pepetj

Today I got six wild caught Opossum Pipefish specimens I keep in low level brackish tank (SG 1.004-1.006). One of the males released a batch of black larvae while in the LFS. I am keeping them in an uncycled SG 1.028 tank hoping some can make it for the crucial two weeks they reportedly require to survive. Feeding with infusoria.

I am considering adding heterotrophic bacteria to aid in the handling of ammonia and nitrites but not sure of the larvae' health safety if I use such strains of bacteria.

This is quite against all odds but I'm giving this a try.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

aquarist48

Pepetj...by now you know we need photos (if you have the means we would love them)! lol
Have a good weekend!
Ken

pepetj

I lost the battery charger of my cam (likely more than a week ago). Ordered another one (charger not camera) so I'm with cell cam only. These are so tiny and thin I have some trouble finding them with "naked" eyes.

This is the best I could do with the 2.0 megapixel cam of my BB.


For size reference, note that the off-focus floating plant is a tiny duckweed species.


Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Attached Images

Barely visible Opossum Pipefish larvae.JPG (170.7 KB, 30 views)

aquarist48

Thanks! The sure are tiny.
I hope you're new charger comes soon.
Ken

pepetj

Update. Some specimens are still alive at 1 day 6hours from release from father's pouch. Can't tell for sure if any is indeed dead.

I began feeding a few drops of Kent Zooplex. I figure it would aid in their nutrition.

The tank they are in is a small 1gal tank I used for infusoria. I left the organic debris and a couple of rocks in the bottom. Keeping up with top-off to prevent salinity to raise too much.

I placed a few specimens in a 10gal SW refugium, since in nature larvae stays close to shore around sargasum (ocean's salinity level) those specimens are hard to find.

At least two of the larvae in the uncycled high brackish (SG 1.018) show good levels of activity. The others may be just resting... I have no idea.

Even if I lost all of them, this is a learning experience.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

pepetj

Update: At least one specimen has survived. I'm feeding it with Kent Marine ZooPlex. Here's a pic of this tiny fish.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Attached Images

My Opossum Pipefish baby 4 days old.JPG (352.4 KB, 21 views)

Annadvn

I can't believe i missed this thread!

That last picture is so cute!

Well done Pepetj for getting this far. I hope you are documenting everything for future references. Good and bad.

Anna

pepetj

2nd update of the day. Two confirmed alive. I took more pics but they are useless. They look already as tiny-tiny replica of adults.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

pepetj

Sorry to notify that I've been unable to find the two survivors for the last 24 hours. I consider them dead.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Butterfly

Maybe hiding?

pepetj

I lost them, their bodies were not recovered. I guess due to being so small.

I emptied the small tank already. Will start another culture of infusoria in it.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo