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fla2341 · 05/07/2012, 03:10 PM

humaguy: Thanks Stay tuned

moshi1ry: Thanks for your interest. The flame angels are pelagic spawners. They release their eggs into the water column. They eggs float initially. If you don't remove them ASAP they tend to end up as food, in the skimmer or as added nitrates. The male is the more dominate and larger of the pair. The male chases the female thru the rockwork for about 2-3 hours prior to spawning. They stop to check things out several times by poking their noses out of the rocks. At approx 1/2 hour prior to lights out the female will flare her fins infront of the male and the male will nudge the female's abdomen forming a "T". The pair will begin to "rise" together - in the case of my pair they rise 5" or so - and then spawn. Then in a flash they dart back into the rocks. Time from spawn to settlement can vary, but from what I've read, can be anywhere from 30 days to 6 months. The larva right now are only 2mm and are very difficult to see up to 3-4 DPH.

Summary of egg to larval development: There seem to be several stages (hurtles) the eggs to larval fish go thru even before the transition to meta and settlement.
1st is the hatching of the eggs. I've seen with my collection that too much exposure to air and the shell seems to get hard and the eggs will develop but not hatch as well as being dipped out.
2nd is the development of the larval fish from the pro-larval fish. I've seen several failed pro-larval fish where the proto eyes(bumps only - no eyes) have developed but not gained difinition, Eyes have developed along with the digestive/stomach and pectorial fins, and finally with eyes developed and pigmented as well as the mouth developed.
I'm now into the 3rdwith full larval fish but I've got to get the numbers up which develop to this stage. Next will be to establish the first food viability and refinement of when/how much to add.

05/07/2012, 03:10 PM	#31
fla2341 Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 137	humaguy: Thanks Stay tuned moshi1ry: Thanks for your interest. The flame angels are pelagic spawners. They release their eggs into the water column. They eggs float initially. If you don't remove them ASAP they tend to end up as food, in the skimmer or as added nitrates. The male is the more dominate and larger of the pair. The male chases the female thru the rockwork for about 2-3 hours prior to spawning. They stop to check things out several times by poking their noses out of the rocks. At approx 1/2 hour prior to lights out the female will flare her fins infront of the male and the male will nudge the female's abdomen forming a "T". The pair will begin to "rise" together - in the case of my pair they rise 5" or so - and then spawn. Then in a flash they dart back into the rocks. Time from spawn to settlement can vary, but from what I've read, can be anywhere from 30 days to 6 months. The larva right now are only 2mm and are very difficult to see up to 3-4 DPH. Summary of egg to larval development: There seem to be several stages (hurtles) the eggs to larval fish go thru even before the transition to meta and settlement. 1st is the hatching of the eggs. I've seen with my collection that too much exposure to air and the shell seems to get hard and the eggs will develop but not hatch as well as being dipped out. 2nd is the development of the larval fish from the pro-larval fish. I've seen several failed pro-larval fish where the proto eyes(bumps only - no eyes) have developed but not gained difinition, Eyes have developed along with the digestive/stomach and pectorial fins, and finally with eyes developed and pigmented as well as the mouth developed. I'm now into the 3rdwith full larval fish but I've got to get the numbers up which develop to this stage. Next will be to establish the first food viability and refinement of when/how much to add. __________________ “Everything is everywhere but the environment selects” – Baas Becking (1934)