Reproductive behavior and larval development of the striped blenny <i>Meiacanthus grammistes</i>

Nguyen Trung Kien; Chaoshu Zeng

doi:10.15625/1859-3097/19/4A/14591

Author affiliations

Authors

Nguyen Trung Kien Journal of Marine Science and Technology
Chaoshu Zeng

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15625/1859-3097/19/4A/14591

Keywords:

Reproductive behavior, larval development, fecundity, mouth-gape.

Abstract

This study aims to describe aspects of reproductive behavior and larval development for the striped blenny, Meiacanthus grammistes. Altogether 8 broodstock fish (8.5 cm to 10 cm) were maintained in two 400 l tanks. The first spawning occurred 45 days in one tank and 65 days in another tank after fish acquisition. Egg clutches were only found attached to inside walls of the 50 mm capped PVC pipes with a single 25 mm reduce entry hole while the male took full responsibility for egg care. The fish spawned routinely every 8–10 days in both tanks throughout experimental period. The fecundity ranged from 500–4,200 eggs per spawning with an average of 1837 ± 1197 eggs/clutch. Newly extruded eggs were spherical and incubation period lasted 203–207 h at 27 ± 1^oC. Newly hatched larvae measured 3.11 ± 0.14 mm in standard length (SL) and 0.87 ± 0.08 mm in body depth (BD) with average mouth-gape height and width at 272.42 ± 61.03 µm and 187.50 ± 36.46 µm, respectively. Under such a feeding regime, most of larvae had settled out water column onto the bottom around 23 DPH but not yet displayed the full colouration pattern of adults. In period of 24 to 29 DPH, the colouration pattern developed with alternating black and yellow stripes running through the entire length of body and the newly settled juvenile measured 12.91 ± 0.35 mm in SL and 3.36 ± 0.12 mm in BD around 30 DPH.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Domínguez, L. M., and Botella, Á. S., 2014. An overview of marine ornamental fish breeding as a potential support to the aquarium trade and to the conservation of natural fish populations. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 9(4), 608–632.

Moorhead, J. A., and Zeng, C., 2010. Development of captive breeding techniques for marine ornamental fish: a review. Reviews in Fisheries Science, 18(4), 315–343.

Wilson, J., Osenberg, C. W., Mary, C. M. S., Watson, C. A., and Lindberg, W. J., 2001. Artificial reefs, the attraction-production issue, and density dependence in marine ornamental fishes. Aquarium Sciences and Conservation, 3(1–3), 95–105.

Majoris, J. E., Francisco, F. A., Atema, J., and Buston, P. M., 2018. Reproduction, early development, and larval rearing strategies for two sponge-dwelling neon gobies, Elacatinus lori and E. colini. Aquaculture, 483, 286–295.

Calado, R., 2006. Marine ornamental species from European waters: a valuable overlooked resource or a future threat for the conservation of marine ecosystems?. Scientia Marina, 70(3), 389–398.

Dee, L. E., Horii, S. S., and Thornhill, D. J., 2014. Conservation and management of ornamental coral reef wildlife: successes, shortcomings, and future directions. Biological Conservation, 169, 225–237.

Biondo, M. V., 2017. Quantifying the trade in marine ornamental fishes into Switzerland and an estimation of imports from the European Union. Global ecology and conservation, 11, 95–105.

Froehlich, H. E., Gentry, R. R., and Halpern, B. S., 2017. Conservation aquaculture: Shifting the narrative and paradigm of aquaculture's role in resource management. Biological conservation, 215, 162–168.

Fotedar, R., and Phillips, B. (Eds.), 2011. Recent advances and new species in aquaculture. John Wiley & Sons.

Sweet, T., 2016. The state of the marine breeders’ art, 2017. CORAL, 13(6).

Ditty, J. G., Shaw, R. F., and Fuiman, L. A., 2005. Larval development of five species of blenny (Teleostei: Blenniidae) from the western central North Atlantic, with a synopsis of blennioid family characters. Journal of fish biology, 66(5), 1261–1284.

Olivotto, I., Piccinetti, C. C., Avella, M. A., Rubio, C. M., and Carnevali, O. (2010). Feeding strategies for striped blenny Meiacanthus grammistes larvae. Aquaculture research, 41(9), e307–e315.

Olivotto, I., Zenobi, A., Rollo, A., Migliarini, B., Avella, M., and Carnevali, O., 2005. Breeding, rearing and feeding studies in the cleaner goby Gobiosoma evelynae. Aquaculture, 250(1–2), 175–182.

Olivotto, I., Holt, S. A., Carnevali, O., and Holt, G. J., 2006. Spawning, early development, and first feeding in the lemonpeel angelfish Centropyge flavissimus. Aquaculture, 253(1–4), 270–278.

Moorhead, J. A., and Zeng, C., 2011. Breeding of the forktail blenny Meiacanthus atrodorsalis: broodstock management and larval rearing. Aquaculture, 318(1–2), 248–252.

Buchheim, J. R., and Hixon, M. A., 1992. Competition for shelter holes in the coral-reef fish Acanthemblemaria spinosa Metzelaar. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 164(1), 45–54.

Wittenrich, M. L., Turingan, R. G., and Creswell, R. L., 2007. Spawning, early development and first feeding in the gobiid fish Priolepis nocturna. Aquaculture, 270(1–4), 132–141.

Madhu, K., and Madhu, R., 2014. Captive spawning and embryonic development of marine ornamental purple firefish Nemateleotris decora (Randall & Allen, 1973). Aquaculture, 424, 1–9.

Osterauer, R., and Köhler, H. R., 2008. Temperature-dependent effects of the pesticides thiacloprid and diazinon on the embryonic development of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Aquatic Toxicology, 86(4), 485–494.

Buston, P., 2003. Forcible eviction and prevention of recruitment in the clown anemonefish. Behavioral Ecology, 14(4), 576–582.

Mitchell, J., 2005. Queue selection and switching by false clown anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris. Animal Behaviour, 69(3), 643–652.