Wolf Eels on Eggs

[dphershman]

...

[Tom Nic]

Great find! Thanks for sharing...

I have yet to see this - do Wolfies breed year round or certain times of the year like Ling Cod?

[dphershman]

Great find! Thanks for sharing...

I have yet to see this - do Wolfies breed year round or certain times of the year like Ling Cod?

The only time I've ever seen them on eggs is at the end of October. Don Coleman said those eggs had been there about three weeks. You can see little eye spots on them if you look closely.

I just looked this up in the new Milton Love book on fish and he states that they spawn from October to January and that the eggs take 13-16 weeks to hatch. So it looks like mom and dad will be busy for awhile!

[Dusty2]

The only ones I have ever seen were in Dec. and early Jan. By mid Jan they were gone. So That would be about right for late Dec. or early Jan. Wouldn't that be a coo to be there when it happens? Wow Nice work Dan

[LCF]

Great find! Thanks for sharing the photo.

[spatman]

Very cool! I've never seen wolfie eggs before. I'd love to see them hatch!

[Furnari]

Oregon Field Guide (a production of Oregon Public Broadcasting) aired this segment a while back about breeding wolf eels at the Oregon Coast Aquarium- pretty interesting stuff:

http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/segments/view/1630

[cardiver]

Oregon Field Guide (a production of Oregon Public Broadcasting) aired this segment a while back about breeding wolf eels at the Oregon Coast Aquarium- pretty interesting stuff:

http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/segments/view/1630

Where is a "like" button when you need one? Thanks for sharing the video with us!

[Dusty2]

Oregon Field Guide (a production of Oregon Public Broadcasting) aired this segment a while back about breeding wolf eels at the Oregon Coast Aquarium- pretty interesting stuff:

http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/segments/view/1630

Very cool video! Thank you

[Seaslave]

That was an excellent video! Thank you.


-Mathue

[Blaiz]

that was an awesome video! so cute!

I'm a little confused though, would taking momma and daddy out and sticking them in the plain boring tank (maybe with a hideyhole or two) make them stop caring for the egg mass? or would it be just too hard on their psyche?

[dphershman]

yes, very cool video! I can say that the behavior that I saw in the wolf eel den was exactly that described. The egg mass was the same size and shape too.

[Tidepool Geek]

I'm a little confused though, would taking momma and daddy out and sticking them in the plain boring tank (maybe with a hideyhole or two) make them stop caring for the egg mass? or would it be just too hard on their psyche?

Hi Blaiz,

Moving them to a non-community tank would probably not be a problem from a pure husbandry point of view. Moving them back and forth between their present home and a 'maternity' tank would almost certainly be stressful. Consider that these guys choose a den at somewhere between age 4 and 7 and then don't move out unless they are forced out by something bigger & badder (a GPO or another wolf). That, coupled with a lifespan of 30 to 35 years, describes a fish that values stability!

Even if stress on the fish wasn't a consideration, remember that the aquarium is a business and that the wolfies are a featured exhibit - moving them to the back room could hurt the gate!

Moving them permanently to a naturalistic species tank would work except that collecting the newborns can be really hard in such a tank.

Gestationally yours,

Alex