[aussiemantis]

hi all, i am interested in breeding this species of nano reef fish. the max size is only 5-6cm in males and the female maximum length is 3-4 cm. females do not bear the crown like structure on their heads.

i currently have them in a 10L breeding tub, its summer here so there is no heater. the tube is always around 24-28 degrees.

there is a 75L per hour aqua one hob filter with a filter sponge i have cut into a square and shoved up the other end, an airstone for circulation.

substrate is sand from the ocean and base water (7L) is natural sea water, the remaining 3L and all water changes after that are from blue treasure salt mix water that i take out of the display.

there are plenty of scattered oysters, some live and some dead shells which i gathered to recreate their natural habitat. there are also live saltwater pippies in there for extra filtration. (forgot to mention the pair that i have or rather haram of 1 male and 4 females)

when i first received them they were in quarantine and the females were plumped with eggs. now the females are skinny again.

i do not know much about this fish as it is not well documented. i have no knowledge of what to even look for. all i can do is occasionally inspect the females and try to notice when they are fat and when they are thin again. the next time they become skinny i will assume they have released the eggs and i will look inside the dead oyster shells to see if i can locate them.

next step would be to basically carefully move the empty shell full of eggs into a suction cup breeding box so that they are separated however still in the same tank and then join an extra airline to a small stone next to the oyster to keep it aerated. i will also leave some eggs in the actual container as there is already good flow in there and maybe they will look after the eggs until they hatch. but i'm not too sure about how to go about doing this.

when and most importantly IF they hatch, i will be feeding a few batches a few different things. one batch will be fed only on nbbbs, another only on Hikari First Bites, another batch will be on reef roids until they are large enough to take small pellets.

i think i will also experiment with filtration, one container will have only an airstone and another will have a filter with a filter sponge.

ill document my progress. they have been in the tub for roughly 1 month. but i haven't taken it seriously until now and i am waiting for the first batch of larvae i will actually take out of the tank.

**images are not of actual livestock, they are stock images but this is the exact fish i am trying to breed. i would like to add on a final note that this blenny is only expensive when you buy males, the females are less vivid in colour and do not display the crown so they fetch a standard blenny price***