be keeping the little ones alive.

[NicoleC]

Hatching

My pair laid a much larger nest this time than they have in the past, and papa took very good care of the babies. I found the nest on the filter intake this evening, and it is full of big black eyes. The eggs were already hatching and there were quite a few larvae that got sucked up with the eggs in the turkey baster. The larvae themselves look much larger and more robust that the last hatchlings.

Not wanting to pollute the breeding tank, I moved the nest to a cup in a spot in my display tank where they will get some gentle water movement but not blow out so they will continue to hatch -- probably a mass hatching this evening. I know it is the cycle of life, but it is quite sad to see every one of MY babies swim up out of the cup, bravely (and uselessless) fight the current... only to be eaten by the waiting clowns. *sigh*

[NicoleC]

Just an update on the pair. I added a pair of spawning tiger pistols (thanks to a local reefer) and the four are happily shacked up. A few weeks ago I added some rubble and a large shelf rock to make their home more habitable -- they were acting very scared and shy with just the flowerpots. The shrimp are really engineering geniuses -- they turned a light dusting of sand and some oddds and ends into a cramped but livable den.

Meanwhile, my male has also turned blue-gray and white like the female, although his transformation took a lot longer; about 10 weeks insteadc of her 4 weeks. In fact, they look an awful lot like "blue-spotted watchmans" now, just a bit lighter. Hmmm.

I have to wonder now if the color change is linked to sexual maturity, spawning behavior, or... ?

[Newby-Reefer]

Nicole I heard that the male will mouth brood babies? Am i hearright or do they even parent at all other then egg gaurding. I love ur male nice and yellow. Good luck.

[NicoleC]

No, yellow watchman gobies do not mouth brood. If you'll read back over the thread some, there are more details. But in a nutshell, they hang an eggmass from the ceiling of their den. The male watches over it and takes care of it until they hatch 4 days later.

[Newby-Reefer]

O okay ya i read the thread but i thought he kept the fry in his mouth. Well i hope you have sucess you just made me want to go out and buy a few YWG

[oceanarus]

Hi ya newby, here is a link to a thread that discusses the raising of ywg babies. http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=273623

[Newby-Reefer]

thanks oceanarus. I sent u a pm yesterday did u get it?

[NicoleC]

I thought I would post an update on the pair. Thursday during the day they laid a HUGE next -- easily twice the size of the next biggest and 5-6x the size of their first nest. They are still laying using the flowerpots even though they have a nice den provided by the shrimps.

The male's gimpy fin seems to be totally healed and has grown back a fair amount.

Unlike previous nests, this one turned silvery-gray-green. I expected a hatch Monday night and stayed up to watch, but nothing happened. Last night (day 5), I forgot and rushed in 15 minutes after lights out. The nest was 100% gone and the tank was packed with literally thousands of larvae, and some had already made it down the overflow and into the sump/fuge and main tank. The larvae were much bigger than previous larvae -- maybe 2x the mass -- and more vigorous. They seemed much longer in length than before, but I don't think I could make an honest size estimate by flashlight.

It's an astonishing and heartbreaking sight at the same time. I couldn't believe how many came out of this nest! I am slowly setting up my hatchery and was very pleased to see such a healthy spawn. People always remark on how big my YWG's are, so hopefully they will continue to lay good nests. Perhaps the male's improved fin helped this time and he did a better job fertilizing the eggs. Or perhaps they have just learned how to be good parents.

After last nights' sight, I think when I am ready to raise them (eta July sometime), I will not pull the flowerpot with the eggs attached. They seem to have finally gotten comfortable with a spawn spot and their breeding tank, and have long memories. Instead, I will turn off the return pump the night of the hatch so it isn't plumbed into the main system. I can siphon off the babies (and water) for the larval tank, perhaps in conjunction with a plankton collector. I won't get ALL of them, but it seems to be the least intrusive method for all involved, and I suspect the male will do a better job babysitting the eggs than an airstone.

[Toddrtrex]

Great to hear, just the other day I was wondering what was happening with your pair.

[kayl]

wow- Phenomenal thread- Keep us updated!

[NicoleC]

3 months later...

The gobies and pistols are quite the happy foursome. Since I have allowed them enough building materials and such in the breeding tank to do some interior decorating, they have been steady spawners. The pistols prepare the nesting site for several days before the spawning date. (The pistols are also spawning regularly.)

Typically, the gobies spawn every 29 days, but 31 days this month despite very heavy feeding. I have been keeping the temp down to a steady 80.0 - 80.5 thanks to replacing my MH on the main tank (plumbed in) with PC's. Also, this time they did not hang ther nest in a clay half-pot, and I think it's because the nest was too long and would have dragged the ground. After this nest hatches, I will provide taller pots. Instead, they hung it from a piece of shelf rock near their den. It's quite out in the open.

Since my pair are so easily disturbed in their spawning routine, I have decided to let them tend their eggs and collect them the night of a spawn.

I'm just about ready to try and raise some babies. Now to go back and read everything Alan and Amy have posted about these guys and take notes!

To be continued...

[ricordiaking]

more pics please

[NicoleC]

This thread has kind of been continued here:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=684921

Never mind the title, I didn't lose the nest. Well, not yet, anyway. There have been other threads in the subject, but that's the heir apparent