Nano Gobies

CORAL: What do your rearing tanks look like, and
what do the larvae get to eat?
PD: The larvae spend their first six to eight
weeks in a 16- to 21-gallon (60–80 L) aquarium
equipped with an airstone, some Siporax biofilter
media, and live Nannochloropsis phytoplankton.
Thereafter the little pipefishes are transferred to
an 80-gallon (300-L) aquarium equipped with a
protein skimmer, Siporax, and a UV clarifier. The
larvae are fed a mixture of zooplankton (various
copepods and Brachionus that she simply harvests
from her established reef tanks). From the
age of two weeks they are also fed Artemia nauplii
(small types).
Larva of
Doryrhamphus
pessuliferus on its
first day of life.
CORAL: How high is the survival rate at present?
PD: When I first bred them successfully the survival
rate was only 20 percent, but now I am
achieving an estimated 50 percent. I am getting
50 to 80 larvae per spawning. The secret is frequent
water changes, as they are very sensitive to
foul water.
Developing larva at seven days.
CORAL: When does the critical phase in the life of
a young Orangebanded Pipefish come to an end?
PD: That is still very difficult to say, but in my
experience, transferring the larvae from the parents’
tank to the rearing aquarium is a very criti-
Metamorphosing15-day-old pipefish.
TOP: M. SPITALER; OTHERS: P. DIRMEIER
Juvenile at 21 days.
CORAL 101