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Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:39 pm
by dphershman
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Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:45 pm
by 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?

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:55 pm
by dphershman
Tom Nic wrote: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!

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:19 pm
by 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

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 8:09 am
by LCF
Great find! Thanks for sharing the photo.

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 9:17 am
by spatman
Very cool! I've never seen wolfie eggs before. I'd love to see them hatch!

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:33 pm
by 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

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:45 pm
by cardiver
Furnari wrote: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!

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:03 pm
by Dusty2
Furnari wrote: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

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:40 pm
by Seaslave
That was an excellent video! Thank you.


-Mathue

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:40 pm
by 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?

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:27 pm
by 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.

Re: Wolf Eels on Eggs

Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:47 am
by Tidepool Geek
Blaiz wrote: 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